2016-06-17

Wildfires erupted across central Portugal, eventually causing the deaths of 66 people.

A white supremacist committed a mass shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, killing nine people during a prayer service.

Following a petition, the liberal progressive Czech Pirate Party was officially registered as a political party.

Riots broke out in Saigon one day after the signing of the Joint Communiqué, an attempt to resolve the Buddhist crisis in South Vietnam.

Guatemalan Revolution: The Guatemalan Congress passed Decree 900, redistributing unused land greater than 224 acres (0.91 km2) in area to local peasants.

Second World War: RMS Lancastria was sunk by German aircraft near Saint-Nazaire, France, causing thousands of fatalities in Britain's worst maritime disaster.

Hundreds of Canadian soldiers rioted in Epsom, England, leading to the death of a British police officer.

In Detroit, autoworkers for car manufacturer Studebaker went on strike in the American auto industry's first major strike action.

Boxer Rebellion: Allied naval forces captured the Taku Forts from Qing China after a brief but bloody battle.

American Civil War: The Battle of Vienna, Virginia, took place, which involved one of the world's first military movements of troops by train.