What happened on this day in history: English Sufrragist Emily Davison dies after being trampled by King George V's horse, the Tiananmen Square Massacre begins, and more.
1783: The First Public Demonstration Of The Hot Air Balloon Takes Place
Brothers Jacques-Étienne and Joseph-Michel Montgolfier display the first unmanned hot-air balloon before a crowd in Annonay, France. Their 500-pound balloon soared to 6,000 feet and remained aloft for 10 minutes. Other attempts quickly followed, including with animals and then humans.
1913: Suffragist Emily Davison Dies
Hulton-Deutsch/Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis via Getty ImagesEmily Davison was hit and killed by King George V’s horse Anmer during the 1913 Epsom Derby.
Emily Davison dies in London at the age of 40. Four days earlier, she had dashed onto the racetrack at the 1913 Derby, where she was struck and killed by King George V’s horse. Her reason for doing so remains unclear, though some claim she wanted to pin a suffragette flag on the horse, while others insist that she meant to die by suicide.
1989: The Tiananmen Square Massacre Unfolds In Beijing
Chip HIRES/Gamma-Rapho/Getty ImagesProtestors at Tiananmen Square.
The Tiananmen Square Massacre unfolds in Beijing, China. Protests had taken place at the square for weeks, prompted by calls for less censorship and more free speech. In response, the Communist Party declared martial law and, between June 3 and 4, opened fire on protestors to regain control of the area, killing somewhere between a few hundred and 10,000 people.
2008: Jodi Arias Kills Travis Alexander
Jodi Arias kills Travis Alexander in his home in Mesa, Arizona. After dating for a few months, Arias reportedly became infatuated with Alexander. The two would repeatedly fight, break up, then get back together. On June 9th, Alexander’s friends stopped by his house to check on him after he stopped responding to their texts and calls. There, the friends found Alexander’s body ridden with stab wounds and bullet holes. Immediately, Arias became suspect number one. After finding images of the two of them together the day he was murdered, police arrested Arias for the crime. She was sentenced to life in prison.
2010: Kyron Hormon Disappears
Seven-year-old Kyron Hormon disappears in Portland, Oregon. The second-grader arrived at school that morning with his stepmother, Terri Moulton Horman, who photographed him in front of the board he’d made for his science fair. But Kyron never returned home that afternoon and has been missing ever since.
