June 3, 2026
The Eschede Train Disaster (1998)
On the morning of June 3, 1998, the Munich-Hamburg Inner City Express train derailed near the village of Eschede, Germany, while traveling at 124 mph (200 km/h). One of the train cars hit a bridge, causing it to collapse. The cars behind jackknifed into the wreckage, while the front part of the train detached, coming to a stop well past the Eschede station. More than 100 people died as a result of the crash. Investigators later determined that the crash had been caused by what single problem?
June 2, 2026
Birth of the Italian Republic (1946)
During World War II, Italy was a monarchy in chaos. King Victor Emmanuel III had appointed Benito Mussolini prime minister in 1922 to avoid revolt, but, when war came, the two fought on opposite sides—Mussolini with the Axis and Victor Emmanuel with the Allies. Victor Emmanuel's history with Mussolini made the monarch unpopular after the war, and he abdicated in favor of his son, who ruled for 40 days before the Italian Republic was created by a referendum. Whom did it exile until 2002?
June 1, 2026
Former Slave Isabella Baumfree Becomes Sojourner Truth (1843)
Born into slavery in New York, Baumfree had four different masters before escaping with her infant daughter in 1826, one year before the state abolished slavery. She traveled and championed abolition, changing her name in 1843. Her dictated memoirs were published as The Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave. In 1851, she delivered what is now known as the "Ain't I a Woman?" speech at the Women's Rights Convention. How did the first report of the speech differ from later accounts?
