This Day In History, June 16th.
Five Historical Events That Happened on June 16th.
Zeno was succeeded as Byzantine Emperor in 491 by Flavius Anastasius.
King Bolesaw II of Poland issued the execution warrant for Bishop Stanislaus of Krakow in 1079.
Mary II and William III were installed as joint rulers of England, Scotland, and Ireland in 1689.
1951: General Douglas MacArthur is relieved of his command in Korea by American President Harry Truman.
President Lyndon B. Johnson of the United States signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, outlawing discrimination in housing sales, rentals, and financing.
On June 16, 1858, Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous "House Divided" speech at the Illinois Republican convention, warning that the United States could not remain divided over the issue of slavery.
Lincoln claimed that "a house divided against itself cannot stand," arguing that the United States could not continue to exist with half of its states permitting slavery and half opposing it. The speech contributed to Lincoln's status as a rising political figure and helped lay the ground for his eventual election to the president in 1860.
On June 16, 1903, the Ford Motor Company was incorporated by Henry Ford and eleven other investors.
Henry Ford was the first president of the Ford Motor Company, which was founded on June 16, 1903. The firm was started with a $28,000 capital with the primary goal of manufacturing and selling autos. Ford's Model T, released in 1908, became the company's most successful vehicle, revolutionizing the automobile industry by making automobiles accessible to the common person. Today, Ford Motor Company is one of the world's largest and most well-known vehicle manufacturers.
On June 16, 1963, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to travel in space, aboard the Vostok 6 spacecraft.
Valentina Tereshkova, a Soviet astronaut, became the first woman in space on June 16, 1963. She was in orbit for slightly under three days onboard the Vostok 6 spacecraft, orbiting the Earth 48 times. In the middle of the Cold War space competition with the United States, Tereshkova's historic flight was viewed as a great propaganda win for the Soviet Union. Tereshkova later rose to prominence as a Soviet political figure, advocating for space exploration and women's rights throughout her life.
On June 16, 1976, protests against apartheid in South Africa turned violent in the township of Soweto, with police opening fire on student demonstrators, killing and injuring many.
On June 16, 1976, a student demonstration against the use of Afrikaans as the major language of teaching in black schools in Soweto, South Africa, became violent when police opened fire on the protestors. The demonstration was part of a bigger campaign against apartheid, South Africa's system of racial segregation and inequality at the time. The actual number of victims is unknown, although hundreds of people, largely students, are said to have been killed or injured in the ensuing violence. The incident is now known as the Soweto Uprising and is seen as a watershed moment in the anti-apartheid campaign.
On June 16, 2015, real estate mogul and reality TV star Donald Trump announced his candidacy for President of the United States in the 2016 election.
Donald Trump, a wealthy businessman and reality television celebrity, launched his candidacy for President of the United States in the 2016 election on June 16, 2015. Many political watchers were surprised by Trump's declaration because he had never held public office before and was not typically regarded as a serious political figure. However, Trump's campaign struck a chord with many disgruntled Americans, and he went on to win the Republican Party's nomination and, ultimately, the president in November 2016. Trump's reign was marred by scandal and divisive policies, and he was defeated in the 2020 presidential election by Joe Biden.