June 21 in History

• 1788

  June 21, 1788:

  The Constitution of the United States gets ratified.

• 1813

  June 21, 1813:

  The Peninsular War ends with France’s defeat to Spain in the Battle of Vitoria.

• 1834

  June 21, 1834:

  A patent is awarded to Cyrus McCormick for inventing the reaper in 1831.

• 1940

  June 21, 1940:

  Future U.S. President Richard Nixon marries future First Lady Patricia Ryan.

• 1963

  June 21, 1963:

  Paul VI becomes the Pope of the Catholic Church.

• 1964

  June 21, 1964:

  Civil rights activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner are killed by members of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).

• 1982

  June 21, 1982:

  President Ronald Reagan’s shooter, John Hinckley Jr. is acquitted by reason of insanity.

• 1997

  June 21, 1997:

  The Women’s National Basketball Association makes its debut with a game between the Los Angeles Spark and the New York Liberty teams.

• 2009

  June 21, 2009:

  Greenland becomes a sovereign territory following a home-rule agreement with Denmark.

• 2020

  June 21, 2020:

  The late Kurt Cobain’s guitar is sold for $6 million.