On this day …
June 8, 2017
- In 1783, the Icelandic volcano Laki began an eruption that lasted eight months and sparked a seven-year famine.
- In 1861, Tennessee seceded from the Union.
- In 1912, Carl Laemmle incorporated Universal Pictures.
- In 1929, Margaret Bondfield was appointed Minister of Labour, becoming the first female cabinet member in the United Kingdom.
- In 1949, George Orwell’s iconic dystopian novel 1984 was first published.