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HISTORY & TIMELINE
18 June

A journey through
18 June in history

The story of 18 June runs from Joan of Arc’s victory at Patay in 1429 to the signing of a nuclear arms treaty in Vienna in 1979. In between come a young republic declaring war on Britain, the last battle of Napoleon, the premiere of the first great German Romantic opera, a shipload of emigrants docking at Santos, a new university for the Philippines, a flight that made Amelia Earhart famous, a broadcast from London that launched the Free French, the end of Egypt’s monarchy, a European football title and an American woman riding a shuttle into space.

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JUMP THROUGH TIME
II
THE MIDDLE AGES

Medieval History

Kingdoms, conflict, faith, power and the changing medieval world.

1429
The Battle of Patay in a French manuscript painting of about 1470-1479The Battle of Patay in a French manuscript painting of about 1470-1479Image: Attributed to Philippe de Mazerolles · Public domain
world · Europe

Joan of Arc’s army routs the English at Patay

After relieving the siege of Orléans in May 1429, the French army inspired by Joan of Arc cleared the English from the towns of the Loire. On 18 June 1429 French horsemen caught the retreating English near Patay before their archers could set up their defences, and the English army was routed, its commander John Talbot taken prisoner. The victory broke England’s reputation for invincibility and opened the road to Reims, where the dauphin was crowned Charles VII a month later.

Source: Britannica: Battle of Patay ↗
IV
THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

The 1800s

Industry, empire, invention, reform and a century of enormous transformation.

1812
The act of Congress declaring war on the United Kingdom, signed by President James Madison in June 1812The act of Congress declaring war on the United Kingdom, signed by President James Madison in June 1812Image: US · Public domain
world · Americas

The United States declares war on Britain

While Britain fought Napoleon, it tried to cut off France’s trade and stopped American merchant ships at sea, often seizing sailors and forcing them to serve in the Royal Navy. Americans also blamed Britain for encouraging Native American resistance on the north-western frontier. On 1 June 1812 President James Madison sent Congress a message listing these grievances and asking it to consider war. The House of Representatives voted for war, and on 17 June the Senate followed by 19 votes to 13. Madison signed the act on 18 June 1812, the first declaration of war under the Constitution. The War of 1812 brought American invasions of Canada, the burning of Washington in 1814 and a US victory at New Orleans, and ended in a peace treaty that left the borders unchanged.

Source: US National Archives: 1812, Congress’s first declaration of war ↗
1815
The Battle of Waterloo, 18 June 1815, painted by Clément-Auguste Andrieux in 1852The Battle of Waterloo, 18 June 1815, painted by Clément-Auguste Andrieux in 1852Image: Clément-Auguste Andrieux · Public domain
world · Europe

Napoleon is defeated at Waterloo

Napoleon had escaped from exile on Elba in February 1815 and retaken power in France. Europe’s powers declared him an outlaw and gathered their armies, and he struck first, marching into what is now Belgium to beat the British-led allied army under the Duke of Wellington and the Prussians under Gebhard von Blücher before they could join forces. On 16 June he defeated the Prussians at Ligny while Marshal Ney held Wellington at Quatre-Bras, but neither enemy was destroyed. On 18 June 1815, near the village of Waterloo south of Brussels, Napoleon attacked Wellington’s army along a ridge at Mont-Saint-Jean. He delayed his assault until midday to let the ground dry after heavy rain, and the time allowed Blücher’s Prussians to march to Wellington’s aid. Repeated French attacks, including massed cavalry charges and a final advance by the Imperial Guard, failed to break the allied line, and as the Prussians pressed on the French flank the French army collapsed. Napoleon abdicated four days later and was exiled to Saint Helena, where he died in 1821.

Source: Britannica: Battle of Waterloo ↗
1821
Set design for the finale of Act 3 of Der Freischütz, as staged at the Berlin premiere in 1821Set design for the finale of Act 3 of Der Freischütz, as staged at the Berlin premiere in 1821Image: Carl Wilhelm Gropius (1793–1870), designer · Public domain
world · Europe

Weber’s Der Freischütz opens in Berlin

Carl Maria von Weber based his opera Der Freischütz, ‘The Marksman’, on a German folk tale. A young forester, Max, must win a shooting contest to marry Agathe, and in despair he is tempted into casting magic bullets with the help of the devilish huntsman Samiel, in a midnight scene set in the haunted Wolf’s Glen. The opera had its first performance at the new Schauspielhaus in Berlin on 18 June 1821, with Weber conducting. It was an immediate triumph: the overture and a song had to be repeated, and the work was soon staged across Europe. With its forests, hunting horns, folk-like tunes and supernatural terror, Der Freischütz became the model for German Romantic opera and a strong influence on Richard Wagner.

Source: Britannica: Der Freischütz ↗
V
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

The 1900s

War and peace, technological leaps, social change, politics, sport and popular culture.

1908
A handwritten page of the passenger list of the Kasato Maru, drawn up at Santos for the Pacific Steam Navigation Company, listing Japanese passengers by nameA handwritten page of the passenger list of the Kasato Maru, drawn up at Santos for the Pacific Steam Navigation Company, listing Japanese passengers by nameImage: Pacific Steam Navigation Company · Public domain
world · Americas

The first Japanese emigrants arrive in Brazil

In the early 1900s Brazil’s coffee plantations in São Paulo state were short of labour, while in Japan a growing population and hard times in the countryside pushed many families to look abroad. After the two governments reached agreement, a company was engaged to recruit contract workers in Japan to work on the coffee farms. The ship Kasato Maru sailed from Kobe and, after a voyage of about 50 days, docked at the port of Santos on 18 June 1908 with 781 contracted emigrants on board. Conditions on the plantations proved hard and many of the first arrivals soon moved on, but more ships followed. Brazil now has the largest population of Japanese descent outside Japan, and 18 June is marked in Brazil as the Day of Japanese Immigration.

Source: National Diet Library of Japan: The ship Kasato-maru ↗
1908
The Oblation statue by Guillermo Tolentino at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, seen against the setting sunThe Oblation statue by Guillermo Tolentino at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, seen against the setting sunImage: Ramon FVelasquez · CC BY-SA 3.0
world · Asia

The University of the Philippines is founded

On 18 June 1908 the Philippine legislature, then under American rule, passed Act No. 1870, creating the University of the Philippines to give advanced teaching in the arts and sciences and professional training in fields such as medicine, law and engineering. It began in Manila and grew into the country’s national university, with campuses across the islands; its symbol is the Oblation, a statue by Guillermo Tolentino.

Source: Official Gazette of the Philippines: Act No. 1870 ↗
1928
Amelia Earhart, photographed in front of an aircraftAmelia Earhart, photographed in front of an aircraftImage: Underwood & Underwood (active 1880 – c. 1950)[1] · Public domain
world · Europe

Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly the Atlantic

Amelia Earhart was a little-known social worker and pilot when she was chosen to join the crew of the seaplane Friendship, flown by Wilmer Stultz with Louis Gordon as mechanic. They left Trepassey in Newfoundland on 17 June 1928 and, after about 21 hours, came down at Burry Port in Wales on 18 June. Earhart was only a passenger, but she became the first woman to cross the Atlantic by air and an instant celebrity.

Source: Purdue University Libraries: Amelia Earhart biographical sketch ↗
1940
General Charles de Gaulle at a BBC microphone in London, photographed in October 1941General Charles de Gaulle at a BBC microphone in London, photographed in October 1941Image: Unknown author (BBC) · Public domain
world · Europe

De Gaulle calls on France to fight on

In June 1940 German armies broke through in northern France and advanced on Paris. Charles de Gaulle, a tank commander recently made a junior minister, opposed any surrender. When Marshal Philippe Pétain became head of government and announced on 17 June that France must seek an armistice, de Gaulle flew to London the same morning, determined to continue the war from abroad. With Winston Churchill’s permission, he spoke on the BBC’s French service on the evening of 18 June 1940. France had lost a battle, he said, but not the war, and he invited French officers, soldiers and engineers who were in Britain, or could reach it, to get in touch with him. Few in France heard the broadcast, and no recording of it was made, but it became the founding act of the Free French movement. De Gaulle went on to lead the Free French through the war and returned to Paris at its liberation in 1944.

Source: Fondation Charles de Gaulle: The appeal of 18 June ↗
1953
Muhammad Naguib, Egypt's first president, in 1953Muhammad Naguib, Egypt’s first president, in 1953Image: Unknown author · Public domain
politics · Africa

Egypt abolishes its monarchy and becomes a republic

On 23 July 1952 a group of army officers calling themselves the Free Officers seized power in Cairo. They forced King Farouk to abdicate in favour of his infant son and sent him into exile. The popular General Muhammad Naguib became the public face of the new regime, while real influence lay increasingly with the younger officers of the Revolutionary Command Council, led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. On 18 June 1953 the council formally abolished the monarchy, ending the rule of the dynasty founded by Muhammad Ali in the early 19th century, and declared Egypt a republic with Naguib as its first president. His time in office was short. A power struggle with Nasser followed, and in November 1954 Naguib was removed and placed under house arrest, leaving Nasser as Egypt’s leader.

Source: Britannica: Egypt, the revolution and the republic ↗
1972
The stadium in Brussels, then called the Heysel, where the 1972 European Championship final was played (photographed in 2013)The stadium in Brussels, then called the Heysel, where the 1972 European Championship final was played (photographed in 2013)Image: Joni-Fuego · CC BY-SA 3.0
sport · Europe

West Germany win their first European Championship

West Germany arrived at the 1972 European Championship finals in Belgium with a gifted side built around the defender Franz Beckenbauer, the playmaker Günter Netzer and the prolific striker Gerd Müller. On the way they had knocked out England at Wembley, and they beat the hosts Belgium in the semi-final. In the final at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels on 18 June 1972 they met the Soviet Union, the first winners of the tournament in 1960. Müller scored twice and Herbert Wimmer once as West Germany won 3-0, with a fluid, attacking style that is often remembered as one of the best displays by any German team. It was the country’s first European title, and two years later most of the same players won the World Cup.

Source: UEFA: West Germany 3-0 USSR, EURO 1972 final ↗
1979
Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev sign the SALT II treaty in Vienna, 18 June 1979Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev sign the SALT II treaty in Vienna, 18 June 1979Image: Photo Credit: Bill Fitz-Patrick · Public domain
world · Global

Carter and Brezhnev sign the SALT II treaty

After almost seven years of talks, President Jimmy Carter and the Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed the second Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty in the Hofburg palace in Vienna on 18 June 1979. It set equal limits on each side’s long-range missiles and bombers. The US Senate never ratified it, and Carter withdrew it after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, though both sides said they would keep to its terms for some years.

Source: US Office of the Historian: SALT I and II ↗
1983
The space shuttle Challenger lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center on the STS-7 mission, 18 June 1983The space shuttle Challenger lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center on the STS-7 mission, 18 June 1983Image: NASA image · Public domain
world · Americas

Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space

In 1978 NASA chose its first astronaut group to include women, and among the six selected was Sally Ride, a physicist from California. She helped develop the shuttle’s robotic arm and served as a capsule communicator on earlier flights before being assigned to the seventh shuttle mission. On 18 June 1983 the shuttle Challenger lifted off from Florida with Ride and four crewmates, the first five-person crew to fly into space. During the six-day mission she used the robotic arm to release a German research satellite and later to capture it again, the first time the shuttle recovered a satellite in orbit. The flight came twenty years after the Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova had become the first woman in space.

Source: NASA: 40 years ago, STS-7 and the flight of Sally Ride ↗
RESEARCH

Sources & Further Reading

Selected authoritative references supporting the events on this page.

WHY THESE MOMENTS?

Significance before volume

This page is not the longest possible list of events. It is a chronological journey through 18 June, where each entry is chosen for historical significance, human interest and reliability.

Facts are checked against authoritative museums, archives, universities and reference works. Where sources disagree, the page says so.

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