What happened on this day in history: Richard II becomes king, Judy Garland dies, and more events that happened on June 22nd throughout history.
1377: Richard II Of England Begins His Reign
Public DomainRichard II ascended to the throne as a boy and was later forced to abdicate.
Richard II of England becomes king at the age of 10. His reign — largely guided by advisors like his uncle, John of Gaunt — was tumultuous, and included events like the Hundred Years’ War and the Peasants’ Revolt. Richard was forced to abdicate in 1399 when Gaunt’s son, Henry of Bolingbroke, seized power. Placed in captivity, Richard either starved to death or was executed in 1400.
1611: Mutineers Send Henry Hudson Adrift
English Captain Henry Hudson, his son, and seven of his supporters are set adrift by mutineers on Hudson’s ship Discovery. Hudson and his crew had initially set out to discover a northwest passage to Asia but ended up trapped in ice in present-day Hudson Bay. Hudson, his son, and his supporters were never seen again. And back in England, his crew was arrested for the mutiny.
1633: Galileo Galilei Is Forced To Recant His Support Of The Copernican Theory
The Roman Inquisition forces Galileo Galilei — who argued in his book The Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems that the Earth revolved around the Sun, and not the other way around — to recant. Galilei did so, though the astronomer allegedly also muttered: “And yet it moves.” He was found guilty of heresy and sentenced to house arrest until he died in 1642.
1815: Napoleon Bonaparte Abdicates For The Second Time
Napoleon Bonaparte abdicates for the second time and is exiled to the remote island of St. Helena, where he died in 1821.
1969: Judy Garland Dies
Getty ImagesJudy Garland’s casket being placed inside a hearse.
Judy Garland dies in London at the age of 47 from a drug overdose. The actress, who had famously starred as Dorothy in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, had allegedly first been given drugs by her own mother. Her death was widely mourned, with some 20,000 people showing up for her funeral in New York.
1983: Emanuela Orlandi Disappears
Fifteen-year-old Emanuela Orlandi disappears in Rome after attending a music lesson. The daughter of a Vatican official, her disappearance has prompted numerous theories that suggest she could have been taken by the Mafia, Turkish terrorists, or powerful figures within the Vatican. To date, neither Orlandi nor her remains have been found.
