◆ On this day

June 22

4 sourced moments from June 22 in history: Galileo recanted in 1633, likely without 'and yet it moves'; Germany launched its massive invasion of the Soviet Union (1941); The Day a River Burned and Cleaned Up a Nation (1969), plus 1 more.

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4 things happened on June 22

newest first ↓

1978 Space · Solar System

Charon was discovered on June 22, 1978, by James Christy

A bulge on photographs of Pluto turned out to be a moon half its size, and the discovery finally let astronomers weigh Pluto.

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1969 Earth & Climate · Ecosystems

The Day a River Burned and Cleaned Up a Nation

When Cleveland's polluted Cuyahoga River caught fire in 1969, the spectacle of burning water helped ignite America's modern environmental movement.

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1941 History · War & Conflict

Germany launched its massive invasion of the Soviet Union

On June 22, 1941, Hitler broke his pact with Stalin and sent millions of troops east in the largest land invasion ever attempted.

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1633 Science · The Scientific Method

Galileo recanted in 1633, likely without 'and yet it moves'

On 22 June 1633 Galileo knelt and abjured a moving Earth. The famous muttered retort first appears in print 124 years later.

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