12 History Lessons + 5 Births & 6 Deaths for June 29, 2025
Today’s History:
- 512 – A solar eclipse is recorded by a Byzantine chronicler, one of the earliest scientific descriptions of the phenomenon.
- 1613 – The Globe Theatre in London burns down during a performance of Shakespeare’s Henry VIII.
- 1767 – The British Parliament passes the Townshend Acts, imposing duties on American colonies and escalating tensions that lead to revolution.
- 1850 – Coal is discovered in New Zealand at Grey River, sparking industrial development.
- 1880 – France annexes Tahiti and declares it a French colony.
- 1927 – The first test of color television is successfully demonstrated in London.
- 1956 – The Federal-Aid Highway Act is signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, launching the U.S. Interstate Highway System.
- 1972 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Furman v. Georgia that the death penalty, as applied, is unconstitutional.
- 1995 – Space Shuttle Atlantis docks with the Russian space station Mir for the first time.
- 2006 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld that military commissions set up by the Bush administration to try detainees at Guantanamo Bay violate U.S. and international law.
- 2007 – Apple releases the first-generation iPhone in the United States.
- 2014 – ISIS declares a caliphate in territories it controls in Iraq and Syria.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1944 – Gary Busey, American actor (The Buddy Holly Story) (81)
- 1953 – Colin Hay, Scottish-Australian musician and lead singer of Men at Work (72)
- 1968 – Judith Hoag, actress known for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (57)
- 1978 – Nicole Scherzinger, singer and former lead of The Pussycat Dolls (47)
- 1980 – Katherine Jenkins, Welsh classical-crossover singer (45)
Today’s Deaths:
- 1509 – Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII of England and key figure in the Wars of the Roses (Age 66)
- 1940 – Paul Klee, Swiss-German modernist painter (Age 60)
- 1967 – Jayne Mansfield, Hollywood actress and sex symbol of the 1950s (Age 34)
- 1978 – Bob Crane, actor best known for Hogan’s Heroes (Age 49)
- 1992 – Mohamed Boudiaf, Algerian president assassinated while in office (Age 73)
- 2015 – Jack Carter, comedian and actor known for early TV work (Age 93)
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