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June 21st Major News Events

  1. 1945 United States troops took control of the Japanese island of Okinawa after a long battle.
  2. 1963 Pope Paul VI was chosen as the head of the Catholic Church.
  3. 1982 Princess Diana gave birth to William, second in line to the throne of England.
  4. 2001 General Pervez Musharraf took power as military ruler of Pakistan.
  5. 2009 Greenland was granted more control over law enforcement, judicial affairs, and natural resources.

Find More Details for What happened 21st June This Day in History on your birthday

2009 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

2009 : JK Rowling's fifth Harry Potter book "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is released and becomes the fastest selling book ever. Fans of the Harry Potter series have had to wait three years for the latest book and although they are three years older than they were are still just as keen to read the latest book. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" has now sold over 55 million copies worldwide and was released as a movie in 2007. The original "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" released in 1997 is still the most popular of the the series with over 120 million copies sold. Trailer For New Harry Potter Movie ( Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince ) Release Date July 15th 2009.


1964 U.S.A. Ku Klux Klan

1964 : Three civil rights field workers disappear after investigating the burning of an African American church by the Ku Klux Klan. Their bodies were found buried six weeks later and seven members of the Ku Klux Klan were found guilty on federal conspiracy charges. Eight others including Edgar Ray Killen were found not guilty (check 2005 entry for Edgar Ray Killen on this day in history).


1877 U.S.A. Molly Maguires

1877 : Ten members of the Irish Miners Group The "Molly Maguires" were hanged for murder, the hangings bought about an end to the group as members now feared for their lives and loved ones lives. "Molly Maguires" were a group of Irish anthracite miners who were fighting for better working and living conditions in the coal fields of Pennsylvania, and were considered militant union activists but to understand the whole story my advice is look up "Molly Maguires" on your favorite search engine to gain a better perspective of the whole story.


1916 Mexico Pancho Villa

1916 : A U.S. military expedition against Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa brings the United States and Mexico closer to war when Mexican government troops attack U.S. Brigadier General John J. Pershing's force at Carrizal, Mexico.


1945 US troops take Okinawa

1945 : Following a long and bloody battle which started on April 1st and lasting nearly 3 months US troops take control of the Japanese island of Okinawa.


Born This Day In History 21st June

Celebrating Birthday Today

Benazir Bhutto

Born: June 21st, 1953, Karachi, Pakistan

Died: December 27th, 2007, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Known For : Benazir Bhutto attended school in Karachi, but went on to study political science at Harvard and politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford. She was president of the Oxford Debating Society and concluded her education in 1977. Her father was arrested in Pakistan in an accusation of murder, and she was placed under house arrest. After her father's hanging, and her own six years in jail she went back to England. She had become leader of the P.P.P. (the Pakistan People's Party) in 1982, and returned to Pakistan in 1987 with the intent of ending the country's prolonged period of martial law. She took control of the National Assemblies after the 1988 election, and was appointed Prime Minister on December 2nd, 1988. She went on to win a second election in 1993 (which resulted in a hung parliament). She was the first female leader of a Muslim country. After some successful political negotiations, which had included a visit to the United States, she was dismissed from office by Pakistan's president. She went into exile, living in the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Despite being banned from returning to Pakistan by General Musharraf, she wanted to take part in the 2007 election. She had numerous threats against her and was assassinated at a P.P.P. rally on December 27th. .

1942 Libya General Erwin Rommel

1942 : General Erwin Rommel takes control of British Allied garrison at Tobruk, Libya, taking more than 30,000 prisoners.


1963 France NATO Withdraw

1963 : The French navy is withdrawn from the North Atlantic fleet of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).


1963 Vatican Pope Paul VI

1963 : Pope Paul VI crowned the 262nd head of the Roman Catholic Church.


1977 Israel Menachem Begin

1977 : Menachem Begin a center-right politician for the Likud party became Israel's sixth prime minister. This is the first time the left had lost power in Israel. The center right politics (Likud party) in Israel believe in the creation and control of the "Greater Israel" which includes parts of the West Bank, the Golan Heights, and the Gaza Strip and the whole of Jerusalem. They also do not believe in Palestinian statehood.


1978 Northern Ireland Running Gun Battle

1978 : A running gun fight between British security forces and Provisional IRA at the Ballysillan post office depot in Belfast has left 4 dead including an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire.


1982 U.S.A. President Ronald Reagan

1982 : John W. Hinckley, Jr., who on March 30th, 1981, shot President Ronald Reagan and three others outside a Washington, D.C., hotel, was found not guilty of attempted murder by reason of insanity.


1982 Future King Of England Born

1982 : Diana, Princess of Wales, has given birth to a boy William (second in line to the throne after his father The Prince of Wales).


1989 U.S.A. Flag Burning

1989 : The United States Supreme Court ruled that flag burning as a form of political protest is an act of protected speech under the First Amendment to the Constitution.


1990 Iran Earthquake

1990 : An major earthquake measuring 7.7 magnitude near the Caspian Sea in Iran kills more than 50,000 and injures another 135,000 people.


2001 Pakistan General Pervez Musharraf Takes Power

2001 : Pakistan's military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, takes on the role of president and chief executive. Following his announcement the constitution and parliament were suspended two days after the announcement. This follows earlier decisions to ban opposition parties holding planned pro-democracy rallies.


2002 Spain ETA Steps Up It's Bombing Campaign

2002 : The Basque terrorist organisation ETA steps up its campaign of violence to support its aim of self-determination for the Basque country when it explodes two car bombs to coincide with the Seville summit meeting of EU Ministers.


2005 U.S.A. Edgar Ray Killen

2005 : Edgar Ray Killen, an 80-year-old former Ku Klux Klansman organizer was found guilty of three counts of manslaughter in the deaths of three civil rights workers in Philadelphia, Miss., in 1964 41 years to the day earlier. He is sentenced to 60 years in prison.


2005 New Zealand Rat Causes Telecom Problems

2005 : A communications problem occurred in New Zealand after a rat chewed through an important fiber optics cable shutting down the country's internet and mobile phone services for about five hours. The problems were exacerbated when a workman in another part of the country damaged another main cable by accident at the same time as the rat incident.


2006 Saddam Hussein's Lawyer Assassinated

2006 : One of Saddam Hussein's main defense attorneys, Khamis al-Obeidi, was found dead after being abducted and shot. Hussein was being tried in what many had described as an unfair trial process, especially for defense attorneys who had believed that they were not given the proper protection during the controversial affair.


2009 Greenland More Autonomy

2009 : Greenland the least densely populated country in the world (836,109 sq miles) population less than 60,000 an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, gains control over its law enforcement, judicial affairs, and natural resources.


2011 New US Defense Secretary Approved

2011 : Leon Panetta, head of the CIA, was confirmed by the US Senate to replace Robert Gates as the United States Defense Secretary. Gates announced his retirement earlier in the year and Panetta is set to replace him by July 31st. Panetta had previously been chief of staff to the Clinton administration in 1994 until 1997, and became head of the CIA in early 2009.


2012 United States Actor Richard Lynch Dies

2012 : Horror movie actor Richard Lynch, known for his scarred face, died at the age of seventy-six in Palm Springs, California. Lynch starred in movies like Scarecrow and Little Nikita and had guest roles on television shows like Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek: The Next Generation.


2013 Brazil Masses Join in Protest

2013 : Over one million people were reported to have joined protests in over one-hundred cities across Brazil. Protests had began over a week earlier over high transportation costs, the cost of the World Cup, and overall corruption. The demonstrations became violent in many of the locations.