Person report

★18 May 1896
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case Plessy v. Ferguson, upholding the legality of racial segregation in public transportation under the "separate but equal" doctrine.

★27 Apr 1904
Chris Watson became the first Australian Prime Minister from the Australian Labour Party.

★10 Oct 1911
The Xinhai Revolution began with the Wuchang Uprising, marking the beginning of the collapse of the Qing dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China.

★06 Feb 1919
More than 65,000 workers in Seattle began a five-day general strike to gain higher wages after two years of U.S. World War I wage controls.

★04 Mar 1933
Frances Perkins was appointed United States Secretary of Labor, making her the first female member of the Cabinet.

★18 Jun 1940
Charles de Gaulle gave his Appeal of 18 June speech, inspiring the French Resistance, and Winston Churchill urged Britons to fight so that future generations would say, "This was their finest hour".

★05 Jun 1941
Second Sino-Japanese War: During one sortie in a five-year bombing campaign on Chongqing, 4,000 people died of asphyxiation when the tunnel they were hiding in became blocked.

★07 Dec 1941
World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy made a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, intending to neutralize the United States Pacific Fleet from influencing the war Japan was planning to wage in Southeast Asia.

★02 Feb 1942
The Osvald Group committed the first active event of the Norwegian resistance movement by blowing up Oslo East Station to protest the inauguration of Vidkun Quisling.

★10 Nov 1945
Indonesian National Revolution: Following the killing of the British officer Brigadier A. W. S. Mallaby a few weeks prior, British forces began their retaliation by attacking Surabaya.

Historical data by Wikipedia Contributors CC BY-SA 3.0.