06/18-19/1812
The War of 1812 begins with the United States declaring war on Britain.
06/20/1917
The arrival of 4th Canadian Division ends the year-long attachment of the Lahore batteries to the Canadian Corps. The three brigades of the 3rd Lahore Indian Div. had remained in France after the rest of the Indian Corps departed for Mesopotamia.
06/20/1967
New headquarters for the National Library of Canada open in Ottawa.
06/21/1982
Princess Diana and Prince Charles welcome their new son, Prince William.
06/22/1941
Germany invades the Soviet Union.
06/23/1896
Wilfred Laurier becomes Canada’s first French-Canadian Prime Minister.
06/23/1985
Terrorists blow up an Air India jumbo jet over the Atlantic Ocean off Ireland. All 329 people on board (280 of them Canadians) perish. The flight originated in Canada.
06/24/1944
His Majesty’s Canadian Ship Haida helps hunt down U-971 off the southwest coast of England. The German sub is forced to surface after three hours of depth charge attacks. Fifty-two Germans are taken prisoner.
06/24/1944
Flight Lieutenant David Hornell, a Canso pilot with 162 Sqdn., Royal Canadian Air Force, attacks and sinks a German submarine in the Atlantic. Hornell’s aircraft is damaged during the engagement, but the pilot manages to bring it down on a swell. The serviceable dinghy is too small to fit all of the crew and so the men take turns in the frigid water. Hornell and two other men later die after being in the water for several hours. As a result of his actions to destroy the U-boat and save his crew, Hornell is posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.
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