On This Day

30th June

1860 – The 1860 Oxford evolution debate at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History took place.

1908 – The Tunguska event occured in Siberia.

1936 - Gone with the Wind was published.

1934 – The Night of the Long Knives, Adolf Hitler's violent purge of his political rivals in Germany, took place.

1953 – The first Chevrolet Corvette rolled off the assembly line in Flint, Michigan, USA. (I wonder if it was a little red one.)

1960 – Congo gained independence from Belgium.

1963 – A car bomb, intended for Mafia boss Salvatore Greco, killed seven police and military officers near Palermo.

1969 – Nigeria banned Red Cross aid to Biafra, leaving over 4 million people to face starvation.

1971 - Three Russian cosmonauts were found dead in their Soyuz 11 space capsule after it made what looked like a perfect landing in Kazakhstan.

1985 - 39 Americans being held captive by the Shia Muslim Amal militia in Lebanon were released, after almost three weeks in captivity.

1990 – East Germany and West Germany merged their economies.

1992 – Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher joined the House of Lords as Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven.

1997 – The United Kingdom transfered sovereignty over Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China.

2007 – Ingmar Bergman died.

2007 – A terrorist attack was attempted when a car crashed into Glasgow International Airport in Scotland.

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