◆ On this day

June 16

4 sourced moments from June 16 in history: America's first roller coaster opened at Coney Island (1884); Ford Motor Company was incorporated (1903); The first woman in space was a textile worker, not a pilot (1963), plus 1 more.

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4 things happened on June 16

newest first ↓

1976 History · Modern

The Soweto Uprising Erupted in South Africa

When apartheid schools forced lessons in Afrikaans, thousands of Soweto students marched and met police bullets head-on.

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1963 Space · Space Exploration

The first woman in space was a textile worker, not a pilot

Valentina Tereshkova, a 26-year-old mill worker and amateur parachutist, orbited Earth 48 times aboard Vostok 6 in June 1963, outlasting every Mercury flight combined.

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1903 Society & Economy · Business & Markets

Ford Motor Company was incorporated

A coal dealer's office in Detroit hosted the 1903 signing that, within a decade, would put much of America on wheels.

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1884 Technology · Engineering

America's first roller coaster opened at Coney Island

A nickel bought a six-mile-an-hour gravity ride in 1884 — and launched the amusement-park industry from a Brooklyn boardwalk.

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