Thursday, June 18th, 2020
The Oriel College governing body votes to remove a 109-year-old statue of Cecil Rhodes from the college grounds amid anti-racism protests. Campaigners say the statue is a symbol of racism and British imperialism. (BBC)
Paulinho Paiakan, leader of the indigenous Kayapo tribe, dies after being hospitalized with COVID-19 in Redenção, Brazil. (France 24)
Norway and Ireland win seats in the United Nations Security Council, joining new members India and Mexico. Canada, which was considered a favorite, and had strongly campaigned for a seat for four years on the council, fails to get enough votes. Canadian Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champagne says he is proud of the campaign but declines to comment on the reasons for their loss. (AP)
Former Atlanta Police officer Garrett Rolfe is charged with murder and 10 other crimes in the death of Rayshard Brooks, who he shot twice in the back after he fled from an attempted DUI arrest after stealing his partner’s taser and firing it. His partner officer, Devin Brosnan, has been charged with aggravated assault and two other crimes in the case. (NPR)
The End
1429 – French forces under the leadership of Joan of Arc defeat the main English army under Sir John Fastolf at the Battle of Patay. This turns the tide of the Hundred Years’ War.
1684 – The charter of the Massachusetts Bay Colony is revoked via a scire facias writ issued by an English court.
1757 – Battle of Kolín between Prussian forces under Frederick the Great and an Austrian army under the command of Field Marshal Count Leopold Joseph von Daun in the Seven Years’ War.
1778 – American Revolutionary War: British troops abandon Philadelphia.
1812 – The United States declaration of war upon the United Kingdom is signed by President James Madison, beginning the War of 1812.
1815 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Waterloo results in the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte by the Duke of Wellington and Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher forcing him to abdicate the throne of France for the second and last time.
1858 – Charles Darwin receives a paper from Alfred Russel Wallace that includes nearly identical conclusions about evolution as Darwin’s own, prompting Darwin to publish his theory.
1873 – Susan B. Anthony is fined $100 for attempting to vote in the 1872 presidential election.
1940 – The “Finest Hour” speech is delivered by Winston Churchill.
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