Local
2013: The foundation stone of AL Block community hall is laid on June 24 by Union minister of state Choudhury Mohan Jatua, who also lives in the block. Residents had to wait years for the land, as their park was too small to have space carved out of it, as is the case in other blocks. The two-storeyed hall opens 10 years later.
National
1842: Satyendranath is born to the Jorasanko Tagore family on June 1. The elder brother of Rabindranath Tagore becomes the first Indian to crack the civil services exam. He is also a poet, writer, composer, social reformer, and a member of the Bramho Samaj community.
2009: The University Grants Commission of India launches an anti-ragging helpline on June 20. The toll-free number 1800-180-5522 is meant to help curb the practise of seniors in colleges harassing, humiliating and abusing new entrants. By 2011, the helpline records more than 500 complaints a year, with maximum calls coming from medical colleges, and from the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
2016: Xerxes Desai dies on 27 June at the age of 79. The Parsi Businessman is best remembered as the founding managing director of India’s first quartz watchmaking company, Titan, under the guidance of JRD Tata. Desai challenged his engineers to make the world’s thinnest watch in 2002, and then went on to start the jewellery brand Tanishq too.
Global
1866: George Herbert, the Earl of Carnarvon, is born on June 26 in England. An amateur Egyptologist, Carnarvon is best known for financing archaeologist Howard Carter’s excavations in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. His support leads to the discovery of the nearly-intact tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, one of the most significant archaeological discoveries in history.
1967: Filipina actress Maggie de la Riva is kidnapped on June 26 by four young men from influential families and raped. Despite threats and intense public scrutiny, Maggie testifies against her attackers. The case becomes one of the most sensational courtroom dramas in Philippine history, with all four men eventually sentenced to death. The case triggers widespread discussion and changes the culture of survivor-blaming in the country.
2021: Scarface, the most-photographed lion in the world, dies on June 11 at age 14, far beyond the average lifespan of wild lions. Scarface, with a pack of his three brothers, ruled a 400-square-mile area in Kenya’s Masai Mara region. He earned his name from a deep scar over his right eye from a fight. In his last days, he dragged himself miles towards his ancestral birthplace, lies down to rest, and dies peacefully.
Sports, entertainment
1975: Steven Spielberg’s thriller Jaws releases on June 20. The film tells the story of a giant man-eating great white shark that terrorises a seaside resort town. Despite challenges with its mechanical shark, the film’s groundbreaking special effects captivates audiences, making it the highest-grossing film at the time, and the first to earn more than $100 million. Its success spawns three sequels.
1986: A Hawaii courtroom had ordered a paint-off between artist Margaret Keane and her former husband, Walter Keane, to settle a long-running dispute over the famous “Big Eyes” paintings. Margaret had sued Walter, claiming she had created the works which, over the years, he passed off as his own. In court, Margaret completed a Big Eyes painting in 53 minutes, while Walter refused to paint, citing a sore shoulder. On June 3, the jury delivers its verdict in Margret’s favour.
2022: On June 5, in a friendly match against Estonia in Spain, Lionel Messi scores all five goals in Argentina’s 5–0 victory. The performance proves to be a precursor to a stellar year in which Messi scores a record 18 goals for Argentina in a calendar year, and captains the team to victory at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, too.
