On This Day In History

[Bikkie]

1870-A huge section of the city of Constantinople, Turkey, is set ablaze When the smoke finally cleared, 3,000 homes were destroyed and 900 people were dead.



1944- more than 1,000 British bombers drop 5,000 tons of bombs on German gun batteries placed at the Normandy assault area, while 3,000 Allied ships cross the English Channel in preparation for the invasion of Normandy—D-Day.


1949-Enid Blyton's wooden toy character
Noddy first appears-in The Sunday
Graphic.


1968- Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in the Ambassador Hotel by 24-year-old Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan. He was shot in the head and died early the next morning.


2015-Former All Black Jerry Collins dies after
his car collides with a bus near Beziers in
Southern France.
He was 34.Collins'partner Alana Madill also
died in the crash.

[Bikkie]

1892-Chicago's elevated Loop train line (commonly known as the “L”) began operating, and it became one of the longest and busiest mass transit systems in the United States.



1925-The automobile manufacturer Chrysler Corporation was incorporated, with Walter P. Chrysler as president.


1944- Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower gives the go-ahead for the largest amphibious military operation in history: Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of northern France, commonly known as D-Day. By daybreak, 18,000 British and American parachutists were already on the ground.


1960-The RIAA gives Bing Crosby a special platinum record to signify career sales of 200 million records, many of them "White Christmas."



1962-The Beatles record at Abbey Road for the first time, demoing three songs they wrote themselves: "Love Me Do," "Ask Me Why" and "P.S. I Love You."


1964-An anonymous ad taken out in six American music trade papers states: "In the public interest, watch The Rolling Stones crush The Beatles!"



1969-Rod Stewart signs to the Mercury label.



1971-The Ed Sullivan Show airs its final show, going out with guests Jerry Vale and Gladys Knight & The Pips after 23 years on the air.



1971-John Lennon makes his first stage appearance since 1969 when he and Yoko Ono jam with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention at the Fillmore East in New York. The show is recorded and released as a bonus disc with the Lennon/Ono album Some Time In New York City.



2014-The BBC broadcasts You've Got A Friend: The Carole King Story, named for her 1971 song.


2022-Jim Seals of the duo Seals & Crofts ("Summer Breeze") dies at 79.




2004-For her performance in A Raisin in the Sun, Phylicia Rashad became the first African American to win a Tony Award for best actress.




And the New World supermarkets in New Zealand is 60 years old today

[Piper]

1924-English climber
George Mallory,37,
disappears 245 meters
from the summit of Mt.
Everest.

[Piper]

632-A.D,the prophet Muhammad
died in Medina.


1942-The Imperial Japanese Navy
submarines 1-21 and 1-24 she'll the
Australian cities Sydney and Newcastle.


1867-Modern American architect
Frank Lloyd Wright was born in
Richland Centrer Wisconsin.


1953-The US Supreme Court ruled
unanimously that restaurants in the
District of Columbia could not refuse
to serve Blacks.

[Piper]

1934-First appearance of
Donald Duck in a cartoon,in
The Wise Little Hen .



1963-Andy Williams is the
mystery guest on TV's What's
My Line.


1970-Bob Dylan receives an
honorary Doctorate of Music
from Princeton University.


1971-McCartney's second solo
album,Ran is certified Gold.



1995-A flight attendant and
three passengers die when
Ansett New Zealand Flight
703 from Auckland crashes
in hilly terrain,16km east of
Palmerston North Airport.


2014-British comedian and
actor Rik Mayall (who played
Rick in The Young Ones) dies,
aged 56,of cardiac arrest.

[Piper]

1886-Mt Tarawera erupts, killing
around 120 people.
Nearby villages were destroyed, along
with the pink and white Terraces



1934-At the second Football World Cup, Italy
beats Czechoslovakia 2-1 in the final, after
extra time in Rome.



1995-Acclaimed New Zealand actor
and musician Bruno Lawrence dies, aged
54,of lung cancer.

[Bikkie]

1770- Captain James Cook discovered the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia during his first voyage.



1776-The Continental Congress appointed a committee, including Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin, to draft the Declaration of Independence.



1837-The Broad Street Riot occurred in Boston, Massachusetts, as a result of tensions between nativists and Irish immigrants.


1935-Alcoholics Anonymous was founded by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio, providing a support network for individuals struggling with alcohol addiction.



1957-Elvis Presley releases "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear" b/w "Loving You."




1962-Three inmates ( Frank Morris
and brothers John and Clarence Anglin )
flee from Alcatraz Island Prison in San
Francisco Bay.
They were the only prisonsers to escape
the jail and were never recaptured.


1971-A drunken Dennis Wilson, drummer for The Beach Boys, accidentally puts his hand through the glass door of his home, severing nerves that keep him from his instrument for the better part of three years.



1982-The movie E.T.The Extra-Terrestrial,is
released.


2002-American Idol,created by Simon Cowell,Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson,premieres on Fox.

[Piper]

1942-Anne Frank is given
a diary in Amsterdam as a
birthday present and starts
writing in on June the 14.


1954-Bill Haley's hit single
Rock Around The Clock is
released


1994-Nicole Brown Simpson,
35, and her friend Ron Goldman,
25,are stabbed to death at their
home in Los Angeles.O.J.Simpson
was later charged with their murders.

[Piper]

1967-British film To Sir With
Love, starring Sidney Poitior,
is released in the US


1974-David Bowie's Diamond Dogs
tour begins in Montreal.As part of
the elaborate stage show,a giant
diamond opens up to reveal
Bowie


1984-New Zealand Prime
Minister Rob Muldoon calls
a snap election,to be held in
one month's time.The move
backfired, with National being
ousted by David Lange's
Labour.


2017-A fire in the Grenfell
Tower block in London,kills 79
people and injuries 37.

[Bikkie]

1836-Arkansas was admitted to the Union as the 25th state in the US



1974-John Denver's album, Back Home Again
is released

[Bikkie]

1567: Mary, Queen of Scots, imprisoned in Lochleven Castle, Scotland.



1779- US General Anthony Wayne captures Stony Point, New York, inflicting heavy losses on the British.


1962-Gary U.S. Bonds appears on US TV for the first time, performing his hit "Quarter To Three" on American Bandstand.


1963- Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space.



1965-At Columbia Studios in New York City, Bob Dylan finishes recording "Like A Rolling Stone," a song about a socialite who falls from grace. The Hammond organ comes courtesy of Al Kooper, who later forms Blood, Sweat & Tears.



1967-The first Monterey International Pop festival begins at the County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. It's the first of many big Rock festivals, with The Who, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and The Animals among those performing. Many consider it the beginning of the "Summer of Love."



1970-The organizers of the Woodstock music festival report that they have lost over $1.2 million on the event (money which they will later make up through movie and soundtrack rights).



1970-Blues guitar pioneer Lonnie Johnson dies of a stroke at 76.



1972-David Bowie unveils his landmark album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars. His breakthrough LP, it sells over 7 million copies and is hailed as one of the greatest albums of all time


1972-Roxy Music release their self-titled debut album. With obtuse lyrics from Bryan Ferry and futuristic synth soundscapes by Brian Eno, it's a tough nut to crack for many listeners but is later hailed as a triumph.



1976- The June 16 Uprising in Soweto, South Africa, which profoundly changed the socio-political landscape in South Africa.


1980-The movie The Blues Brothers, adapted from John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd's classic SNL skit, premieres in Chicago. A love letter of sorts to '60s R&B and soul, it will help re-establish the careers of its musical co-stars, including James Brown, Ray Charles, and Aretha Franklin.




1983-Ringo Starr releases his ninth solo album, Old Wave.



2002-A remixed version of Elvis Presley's 1968 single "A Little Less Conversation" hits #1 in the UK, released as part of a successful plan by his estate to claim the UK record for most #1 hits on the tally from The Beatles.



2008- The state of California began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.



2015- Donald Trump announced he was running for President.

[Bikkie]

June 17th is the day we officially celebrate Apple Strudel Day as well as Eat Your Veggies Day.



1631-Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan I decided to begin construction of the Taj Mahal.
It happened after his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, died while giving birth. The emperor spent the next 20 years building the Taj Mahal as his wife’s tomb.


1885-The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York City.
The statue was a gift given from France as a sign of friendship.


1894-The Polio epidemic took hold for the first time in the US at Rutland, Vermont.



1928-Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic.



1963-The US Supreme Court decided that public schools aren’t allowed to study the bible or pray.



1970-Rock band Led Zeppelin started their last tour of Europe.




1971-US President Richard Nixon declared a War on Drugs.
In his press conference, he stated that the abuse of narcotics was public enemy #1.


1994-Police captured O.J. Simpson for murder charges after a 90-minute police chase.

[Piper]

1983-The Space Shuttle
Challenger launches with Sally
Ride on board to become the
first US woman in space


1995-All Blacks wing Jonah
Lomu scores four tries as New
Zealand beat England 45-29
in the Rugby World Cup semi-final
at Newlands Stadium,Cape Town

[Bikkie]

1973-The Rocky Horror
Show Stage production first opens in London.It was written by New Zealander Richard O'Brien and starred Tim Curry.

[Piper]

1980-Musical film The Blues
Brothers opens in cinemas.


1994-Robin and Margaret
Bain and three of their four
children -Arawa,Laniet and
Stephen -are found dead
in their Every Street home
in Dunedin.David Bain, the
only surviving member of the
family,was charged with the
murders ( but later acquitted)