June 1
1215 – Zhongdu, now Beijing, falls to Mongol forces under the command of Temujin, better known as Genghis Khan.
1779 – Benedict Arnold faces court martial for malfeasance.
He is finally cleared of all but 2 charges later in the year.
1792 – Kentucky is admitted as the 15th state of the United States.
1796 – Tennessee is admitted as the 16th state of the United States.
1812 – U.S. President James Madison asks the Congress to declare war on the United Kingdom.
1813 –During the War of 1812, in the Battle of Boston Harbor , the U.S. Navy frigate USS Chesapeake is captured by the Royal Navy frigate HMS Shannon in a brief but intense action in which 48 U.S. sailors are killed and 99 wounded in action.
1849 – Territorial Governor Alexander Ramsey declares the Territory of Minnesota officially established.
1890 – The U.S. Census Bureau begins using Herman Hollerith’s electromechanical tabulating machine to count census returns.
1918 – During the Battle of Belleau Wood, Allied Forces under the command of then General, later General of the Armies, John J. Pershing begin to engage Imperial German Forces, eventually halting their advance and clearing them out of the woods.
1929 – The 1st Conference of the Communist Parties of Latin America is held in Buenos Aires.
1962 – Adolf Eichmann is hanged in Israel for crimes against humanity
1974 – The Heimlich maneuver for rescuing choking victims is published in the journal Emergency Medicine.
1980 – The Cable News Network (CNN) begins broadcasting.
1988 – The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty between the U.S. and the Soviet Union comes into effect.
1990 – President George H. W. Bush and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev sign a treaty to end chemical weapon production.
1999 – American Airlines Flight 1420, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 slides and crashes while landing at Little Rock National Airport, killing the Captain and 10 of the 145 passengers on board.
2004 – Oklahoma City bombing co-conspirator Terry Nichols is sentenced to 161 consecutive life terms without the possibility of a parole.
2009 – General Motors files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the 4th largest bankruptcy in U.S. history.
2011 – Space Shuttle Endeavour makes its final landing after 25 flights.
During a tornado outbreak in New England, a EF3 power tornado strikes Springfield, Massachusetts, killing 4 people.