Today's featured article
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In the news
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On this day...
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June 14: Liberation Day in the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (1982); Flag Day in the United States
![First difference engine](https://web.archive.org/web/20120614070601im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Babbage_Difference_Engine.jpg/100px-Babbage_Difference_Engine.jpg)
- 1645 – English Civil War: In the Battle of Naseby, the main army of King Charles I was defeated by the Parliamentarian New Model Army under Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell.
- 1822 – In a paper presented to the Royal Astronomical Society, English mathematician Charles Babbage proposed a difference engine (pictured), an automatic, mechanical calculator designed to tabulate polynomial functions.
- 1940 – World War II: Four days after the French government fled Paris, German forces occupied the French capital, essentially ending the Battle of France.
- 1985 – The Schengen Agreement, a treaty to abolish systematic border controls between participating European countries, was signed between five of the ten member states of the European Economic Community.
- 1994 – After the Vancouver Canucks lost to the New York Rangers in ice hockey's Stanley Cup Finals, a riot ensued in Downtown Vancouver, causing C$1.1 million in damage.
More anniversaries: June 13 – June 14 – June 15
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Today's featured picture
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![Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://web.archive.org/web/20120614070601im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/Harriet_Beecher_Stowe_by_Francis_Holl.JPG/280px-Harriet_Beecher_Stowe_by_Francis_Holl.JPG) |
Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–1896) was an American abolitionist and author, best known for her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, which depicted the life of African Americans under slavery. It reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom. It energized anti-slavery forces in the American North, while provoking widespread anger in the South. She wrote more than 20 books, including novels, three travel memoirs, and collections of articles and letters. She was influential both for her writings and her public stands on social issues of the day.
Artist: Francis Holl after George Richmond
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