2022
Her Majesty The Queen became the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee.
Queen Elizabeth II was officially crowned on June 2, 1953, at age 27. They celebrated this unprecedented event with events and initiatives throughout the year and a four-day UK bank holiday.
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2015
One hundred volunteers in Bhutan set a new Guinness World Record when they planted 49,672 trees in one hour.
The volunteers had gathered in the nation’s capital, Thimphu, to celebrate their king’s birthday. The initiative itself was organized by the Bhutan Eco-Green Initiative Network (BEGIN), which works with Bhutan’s Ministry of Agriculture & Forests to encourage green initiatives. More than 75% of Bhutan is forested, largely thanks to its constitution which states that more than 60% of the nation must be forested for all time.
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2003
The European Space Agency launched its “Mars Express,” the first planetary mission in Europe.
The mission launched on this day from Baïkonur in Kazakhstan at 23:45 local time.
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1989
Up to 800 civilians and 12 soldiers died during a student protest for democracy at Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China.
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1979
NASA’s UK-6 was launched into space.
Once the satellite achieved orbit, it was renamed from UK-6 to Ariel 6. The Ariel 6 was the last Ariel satellite to be launched.
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1979
Tom Bradley, Mayor of Los Angeles, signed the first US gay rights bill.
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1962
Chile and Italy played one of the most violent soccer games in history.
The game, a mere group-stage game in the FIFA World Cup, was so violent that it is known today as The Battle of Santiago. Two players were sent off the field after numerous brawls broke up, with the police having to intervene four times. The match’s referee later went on to invent yellow and red cards.
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1953
The royal coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of England took place at Westminster Abbey, London, UK.
The coronation was the first to be televised, and 27 million people in the UK alone watched it on their screens.
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1946
Italians voted to form a republic instead of a monarchy.
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1933
The White House opened its first indoor swimming pool.
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1924
The Indian Citizenship Act was signed into law.
The Act granted citizenship to around 125,000 of 300,000 indigenous persons in the US.
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1896
Inventor and electrical engineer Guglielmo Marconi applied for the patents for the radio.
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1851
Fruit producer company Dole was founded in Hawaii.
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1835
P.T. Barnum and his circus began touring the United States.
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