Daily Calendar for Thursday, June 19, 2025

Juneteenth, also called Emancipation Day, is a federal holiday that celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. Many businesses as well as post offices will be closed today. 

The slavery of African Americans in the U.S. was a major part of its history and Civil War. Juneteenth is observed annually on June 19 to remember the day when Union Army Gen. Gordon Granger told enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, that they had been liberated on June 19, 1865β€”nearly three years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation to end slavery in the U.S. 

On that day, General Gordon Granger landed with Federal troops in Galveston, Texas, with the intention of enforcing President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863. The end of slavery was a gradual process, occurring as news of the proclamation reached outlying towns and states. Juneteenth was probably a shortened version of June 19th. A proclamation from the president stated that all slaves were now free, and the relationship between master and slave was now employer and employee: β€œThe freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.”

Beginning the year following this Texas event, 1866, festivities to rival the Fourth of July began, including prayer services, inspirational speakers, reading of the Emancipation Proclamation, storytelling by former slaves, and traditional food and games. Soon neighboring states such as Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma were adding celebrations. Throughout Texas, ex-slaves purchased land for their Juneteenth gatherings. June 19 was declared a legal holiday in Texas in 1980.

Juneteenth became a federal holiday on June 21, 2021. African Americans and citizens across this nation honor and celebrate freedom from slavery as well as the achievements of African Americans from the past 158 years. See the Almanac article on Juneteenth

Born

  • Blaise Pascal (mathematician and physicist) –
  • Guy Lombardo (band leader) –
  • Lou Gehrig (baseball player) –
  • Salman Rushdie (author) –
  • Phylicia Rashad (actress) –
  • Kathleen Turner (actress) –
  • Paula Abdul (singer & television personality) –
  • Blake Woodruff (actor) –

Died

  • J. M. Barrie (author) –
  • Ethel and Julius Rosenberg (convicted spies) –
  • Ed Wynn (actor) –
  • James Gandolfini (actor) –

Events

  • First real baseball game with set rules was played in Hoboken, New Jersey–
  • Slavery abolished in U.S. territories–
  • The first Father’s Day was celebrated in Spokane, Washington –
  • The U.S. government adopted an 8-hour day for all its employees–
  • Mine disaster occurred in Hillcrest, Alberta–
  • Establishment of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States, regulating interstate and foreign communications by radio, telegraph and cable–
  • Wham-O filed to register Hula Hoop trademark–
  • Garfield the Cat made his comic strip debut–
  • A 5.0-magnitude earthquake hit off the northern California coast–

Weather

  • New Brunswick, New Jersey, was hit by a tornado–
  • Cloudburst near Custer Creek, Montana, dumped an estimated 4 to 7 inches of rain–
  • Hurricane struck fishing fleet from Escuminac, New Brunswick–
  • 100 degrees F, Billings, Montana–
  • Close to 6 inches of rain fell within 75 minutes, Houston, Texas–

Explore Other Dates on the Calendar