22 June

1941 - Operation Barbarossa opens the Eastern Front

On 22 June 1941, Nazi Germany and its allies launched against the Soviet Union the largest invasion in history, along a front of nearly 2,900 kilometres.

1633 - Galileo abjures before the Roman Inquisition

On 22 June 1633, at the convent of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome, Galileo, judged vehemently suspect of heresy, was forced to abjure the idea that the Earth moves around the Sun.

168 BC - The Battle of Pydna seals Macedonia's fate

On 22 June 168 BC, the legions of Lucius Aemilius Paullus crushed King Perseus's phalanx at Pydna; the victory ended the Third Macedonian War and the Antigonid dynasty.