On This Day in History: June 24

In British history today, King Henry VIII and his wife Catherine of Aragon were crowned King and Queen of England. Here’s a look at the events and birthdays from June 24 throughout history.

1509: Coronation of King Henry VIII of England and Catherine of Aragon

Just weeks after his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, the two were crowned King and Queen Consort of England at Westminster Abbey. The date was strategically chosen, as it was Midsummer’s Day and St. John the Baptist’s feast day. The royal couple proceeded from the Palace of Westminster to the Abbey, where William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury waited for them. They returned to Westminster Hall for a feast, which was opened with trumpets and fanfare. Two days of feasting and jousting followed the lavish event, making it clear that Henry was not the frugal king his father was.

1812: Napoleon Invades Russia

After his Continental System was rejected by Tsar Alexander I, Napoleon Bonaparte decided it was time for an invasion of Russia. The Grande Armee was the largest ever assembled in Europe to that date, with around half a million people across the French Empire involved. The Russian Army kept retreating and burning supplies to the ground, rather than engaging Napoleon’s army. The decision to attack on this day in history led to an invasion that would continue into September, when the Battle of Borodino took place and Napoleon made it into Moscow–where all the people had been evacuated. The quarters intended for the Grande Armee had been burned, and Napoleon had to get his starving troops out of Moscow before the harsh winter. It wouldn’t be until December that the army made it out of Russia, with a loss of 400,000 men.

1966: Auto Safety Bill Passed by the Senate

Today in American history, all 76 members of the U.S. Senate passed the National Traffic & Motor Vehicle Safety Act. It was a landmark auto safety bill, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson just over a year later. The bill created the first federal safety standards for all vehicles. The bill took just five hours to pass after reaching the Senate floor, and President Johnson urged the House to follow suit. It was the first time that the Americans took the death and destruction on the national highways seriously, which had claimed 50,000 lives just in 1965.

Famous Birthdays on June 24

Hendrik I, the Child, 1st count of Hessen–1244

Jeanne de Valois, Queen of Navarre–1343

Saint Giovanni da Capistrano–1386

Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester–1533

Composer Jean Baptiste Rochefort–1746

Founder of Fordham University in the Bronx, John Hughes–1797

Writer Ambrose Bierce–1842

British Secretary of War Horatio Kitchener–1850

Roy O. Disney, co-founder of the Walt Disney Compan–1893

Racing driver Juan Manuel Fangio–1911

Hollywood Undead band mamber George “Johnny 3 Tears” Ragan–1981

Singer Solange Knowles–1986

Soccer player Lionel Messi–1987

The Flash actress Candice Patton–1988

Sources:

Featured Image from Deposit Photos

Birthdays from OnThisDay.com and FamousBirthdays.com

King Henry VIII: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_VIII_of_England#/media/File:1491_Henry_VIII.jpg

Moscow Fire: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon#/media/File:Napoleon_Moscow_Fire.JPG