On June 30, 1960, the Congo gained independence from Belgium. Soon afterwards, the Congolese military mutinied, touching off the Congo Crisis that would compel UN and Belgian intervention and concluded with the installation of Mobutu Sese Seko as dictator of the country, which was renamed Zaire. Learn more about the Congo Crisis from the Internet [...]
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On June 30, 1971, the 26th Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified, making the legal voting age 18. Learn more about the history surrounding the passage of the 26th Amendment.
On June 29, 1972, in Furman v. Georgia, the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty — as invoked by many states at that time — was unconstitutional as cruel and unusual punishment contrary to the Eighth Amendment.
On June 29, 1976, the Seychelles in Africa gained independence from the United Kingdom. Read the Constitution of the Seychelles.
On June 28, 1978, the US Supreme Court ruled in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke that quota systems could not be used in university admissions, although programs giving advantage to minorities were constitutionally permissible.
On June 28, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed, ending World War I.
On June 27, 1934, the National Housing Act created the Federal Housing Administration (now part of HUD), which put the power of the federal government behind home financing, helping to make homeownership a reality for tens of millions of Americans and powering the residential real estate industry.
On June 27, 2001, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in the LaGrand case that foreign nationals must be informed of their right to contact the embassy of their home country after arrest. Brothers Karl and Walter LaGrand were arrested in 1982 for murder and armed robbery in Arizona. However, authorities did not inform [...]
On June 26, 2003, the US Supreme Court in Lawrence v. Texas struck down state laws criminalizing private homosexual activity, finding that such laws violate the Due Process Clause of the US Constitution. The ruling overturned the Court’s previous decision in Bowers v. Hardwick.
June 26 is the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.
