FRIDAY, June 19, 2026

1306-The Earl of Pembroke's army defeats Robert the Bruce's Scottish army at the Battle of Methven

1829-Robert Peel introduces the Metropolitan Police Act 1829 into Parliament to establish a unified police force for London, the city's first modern police force

1862-Slavery is outlawed in U.S. territories

1865-Union General Gordon Granger declares slaves free in Texas, now the date the end of slavery is celebrated across the U.S. as Juneteenth

1944-Day one of the two-day Battle of the Philippine Sea, U.S. naval forces defeat the Japanese fleet in World War II

1991-Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar surrenders to police