June 24: Facts & Historical Events On This Day

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange walked free after a 14-year legal battle.

After creating WikiLeaks in 2010 and releasing classified US military documents, Assange faced 14 years of legal challenges and imprisonment. He spent the last five years in a high-profile London prison and was ultimately released after pleading guilty in a US court.

The US supreme court officially overturned women’s constitutional right to abortion.

Roe v. Wade stemmed from a legal case in 1973. Later, this case became a constitutional right for women to have abortions. The decision was met with backlash from several communities stating privacy and health concerns.

Pakistan International Airlines grounded 150 of its pilots after discovering their licenses were fake.

An internal investigation into Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) began after a horrific plane crash that claimed 97 lives was found to be caused by pilot error.

The Women’s International Soccer team played at a world record altitude of 18,999 ft at Kilimanjaro.

British Prime Minister David Cameron resigned after failing to prevent Brexit.

David Cameron was instrumental in bringing about the Brexit referendum. He intended to have the Brexit vote fail to silence the Eurosceptics in the Tory party. As a staunch Remain voter, Cameron resigned as he felt the country needed new leadership to handle Brexit.

The longest tennis match in history took place.

The match was between American player John Isner and French player Nicolas Mahut in Wimbledon. It lasted an incredible 11 hours and 5 minutes over three days.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest premiered at Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, California.

The movie had a budget of $225 million but amassed $1.066 billion at the Box Office.

The USA’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration launched the NOAA-17 satellite.

NOAA-17, a polar-orbiting weather satellite, was launched atop a Titan 23G rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. It functioned perfectly until it was decommissioned in April 2013. It then stayed in space until 2021, when it broke up in orbit.

The US Supreme Court declared that no president could be sued for their choices while in office.

The rule came after an Air Force personnel named Arthur Ernest Fitzgerald tried to sue President Richard Nixon after losing his contractor position.

An announcement was made to say that all cigarette packages in the US must display health warnings.

The Federal Trade Commission implemented this rule from January 1 the following year, and the first warning read, "Cigarette Smoking May be Hazardous to Your Health."

Siam changed its name to Thailand.

Thai people have always referred to their nation as Thailand, but the foreign name for the nation was Siam, so Siam was used when dealing with outsiders. However, in 1939 Siam's third Prime Minister decided to officially change the name to reflect what the Thai people called their nation.

Due to her pure talent and popularity, Mary Pickford became the first female actress to be offered a $1 million contract.

Upon signing, she was allowed to pick and choose which movies she starred in.

Pablo Picasso had his first exhibition in Paris, France.

The Battle of Custoza took place during the Third Italian War of Independence.

An Austrian army defeated the Italian army, which was led by Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora and Enrico Cialdini, during the Austro-Prussian War.

Henry VIII was crowned King of England.

Explorer John Cabot claimed Canada for England, thinking he was in Asia when he was actually in Nova Scotia.

A mysterious outbreak of dancing plague or choreomania occurred in the German city of Aachen.

This was the first major record of choreomania in Europe. Residents came out of their homes and became out of control. It involved groups of people dancing erratically, sometimes thousands at a time.