#TodayInHistory – June 14

3 min read

June 14 – Some important events on this day.

1276 👉🏼 While taking exile in Fuzhou, southern China, from advancing Mongol invaders, remnants of the Song Dynasty court hold coronation ceremony for young prince Zhao Shi, making him Emperor Duanzong of Song
1381 👉🏼 Richard II in England meets leaders of the Peasants’ Revolt on Blackheath. The Tower of London is stormed by rebels who enter without resistance.
1645 👉🏼 Battle of Naseby, Leicestershire: “New Model Army” under Oliver Cromwell & Thomas Fairfax beat royalists forces of English King Charles I
1777 👉🏼 US Continental Congress adopts the Stars & Stripes flag, designed by Francis Hopkinson, replacing the Grand Union flag 🇺🇸

1789 👉🏼 Captain William Bligh and his loyal men cast off from HMS Bounty reach Timor, after sailing 5,800 km in a 6-metre launch.
One of the most remarkable stories in maritime history began on April 28, 1789, when rebellious mutineer Fletcher Christian and his supporters seized control of the HMS Bounty from its Lieutenant, William Bligh. Tensions between the two men had increased over the period of the Bounty’s mission, which was to transport breadfruit plants from Tahiti to the West Indies. Bligh was considered an exceptionally harsh taskmaster with a penchant for cruel punishments by many of his men.
When the men arrived in Tahiti, there was a five-month layover, after which they became less willing to accept Bligh’s discipline onboard the ship. Christian was a particular target for Bligh, who became increasingly angry and mutinous as the journey continued. Three weeks after the Tahiti layover, Christian acted, and he forced Bligh and most of his loyalists off the ship on April 28, 1789.
Bligh an 18 other men landed on the island of Tofua. He then proceeded west on a 6,500 km journey to Kupang to await a ship to Europe. He would arrive back in England in April 1790. The mutineers themselves had split; some had decided to stay in Tahiti, while Christian and others settled on Pitcairn Island. The British Admiralty dispatched the HMS Pandora to bring the mutineers to justice; fourteen were captured in Tahiti, Christian and his group were not discovered until an American ship found them in 1808, by which time John Adams was the only surviving member of the mutineers.
Ten detainees made it back to England after the Pandora ran aground, with the loss of 31 crew members. Four were acquitted, three pardoned and three were hanged. Descendants of the mutineers live on Pitcairn Island to this day.

1797 👉🏼 Napoleon forms Ligurian Republic
1821 👉🏼 Badi VII, king of Sennar, surrenders his throne and realm to Ismail Pasha, general of the Ottoman Empire, bringing the 300 year old Sudanese kingdom to an end.
1841 👉🏼 1st Canadian parliament opens in Kingston, Ontario 🇨🇦
1940 👉🏼 Auschwitz concentration camp opens in Nazi controlled Poland with Polish POWs (approx. 3 million would die within its walls)
1941 👉🏼 Estonia loses 11,000 inhabitants as a consequence of mass deportations into Siberia
1942 👉🏼 1st bazooka rocket gun produced (Bridgeport, Connecticut)

1982 👉🏼 Argentina surrenders to Great Britain, ending the 74-day Falklands Islands conflict.
For many Argentinians, and indeed some Britons, the thought that the UK would be able to recapture the Falklands Islands from Argentina during the 1982 war was far-fetched. After all, the small South Atlantic outpost lay thousands of miles from the British homeland.
But victory was not to be for the Argentine junta. After 74 days of bitter war the British Army recaptured Port Stanley, and on 14 June 1982, the Argentinians surrendered. There were almost 12,000 POWs in the Falklands.
Margaret Thatcher’s government was bolstered by the victory and was handily re-elected in 1983. The Argentine military junta, on the other hand, collapsed as the shock of the loss set in.