Seeds of Fire: A People’s Chronology
Recalling events that happened on this day in history.
Memories of struggle, resistance and persistence.
Compiled by Ulli Diemer
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June 22, 1633
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The Inquisition delivers its ruling on Galileo. It declares that he is “vehemently suspect of heresy” for claiming that the earth revolves around the sun, and condemns him to spend the rest of his life under house arrest.
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June 22, 1941
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Nazi Germany launches a surprise attack on the Soviet Union. The invasion, code-named Operation Barbarossa, is the largest military operation in history in both manpower and casualties. On the Soviet side, some 9 million soldiers and an estimated 15 million civilians die in the course of the war; on the German (Axis) side, some 5 million soldiers die. The huge death toll is attributed to factors such as brutal mistreatment of POWs and captured partisans, severe shortages of food and medical supplies in Soviet territories, and multiple atrocities by the Germans and the Soviets against the civilian population and each other. The many battles and the use of scorched earth tactics destroy agricultural land, infrastructure, and whole towns, leaving much of the population homeless and without food.
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June 22, 1960
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The Quebec election results in the defeat of the conservative Union Nationale after sixteen years in power. The Quebec Liberal Party under Jean Lesage comes to power and begins the “Quiet Revolution.”
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June 22, 1986
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Diego Maradona scores two of the most famous goals in football history to lead the Argentinean side to victory against England in the World Cup quarter-final.
The first: in a scramble in front of the goal, Maradona strikes the ball with his hand and into the net. The referee misses the infringement and allows the goal. After the game, Maradona coyly remarks that the goal was scored “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God” – it henceforth becomes known as the ‘Hand of God’ goal.
Four minutes later, Maradona scores again with an astonishing rush in which he single-handedly carries the ball through the entire English team. This goal is later voted the ‘Goal of the Century’: the greatest individual goal of all time.
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