30 newsworthy historical anniversaries in June 2026

Here are 30 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries in June 2026 (listed six months in advance so you have time to write about them)

Historical anniversaries are great for ‘On This Day in History’ features, articles, biographies and other anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with newspaper and magazine readers and radio stations, and editors, producers and presenters love them. They’re easy to research too. You can also turn them into movies, documentaries, novels, use them to plan events and exhibitions, and much more. (Find out more at the end of this article.)

We’ve randomly selected an anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2026, which lists more than 3,600 anniversaries. The Date-A-Base Book 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 are also available.

Each edition is available in British and U.S. versions. Both have the same content, but with different date formats and spellings. If you click on the links above, you should be directed to the correct version, based on your location. We’ve taken the anniversaries below from the British version.

1 Jun 1926 – 100 years ago
Birth of Marilyn Monroe, American film actress, model, singer and sex symbol (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire, There’s No Business Like Show Business, The Seven Year Itch, Bus Stop, Some Like It Hot, The Misfits). (Died 1962.)

2 Jun 1966 – 60 years ago
NASA’s space probe Surveyor 1 landed on the Moon to collect data for the Apollo programme. It was the first U.S. craft to soft-land on another extraterrestrial body. (The Soviet Union’s Luna 9 achieved this four months earlier, on 3^rd February.)

3 Jun 1956 – 70 years ago
British Rail renamed its Third Class service as Second Class. Second Class had been abolished in 1875, leaving First Class and Third Class. Second Class was renamed Standard Class in 1987.

4 Jun 1966 – 60 years ago
American singer Janis Joplin joined the psychedelic rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company. Her first live performance with them was on 10^th June at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco, California.

5 Jun 1986 – 40 years ago
Excedrin deaths in the USA. Bruce Nickell from Auburn, Washington collapsed and died after taking four extra-strength Excedrin capsules. On 11^th June, local bank manager Sue Snow died after taking two capsules. Investigations found they had both died from cyanide poisoning, and the product was withdrawn from sale. After further investigations, Stella Nickell, Bruce’s wife, was arrested. She was convicted of five counts of product tampering in May 1988, and was sentenced to 90 years in prison.

6 Jun 1946 – 80 years ago
The National Basketball Association (NBA) was founded in the USA (as the Basketball Association of America).

7 Jun 1951 – 75 years ago
The American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) and International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT) signed a cross-licensing patent agreement. This led to the standardisation of the U.S. telephone industry, with interchangeable telephone hardware being used throughout the country.

8 Jun 1876 – 150 years ago
Death of George Sand, French novelist. One of the most popular writers in Europe during her lifetime.

9 Jun 1946 – 80 years ago
Death of Rama VIII (also known as Ananda Mahidol), King of Siam/Thailand (1935–46).
(Shot dead in his bedroom – probably murdered.) Succeeded by Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX).

10 Jun 1901 – 125 years ago
Birth of Frederick Loewe, German-born American composer. Best known for his collaborations with the lyricist Alan Jay Lerner on Broadway musicals including Brigadoon, Paint Your Wagon, My Fair Lady and Camelot.

11 Jun 1776 – 250 years ago
Birth of John Constable, British landscape artist.

12 Jun 1986 – 40 years ago
South Africa declared a national state of emergency following a wave of social and political unrest. News coverage was restricted, filming was banned in areas where there was unrest, security forces were given almost unlimited power, curfews were imposed and some gatherings were banned.

13 Jun 1966 – 60 years ago
In a landmark case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that police must inform suspects of their constitutional rights (commonly known as the Miranda rights) before questioning them. (Miranda v. Arizona.)

14 Jun 1951 – 75 years ago
UNIVAC I, the first commercial computer built in the USA for business/administrative use (rather than scientific/military use) was officially dedicated at the U.S. Census Bureau.

15 to 18 Jun 1966 – 60 years ago
The world’s first hovercraft show (hovershow) was held at Browndown near Gosport in Hampshire, UK. The show was intended to promote export sales of hovercraft. On the first day of the show the Ministry of Defence announced that they had placed a £1 million order.

16 Jun 1966 – 60 years ago
The Black Power movement was established in the USA by civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael. It operated until the 1980s.

17 Jun 1946 – 80 years ago
The first mobile phone service in the USA was inaugurated in St. Louis, Missouri. SW Bell’s service used radio telephones installed in cars, allowing them to connect to the landline network. The equipment weighed around 80 pounds (36 kg).

18 Jun 1901 – 125 years ago
Birth of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia. Youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II.
(Killed by Bolsheviks in 1918, aged 17, along with the rest of her family.)

19 Jun 1926 – 100 years ago
NBC, the American radio and television network, was founded.
It launched its radio service on 15^th November 1926 and its television service in 1939.

20 Jun 2006 – 20 years ago
The Blu-ray high-definition digital video disc system was launched worldwide, beginning a format war with the rival HD DVD system. Blu-ray won the war, and the HD DVD format was discontinued in March 2008.

21 Jun 1961 – 65 years ago
The first full-scale seawater desalination plant in the USA was officially opened in Freeport, Texas by U.S. President John F. Kennedy. The plant actually began producing fresh water on 8^th May.

22 Jun 1276 – 750 years ago
Death of Pope Innocent V (January – June 1276).
Succeeded by Adrian V on 11th July (but he also died a month later).

23 Jun 1926 – 100 years ago
The first SATs (Scholastic Aptitude Tests) were administered by the College Board in the USA. More than 8,000 students sat the test at over 300 test centres.

24 Jun 1901 – 125 years ago
Spanish artist Pablo Picasso held his first major solo exhibition, in Paris, France. He was 19 years old.

25 to 26 Jun 1876 – 150 years ago
Custer’s Last Stand.
The Great Sioux War of 1876 – the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Lakota/Northern Cheyenne/Arapaho victory.
The commander of the U.S. Army’s 7^th Cavalry, George Armstrong Custer, and 267 of his cavalrymen and scouts were killed.

26 Jun 1976 – 50 years ago
The CN Tower in Toronto, Canada opened to the public. (The official opening was on 1^st October.)
It was the world’s tallest free-standing building until it was surpassed by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2010.

27 Jun to Nov 1976 – 50 years ago
The first known outbreak of the Ebola virus occurred in Sudan (now South Sudan).
The first known victim was a storekeeper at a cotton factory in Nzaram, who died on 6^th July. 284 people became infected in the first outbreak, and 151 died. A second outbreak occurred in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) in August.

28 Jun 1926 – 100 years ago
Mercedes-Benz, the German luxury and commercial vehicle manufacturer, was founded when the Benz and Daimler companies merged.

29 Jun 1956 – 70 years ago
The Federal Aid Highway Act came into effect in the USA. It authorised the construction of the Interstate Highway System – the largest public works project in U.S. history at that time. Construction was meant to take 10 to 12 years but it actually took 35 years. The system was declared complete in October 1992.

30 Jun 2006 – 20 years ago
The USA removed Libya from its list of terrorist states.

More anniversaries:

You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2026.

The 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 editions are also available if you work further ahead.

Each edition is available as a PDF ebook (with a free Excel spreadsheet) or as a printed paperback book, in British or U.S. versions.

How to use the anniversaries:

How can you turn the anniversaries listed here and in The Date-A-Base Books into articles for magazines, newspapers and websites? How do you get paid for writing them, and how can you make a great living from it?

Download our free guide Ditch Your Day Job. It tells you everything you need to know!