Today in history: June 30
President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un met at the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea, and more events that happened on this day in history.
1918: Eugene V. Debs
In 1918, labor activist and socialist Eugene V. Debs was arrested in Cleveland, charged under the Espionage Act of 1917 for a speech he’d made two weeks earlier denouncing U.S. involvement in World War I. (Debs was sentenced to prison and disenfranchised for life.)
1934: “The Night of the Long Knives”
In 1934, Adolf Hitler launched his “blood purge” of political and military rivals in Germany in what came to be known as “The Night of the Long Knives.”
1963: Pope Paul VI
In 1963, Pope Paul VI was crowned the 262nd head of the Roman Catholic Church.
1971: The Pentagon Papers
In 1971, the Supreme Court ruled, 6-3, that the government could not prevent The New York Times or The Washington Post from publishing the Pentagon Papers.
1982: The Equal Rights Amendment
In 1982, the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution expired, having failed to receive the required number of ratifications for its adoption, despite having its seven-year deadline extended by three years.
1994: Tonya Harding
In 1994, the U.S. Figure Skating Association stripped Tonya Harding of the national championship and banned her for life for her role in the attack on rival Nancy Kerrigan.
1997: Hong Kong
In 1997, the Union Jack was lowered for the last time over Government House in Hong Kong as Britain prepared to hand the colony back to China at midnight after ruling it for 156 years.
2009: Bowe Bergdahl
In 2009, American soldier Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl went missing from his base in eastern Afghanistan, and was later confirmed to have been captured by insurgents. (Bergdahl was released on May 31, 2014 in exchange for five Taliban detainees.)
2010: Barack Obama
Ten years ago: President Barack Obama talked about the economy at a town hall in Racine, Wisconsin, saying, “We got it moving again,” and that he intended to get “our debt and our deficits under control,” but warned he wouldn’t slash spending at the expense of the economic rebound.
2010: Benigno Aquino III
Ten years ago: Benigno Aquino III was sworn in as the Philippines’ 15th president.
2013: The Granite Mountain Hotshots
In 2013, 19 elite firefighters known as members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots were killed battling a wildfire northwest of Phoenix after a change in wind direction pushed the flames back toward their position.
2015: Chris Christie
Five years ago: a tough-talking New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie launched his 2016 campaign for president with a promise to tell voters the truth “whether you like it or not, or whether it makes you cringe every once in a while or not.”
2015: Indonesian Air Force
Five years ago: An Indonesian Air Force transport plane crashed, killing more than 120 people on board and 22 on the ground.
2015: Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck
Five years ago: Actress Jennifer Garner and actor Ben Affleck announced plans to end their 10-year marriage.
2019: Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un
One year ago: President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un met at the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea, and agreed to revive talks on the North’s nuclear program. (A working-level meeting in Sweden in October would break down over what the North Koreans described as the Americans’ “old stance and attitude.”)
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