On This Day: 22 June

Edward III dies, to be succeeded by his grandson Richard II – son of Edward, 'the Black Prince'		1377
Battle of Morat: Charles the Bold of Burgundy is defeated by the Swiss		1476
Portuguese forces are expelled from the port of Sunda Kelapa, on the island of Java – an event now regarded as the foundation of Jakarta		1527
St. John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, executed		1535
Queen Elizabeth's Prayer Book is issued		1559
Henry Hudson and his son are cast adrift by his mutinous crew		1611
After heated controversy, the Catholic authorities force Galileo Galilei to recant his view that the Sun, and not the Earth, is the centre of the Universe		1633
William Penn signs a treaty of peace and friendship with native Americans		1683
The British warship HMS Leopard attacks and boards the American frigate USS Chesapeake		1807
MCC play Hertfordshire in the first cricket match at Lord's (present site)		1814
Sir Robert Peel's Bill to impose income tax at a rate of sevenpence in the pound receives Royal Assent		1842
Barbed wire is patented in Kent, Ohio by Lucien B. Smith (25^th – Indy, 1999)		1867
During exercises off Tripoli, Lebanon, the battleship HMS Camperdown accidentally rams HMS Victoria, flagship of the British Mediterranean Fleet – which quickly sinks, taking 358 crew with her, including Vice–Admiral Sir George Tryon, the commander of the fleet; John Jellicoe is one of the survivors		1893
Queen Victoria celebrates her Diamond Jubilee		1897
The Wallace Collection opens in London		1900
President Roosevelt sues Standard Oil for operating a monopoly		1906
Northern Line, on London's Underground, opens		1907
German bacteriologist Paul Ehrlich announces the definitive cure for syphilis		1910
Coronation of King George V and Queen Mary		1911
Field Marshal Sir Henry Hughes Wilson assassinated in London by Sinn Feiners		1922
Joe Louis becomes World Heavyweight Champion by knocking out James J. Braddock in the 8th round		1937
Joe Louis knocks out German challenger Max Schmeling in the first round		1938
France is forced to sign the Second Compiègne armistice with Germany, in the same railroad car in which the Germans signed the Armistice of 1918		1940
Soviet leader Joseph Stalin is taken by surprise as German troops enter the USSR, beginning a massive advance on Moscow		1941
Karelia, lost to the USSR in 1940, is re–invaded by Finland		1941
Battle of Okinawa ends		1945
HMT Empire Windrush docks at Tilbury, bringing the first group of 802 West Indian immigrants and marking the start of modern immigration to the UK		1948
Directors of London store Harrods recommend that shareholders vote for a merger with Debenhams, rather than accepting a rival bid from House of Fraser		1959
The United Nations accepts applications for membership from East and West Germany		1973
US astronomer James W. Christy observes Charon – the first of Pluto's satellites to be discovered		1978
Jeremy Thorpe is found not guilty of plotting to murder Norman Scott		1979
Mark Chapman changes his plea to guilty, admitting that he murdered John Lennon in the previous December		1981
The first Virgin Atlantic flight leaves Gatwick for New York – tickets are priced at £99		1984
Argentina beat England 2–1 in the FIFA World Cup quarter finals – with two goals from Diego Maradona, one of which was a blatant handball but the other was a brilliant solo effort		1986
The captain of the Herald of Free Enterprise is charged with manslaughter		1989
Seven leaders of the Tiananmen Square protest shot after televised show trials		1989
Checkpoint Charlie – the best–known crossing point between East and West Berlin – is dismantled		1991
John Major resigns as leader of the Conservative party, in order to seek re–election		1995
US and Russian scientists claim that a fossil found in Central Asia in 1969 proves that birds descended from reptiles, not dinosaurs (because it predates dinosaurs and has feathers)		2000
Home Secretary David Blunkett announces the Parole Board's decision that Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, both 18 – convicted of murdering 2–year–old James Bulger in 1993 – are to be freed		2001
Aaron Barschak, self–styled "comedy terrorist", gatecrashes Prince William's 21^st birthday party at Windsor Castle dressed as Osama bin Laden		2003
A Belgian court sentences Marc Dutroux to life in prison, after finding him found guilty of leading a gang that kidnapped and raped six girls in the mid–1990s, leading to the deaths of four of them		2004

You are here:

On This Day: 22 June