Highlight of this day:

June 4, 1940: Dunkirk evacuation ends

On this day, the last Allied troops in Europe evacuate Dunkirk as the Germans arrive. After the capitulation of Belgium's King Leopold II and the fall of the Netherlands, the Allied defence of Western Europe became untenable. Hundreds of thousands of British and French troops raced to Dunkirk on the French coast, where a massive naval evacuation was promptly improvised. All available boats, including small fishing vessels, were pressed into service. The 10-day evacuation, the largest of its kind in history, saved 338,000 Allied troops from capture by the Nazis. On 4 June, 1940, the Germans closed in on Dunkirk, capturing 40,000 Allied troops who had arrived too late to reach the safety of Britain.

Also on this day:

1991 The British Government announces that it will reduce spending on the armed services.

1987 Jonathan Pollard pleads guilty to espionage for selling top-secret U.S. military intelligence information to Israel.

1977 Five British plane-spotters imprisoned in Greece for spying are released after 10 weeks in jail.

1972 Two trains collide in Jessore, Bangladesh killing 76 people.

1970 Tonga gains independence from the Britain.

1961 American President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev agree to support a neutral and independent Laos.

1944 The Second World War: Allied troops liberate the Italian capital, Rome.

1942 The Second World War: The Battle of Midway between the Japanese and American navies begins.

1936 Leon Blum becomes Prime Minister of France for the first time.

1919 The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote, is passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification, which it receives 8 days later.

1917 The first ever Pulitzer Prizes are awarded in America.

1913 British suffragette Emily Davison throws herself under a horse at Tattenham Corner on the Epsom racecourse during the running of the 1913 Derby. She dies a few days later from the injuries she sustained.

1878 Britain and the Ottoman Empire sign the Cyprus Convention, which gives Britain control of Cyprus in return for British support for the Ottoman Empire in the Russian-Turkish war.

1859 France defeats Austria in the Battle of Magenta in Italy.

1039 Henry III becomes Holy Roman Emperor.