Events on June 24 57
Year 109
Roman emperor Trajan inaugurates the Aqua Traiana, an aqueduct that channels water from Lake Bracciano, 40 kilometres (25 miles) north-west of Rome.
Year 474
Julius Nepos forces Roman usurper Glycerius to abdicate the throne and proclaims himself Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
Year 637
The Battle of Moira is fought between the High King of Ireland and the Kings of Ulster and Dál Riata. It is claimed to be the largest battle in the history of Ireland.
Year 1128
Battle of São Mamede, near Guimarães: Forces led by Afonso I defeat forces led by his mother Teresa of León and her lover Fernando Pérez de Traba.
Year 1314
First War of Scottish Independence: The Battle of Bannockburn concludes with a decisive victory by Scottish forces led by Robert the Bruce.
Year 1340
Hundred Years' War: Battle of Sluys: The French fleet is almost completely destroyed by the English fleet commanded in person by King Edward III.
Year 1374
A sudden outbreak of St. John's Dance causes people in the streets of Aachen, Germany, to experience hallucinations and begin to jump and twitch uncontrollably until they collapse from exhaustion.
Year 1497
John Cabot lands in North America at Newfoundland leading the first European exploration of the region since the Vikings.
Year 1571
Miguel López de Legazpi founds Manila, the capital of the Republic of the Philippines.
Year 1597
The first Dutch voyage to the East Indies reaches Banten, Java.[citation needed]
Year 1604
Samuel de Champlain discovers the mouth of the Saint John River, site of Reversing Falls and the present day city of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.
Year 1717
The Premier Grand Lodge of England, the first Masonic Grand Lodge in the world (now the United Grand Lodge of England), is founded in London.
Year 1762
Battle of Wilhelmsthal: The British-Hanoverian army of Ferdinand of Brunswick defeats French forces in Westphalia.
Year 1812
Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon's Grande Armée crosses the Neman river beginning the invasion of Russia.
Year 1813
Battle of Beaver Dams: A British and Indian combined force defeats the United States Army.
Year 1821
The Battle of Carabobo takes place. It is the decisive battle in the war of independence of Venezuela from Spain.
Year 1859
Battle of Solferino (Battle of the Three Sovereigns): Sardinia and France defeat Austria in Solferino, northern Italy.
Year 1866
Battle of Custoza: An Austrian army defeats the Italian army during the Austro-Prussian War.
Year 1880
First performance of O Canada, the song that would become the national anthem of Canada, at the Congrès national des Canadiens-Français.
Year 1902
King Edward VII of the United Kingdom develops appendicitis, delaying his coronation.
Year 1916
Mary Pickford becomes the first female film star to sign a million-dollar contract.
Year 1922
The American Professional Football Association is renamed the National Football League.
Year 1932
A bloodless revolution instigated by the People's Party ends the absolute power of King Prajadhipok of Siam (now Thailand).
Year 1938
Pieces of a meteorite, estimated to have weighed 450 metric tons when it hit the Earth's atmosphere and exploded, land near Chicora, Pennsylvania.
Year 1939
Siam is renamed Thailand by Plaek Phibunsongkhram, the country's third prime minister.
Year 1940
World War II: Operation Collar, the first British Commando raid on occupied France, by No 11 Independent Company.
Year 1943
US military police attempt to arrest a black soldier in Bamber Bridge, England, sparking the Battle of Bamber Bridge mutiny that leaves one dead and seven wounded.
Year 1947
Kenneth Arnold makes the first widely reported UFO sighting near Mount Rainier, Washington.
Year 1948
Start of the Berlin Blockade: The Soviet Union makes overland travel between West Germany and West Berlin impossible.
Year 1949
The first television western, Hopalong Cassidy, is aired on NBC starring William Boyd.
Year 1950
Apartheid: In South Africa, the Group Areas Act formally segregating races is passed.
Year 1954
First Indochina War: Battle of Mang Yang Pass: Viet Minh troops belonging to the 803rd Regiment ambush G.M. 100 of France in An Khê.
Year 1957
In Roth v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment.
Year 1973
The UpStairs Lounge arson attack takes place at a gay bar located on the second floor of the three-story building at 141 Chartres Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Thirty-two people die as a result of fire or smoke inhalation.
Year 1981
The Humber Bridge opens to traffic, connecting Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. It would be the world's longest bridge span for 17 years.
Year 1982
"The Jakarta Incident": British Airways Flight 9 flies into a cloud of volcanic ash thrown up by the eruption of Mount Galunggung, resulting in the failure of all four engines.
Year 1989
Jiang Zemin succeeds Zhao Ziyang to become the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
Year 1995
"Rugby World Cup final": South Africa defeats New Zealand, Nelson Mandela presents Francois Pienaar with the Webb-Ellis trophy in an iconic post-apartheid moment.
Year 2002
The Igandu train disaster in Tanzania kills 281, the worst train accident in African history.
Year 2010
John Isner of the United States defeats Nicolas Mahut of France at Wimbledon, in the longest match in professional tennis history.
Year 2012
Lonesome George, the last known individual of Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii, a subspecies of the Galápagos tortoise, dies.
Year 2013
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is found guilty of abusing his power and having sex with an underage prostitute, and is sentenced to seven years in prison.
Year ?
The Romans, led by Gaius Flaminius, are ambushed and defeated by Hannibal at the Battle of Lake Trasimene.