The month of June has been home to many historical events over the years. Here’s a look at some that helped to shape the world in June 1924.
Austrian Chancellor Ignaz Seipel is shot by a disgruntled worker on June 1. Seipel survives after a bullet is extracted from his lung.
The Chicago radio station WDAP is rechristened “WGN” on June 1 after it is purchased by the Chicago Tribune. The station’s new moniker refers to the newspaper’s slogan, “World’s Greatest Newspaper.” Both the WGN station and a television station of the same name continue to be operated out of Chicago today.
The Indian Citizenship Act is signed into law on June 2 in the United States. The law recognizes all Native Americans who had been born in the United States or its territories as U.S. citizens.
Influential novelist Franz Kafka dies in Austria on June 3. Kafka, only 40 at the time of his death, suffered from laryngeal tuberculosis and died from starvation after eating became too painful. Kafka, now considered a literary giant of the twentieth century, was a relative unknown at the time of his death.
The German Reichstag approves the Dawes Plan on June 6. The plan staggers German reparations payments that were mandated in the aftermath of World War I.
The United States enacts the Clarke-McNary Act on June 7. The act facilitates the purchase of land to expand the country’s National Forest System.
Geologist and mountaineer Noel Odell watches British mountain climbers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine ascend from their base camp at Mount Everest on June 8. Mallory and Irvine are never again seen alive, and no trace of either man is discovered until 1999, when Mallory’s body is discovered at an altitude of more than 26,000 feet.
Ecuador extends the right to vote to women on June 9, becoming the first country in South America to do so.
The Newton Gang carries out the largest train robbery in American history on June 12. The gang makes off with more than $3 million (the equivalent of roughly $54 million in 2024) after stopping mail train number 57 near Rondout, Illinois.
The International Football Association Board legalizes the scoring of a goal by corner kick on June 14.
On June 16, Italian Fascist politician Cesare Rossi surrenders to police in connection with the kidnapping of socialist and Italian Chamber of Deputies member Giacomo Matteoti earlier in the month. Matteoti’s body is ultimately found in August and signs suggest he was beaten to death. Though Rossi ultimately serves ample prison time for anti-fascist activities, he is not arrested for his involvement in Matteotti’s murder until 1947.
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey passes the Surname Act on June 21. The act requires every Turkish citizen to have a surname.
Fritz Haarmann is arrested in Hanover, Germany, on June 23. Prior to his arrest, Haarmann was seen stalking boys, and a subsequent search of his apartment uncovers evidence that Haarmann is a serial killer. Sometimes referred to as the “Butcher of Hanover,” Haarmann is ultimately found guilty of murdering 24 young men and boys and is executed by guillotine in April 1925.
Publisher William Randolph Hearst launches the New York Daily Mirror on June 24. Hearst launches the paper to compete against the New York Daily News.
Brothers Jesse Barnes of the Boston Braves and Virgil Barnes of the New York Giants toe the rubber against one another on June 26. The game marks the first pitching matchup between brothers in Major League Baseball history.
American President Calvin Coolidge’s 16-year-old son, Calvin, Jr., plays tennis on the White House tennis court on June 30. The president’s son plays wearing tennis shoes but no socks and develops a blister on his toe that develops into sepsis. The younger Coolidge passes away on July 7.
