Today in History: 1948 U.S. begins Berlin Airlift
On June 26, 1948, U.S. and British pilots begin delivering food and supplies by airplane to Berlin after the city is isolated by a Soviet Union blockade.
When World War II ended in 1945, defeated Germany was divided into Soviet, American, British and French zones of occupation. The city of Berlin, though located within the Soviet zone of occupation, was also split into four sectors, with the Allies taking the western part of the city and the Soviets the eastern. In June 1948, Josef Stalin’s government attempted to consolidate control of the city by cutting off all land and sea routes to West Berlin in order to pressure the Allies to evacuate. As a result, beginning on June 24 the western section of Berlin and its 2 million people were deprived of food, heating fuel and other crucial supplies.
Though some in U.S. President Harry S. Truman’s administration called for a direct military response to this aggressive Soviet move, Truman worried such a response would trigger another world war. Instead, he authorized a massive airlift operation under the control of General Lucius D. Clay, the American-appointed military governor of Germany. The first planes took off from England and western Germany on June 26, loaded with food, clothing, water, medicine and fuel.
Also on this day:
363 Roman Emperor Julian is killed during retreat from the Sassanid Empire. General Jovian is proclaimed Emperor by troops on the battlefield.
684 St Benedict II begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1483 Duke of Gloucester succeeds as King Richard III of England after Parliament declared Edward V illegitimate
1498 Toothbrush invented in China using boar bristles
1553 Christ’s Hospital in London, England, granted a charter by King Edward VI to house and teach children of the poor
1718 Peter the Great’s son, Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich of Russia dies from the effects of torture after being sentenced to death by his father for plotting against him
1721 Dr Zabdiel Boylston gives 1st smallpox inoculations in America
1797 Charles Newbold patents 1st cast-iron plow, though farmers fear effects of iron on soil
1807 Lightning hits gunpowder warehouse in Luxembourg; 230 die
1870 Richard Wagner’s opera “Valkyrie”, second in his Ring Cycle premieres in Munich, featuring “Ride of the Valkyries”
1894 Karl Benz of Germany receives US patent for gasoline-driven car
1906 The first Grand Prix car race is held at Le Mans, France
1909 Victoria & Albert Museum opens in London
1911 Nieuport sets an aircraft speed record of 83 mph (133 kph)
1925 “The Gold Rush”, directed, starring and written by Charlie Chaplin, is released
1927 Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke approaches within 0.0394 AUs of Earth
1936 1st flight of Focke-Wulf Fw61 helicopter
1960 British Somaliland (now Somalia) gains independence from Britain
1960 Italian Somaliland declares independence from Italian administration
1960 Madagascar (formerly Malagasy Rep) declares independence from France
1974 The Universal Product Code (bar code) is scanned for the first time to sell a package of Wrigley’s chewing gum at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio
1976 CN Tower opens in Toronto - at 553 metres (1,815 feet), the tallest freestanding structure in the world (surpassed by Dubai’s Burj Khalifa 2009)
1977 Elvis Presley sings in Indianapolis, the last performance of his career
1978 First dedicated oceanographic satellite, SEASAT 1, launched
1997 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, 1st book in J. K. Rowling’s best-selling series, is published
2016 Panama Canal’s third set of locks opens for commercial traffic, doubling the Canal’s capacity at an estimated cost of $5.25 billion
Births
1955 Mick Jones - English rock guitarist and singer (The Clash, 1976-83 - “Rock The Casbah”; Big Audio Dynamite, 1984-97 - “Rush”), born in London, England
1921 Violette Szabo - French WWII secret agent, born in Paris, France (d. 1945)
1904 Peter Lorre - Hungarian-American actor (M, Casablanca, Maltese Falcon), born in Rózsahegy, Austria-Hungary (d. 1964)
1902 Bill Lear - American engineer, manufacturer, and CEO (Lear Jet Corp), born in Hannibal, Missouri (d. 1978)
1898 Willy Messerschmitt - German aircraft designer, born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany (d. 1978)
Deaths
2012 Nora Ephron - American novelist (Heartburn), screenwriter (Silkwood; When Harry Met Sally), and director (Sleepless In Seattle), dies from pneumonia, as a complication of leukemia, at 71
2005 Richard Whiteley - British television game show host (Countdown), and broadcast journalist (Calendar), dies after unsuccessful heart surgery at 61
2003 Marc-Vivien Foé - Cameroon soccer midfielder (62 caps; collapsed during international match, died; Lens, West Ham, Lyon), dies of heart failure at 28
1997 Israel Kamakawiwo’ole - Native Hawaiian singer, songwriter (“Somewhere Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World”), and Hawaiian sovereignty advocate, dies from respiratory failure at 38
1810 Joseph Michel Montgolfier - French inventor (Hot air balloon, hydraulic ram) (b. 1740)
The Funnies:
Thought of the day:
Naked people cannot be pickpocketed.
Quote of the Day:
“Perfecting oneself is as much unlearning as it is learning.”
Video of the Day:
Comic of the Day:
Mouseover: “Once you add the balloons into the model, it makes forecasting easier overall–the forecast is always ‘cold and dark, with minimal solar-driven convection.’”
Credit: XKCD
Inspirobot Always Controversial, Occasionally Inspirational Quote of the Day:
Read @DailyLlama’s Spark! from yesterday here: https://community.spiceworks.com/t/spark-pro-series-25th-june-2025
Don’t forget to leave some spice right here ↓
