UK signs Hong Kong over to China

On December 19, 1984, the United Kingdom and China signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration, which ceded control of Hong Kong to the government of mainland China in 1997. The treaty also ensured that Hong Kong would retain its capitalist and democratic systems for at least 50 years after the transfer of power.

THIS DAY @ LAW

US Supreme Court upheld discriminatory districting

On June 10, 1946, the US Supreme Court upheld uneven congressional districting plans in Colegrove v. Green. The case challenged an Illinois districting plan that concentrated voters into large districts in the center of the state and did not balance for population. The court reasoned that districting was a political question for the states to decide without judicial interference. This opinion was overturned less than 20 years later in Baker v. Carr, which set judicial standards for invoking political question doctrine. Learn more about political question doctrine from Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute.

League of Nations convened

On June 10, 1920, the League of Nations convened for the first time. It was not formally dissolved until 1946. The United States was never a member. Learn more about the history of the League of Nations.