On This Day: Key Historical Anniversaries

1966 – Vietnamese Buddhist activist leader Thích Trí Quang was arrested as the military junta of Nguyen Cao Ky crushed the Buddhist Uprising.

1978 – Charon, the first of Pluto's satellites to be discovered, was first seen at the United States Naval Observatory by James W. Christy.

1986 – The famous Hand of God goal, scored by Diego Maradona in the quarter-finals of the 1986 FIFA World Cup match between Argentina and England, ignites controversy. This was later followed by the Goal of the Century. Argentina wins 2–1 and later goes on to win the World Cup.

1990 – Cold War: Checkpoint Charlie is dismantled in Berlin.

Modern World

2000 – Wuhan Airlines Flight 343 is struck by lightning and crashes into Wuhan's Hanyang District, killing 49 people.

2002 – An earthquake measuring 6.5 Mw strikes a region of northwestern Iran killing at least 261 people and injuring 1,300 others and eventually causing widespread public anger due to the slow official response.

2012 – Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo is removed from office by impeachment and succeeded by Federico Franco.

2012 – A Turkish Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter plane is shot down by the Syrian Armed Forces, killing both of the plane's pilots and worsening already-strained relations between Turkey and Syria.

2015 – The Afghan National Assembly building is attacked by gunmen after a suicide bombing. All six of the gunmen are killed and 18 people are injured.

2022 – An earthquake occurs in eastern Afghanistan resulting in over 1,000 deaths.

Featured

1941 – World War II: Nazi Germany invades the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa.

1944 – World War II: Opening day of the Soviet Union's Operation Bagration against the Army Group Centre.

1945 – World War II: The Battle of Okinawa comes to an end.