page_title: June 1965
section_title: June 19, 1965 (Saturday)
hierarchical_section_title: June 1965 / June 19, 1965 (Saturday)
caption_attribution_description: English: Official picture of the first president of Algeria العربية: الصورة الرسمية لأول رئيس للحمهورية الجزائرية Français&#160;: Photo officiel du premier président de la république algérienne
context_page_description: The following events occurred in June 1965:
context_section_description: President Ahmed Ben Bella of Algeria was overthrown in a bloodless coup led by his Minister of Defense, Colonel Houari Boumédienne.  The move came ten days before Ben Bella was scheduled to host a summit conference of 50 non-aligned African and Asian nations in Algiers.  Ben Bella had already fired the men who had served as Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior, Minister of Finance, and Minister of Information and assumed those offices for himself.  Boumédienne had gotten word that he would be replaced prior to the summit conference; Ben Bella would be kept under house arrest in "a small prison apartment" in Algiers for the next 14 years, and allowed to go into exile in Switzerland in 1980 after Boumédienne's death.  In 1990, Ben Bella would be allowed to return to Algeria, where he would live until his death on April 11, 2012.
  Astronomers Gordon H. Pettengill and Rolf B. Dyce published their paper, "A Radar Determination of the Rotation of the Planet Mercury", in the British scientific journal Nature, disproving the belief that the rotation of the planet Mercury was 87.96 days and equal to its revolution around the sun.  Using radar observations at various points of the planet's surface, the two scientists concluded that the planet's rotation was roughly 59 days (later refined to 59.65 days), so that its "day" was roughly two-thirds as long as its "year", rather than being exactly the same.
  An Italian Fiat G.91 jet crashed into the Le Bourget Airport parking lot during the Paris Air Show, killing at least 10 people who were preparing to depart early.  The jet reportedly stalled as it was approaching a landing strip after performing stunts, then spun down into the parking lot, bouncing six times as it rolled over automobiles and their occupants.  The pilot safely ejected from the plane, but fell onto a parked truck and died.
  Sandown Racecourse, in Melbourne, Australia, was opened before 50,000 spectators as the first major horse racing track to be built since Australia had become independent in 1901.  The Victoria Amateur Turf Club billed the opening card of races as "the century's most historic race meeting".  A horse named Amphion won the first race on opening day, the Port Phillip Hurdle.
  Following the 44th annual Laconia Motorcycle Race, an estimated 2,000 fans participated in a riot in the resort town of Laconia, New Hampshire, throwing rocks and setting fire to buildings, after members of the Hell's Angels began fighting with opposing motorcycle gangs.  A group of 600 state troopers, policemen, and members of the New Hampshire National Guard converged on the scene after having been called up in anticipation of trouble, and 80 people were injured.  One-hundred people were arrested.
caption: Ben Bella
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