June 26th has been an important day historically – with a number of historical landmarks taking place on this date. On June 26th 1284, 130 children in Hamelin were led out of town by a piper wearing multicolored (pied) clothes.
The children disappeared forever after passing the Calvary. Thanks to the works of the Brothers Grimm, Robert Browning and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the story has become a cornerstone of folklore.
1721: First small pox inoculations
On June 26, 1721, Boston faced a major public health crisis following the breakout of smallpox. On June 26th, doctor Zabdiel Boylston inoculated his son and two of his slaves against the disease.
Zabdiel would go on to inoculate between 180 and 250 Bostonians. However, he faced strong opposition for doing this; even having a hand grenade thrown into his home at one point.
1917: First US Troops Arrive in France
14,000 American soldiers began arriving at France’s St Nazaire port on June 26, 1917. Upon arriving, they were greeted enthusiastically by locals.
However, the troops proved ill-equipped and untrained for the realities of the war and were not ready for the task at hand.
1934: Federal Credit Union Act
90 years ago today, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the National Credit Union Act, allowing credit unions to organize under state/federal charter. The legislation also created the Bureau of Federal Credit Unions.
The Act led the idea of cooperative credit to take off. Today over 140 million Americans belong to a credit union.
1990: Nelson Mandela Addresses Congress
On June 26, 1990, anti-apartheid campaigner Nelson Mandela addressed the US congress and urged the States to maintain sanctions on South Africa.
In his address, Mandela said, “Let us keep our arms locked together so that we form a solid phalanx against racism, to ensure that that day comes now! By our common actions, let us ensure that justice triumphs without delay.”
1993: US Launches Missile Attack
On this day in 1993, President Bill Clinton launched a cruise missile attack against the Baghdad intelligence HQ following a failed assassination attempt against former President George H. W. Bush in Kuwait.
The Tomahawk cruise missiles launched by the US Navy hit the targeted building in the Mansour district of Baghdad. Iraq claimed that nine civilians were killed in the attack.
1997: Harry Potter Published
27 years ago today, the first book in J.K. Rowling’s best-selling Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, was published.
The book series would become a worldwide sensation and span a successful film franchise starring Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson.
2015: Supreme Court Legalizes Gay Marriage
9 years ago today, the US Supreme Court ruled by a 5-to-4 vote to legalize same-sex marriage across the States; ensuring “equal dignity in the eyes of the law” for all across the country.
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote, “No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were.”
2018: Polio Vaccines in Papua New Guinea
In June 2018, a polio outbreak was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Papua New Guinea, 18 years after it was last declared free of the disease.
The 2018 outbreak led to a little over two dozen paralytic cases and saw eight vaccination campaign rounds in response.
2018: Supreme Court Upholds Trump Travel Ban
After facing successive legal hurdles, the Supreme Court upheld then-President Trump’s controversial travel ban on June 26th 2018.
The 5-4 decision earned a strong condemnation from Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who compared the decision to the 1944 decision, _Korematsu v United States_, that endorsed the detention of Japanese Americans during the second World War.
