History Today

Today in History — June 19

1865

19 June 1865: Juneteenth Marks End of Slavery in America

On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce that the Civil War had ended and that all enslaved people were now free. This date, now celebrated as Juneteenth, marked the practical…

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More from the Archive

1815

18 June 1815: Battle of Waterloo Ends Napoleonic Era

On June 18, 1815, the Battle of Waterloo took place in present-day Belgium, marking the decisive end of Napoleon Bonapartes military and political career. This epic confrontation between French forces and the allied armies of…

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Fred Marriott (1872)

Fred Marriott was an American race car driver. In 1906, he set the world land speed record at 127.659 mph (205.5 km/h) at the Daytona Beach Road Course, while driving the Stanley Land Speed Record...

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