From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
June 15 is the 166th day of the year (167th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 199 days remaining until the end of the year.
[edit] Events
- 763 BC – Assyrians record a solar eclipse that will be used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history.
- 923 – Battle of Soissons: King Robert I of France is killed and King Charles the Simple is arrested by the supporters of Duke Rudolph of Burgundy.
- 1184 – King Magnus V of Norway is killed at the battle of Fimreite.
- 1215 – King John of England puts his seal to the Magna Carta.
- 1246 – With the death of Duke Frederick II, the Babenberg dynasty ends in Austria.
- 1389 – Battle of Kosovo: The Ottoman Empire defeats Serbs and Bosnians.
- 1520 – Pope Leo X threatens to excommunicate Martin Luther in papal bull Exsurge Domine.
- 1580 – Phillip II of Spain declares William the Silent to be an outlaw.
- 1667 – The first human blood transfusion is administered by Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys.
- 1752 – Benjamin Franklin proves that lightning is electricity.
- 1775 – American Revolutionary War: George Washington is appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army.
- 1776 – Delaware Separation Day – Delaware votes to suspend government under the British Crown and separate officially from Pennsylvania.
- 1785 – Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, co-pilot of the first-ever manned flight (1783), and his companion, Pierre Romain, become the first-ever casualties of an air crash when their hot air balloon explodes during their attempt to cross the English Channel.
- 1804 – New Hampshire approves the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratifying the document.
- 1808 – Joseph Bonaparte becomes King of Spain.
- 1836 – Arkansas is admitted as the 25th U.S. state.
- 1844 – Charles Goodyear receives a patent for vulcanization, a process to strengthen rubber.
- 1846 – The Oregon Treaty establishes the 49th parallel as the border between the United States and Canada, from the Rocky Mountains to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
- 1859 – Pig War: Ambiguity in the Oregon Treaty leads to the "Northwestern Boundary Dispute" between U.S. and British/Canadian settlers.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Siege of Petersburg begins.
- 1864 – Arlington National Cemetery is established when 200 acres (0.8 km²) around Arlington Mansion (formerly owned by Confederate General Robert E. Lee) are officially set aside as a military cemetery by U.S. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton.
- 1867 – Atlantic Cable Quartz Lode gold mine located in Montana.
- 1877 – Henry Ossian Flipper becomes the first African American cadet to graduate from the United States Military Academy.
- 1888 – Crown Prince Wilhelm becomes Kaiser Wilhelm II and is the last emperor of the German Empire
- 1904 – A fire aboard the steamboat General Slocum in New York City's East River kills 1000.
- 1905 – Princess Margaret of Connaught marries Gustav, Crown Prince of Sweden.
- 1909 – Representatives from England, Australia and South Africa meet at Lord's and form the Imperial Cricket Conference.
- 1911 – Tabulating Computing Recording Corporation (IBM) is incorporated.
- 1913 – The Battle of Bud Bagsak in the Philippine concludes.
- 1916 – U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signs a bill incorporating the Boy Scouts of America, making them the only American youth organization with a federal charter.
- 1919 – John Alcock and Arthur Brown complete the first nonstop transatlantic flight at Clifden, County Galway, Ireland.
- 1920 – Duluth lynchings in Minnesota.
- 1934 – The U.S.'s Great Smoky Mountains National Park is founded.
- 1944 – World War II: Battle of Saipan: The United States invades Saipan.
- 1944 – In the Saskatchewan general election, 1944, the CCF, led by Tommy Douglas, is elected and forms the first socialist government of North America.
- 1945 – The General Dutch Youth League (ANJV) is founded in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- 1954 – UEFA (Union des Associations Européennes de Football) is formed in Basle, Switzerland.
- 1955 – The Eisenhower administration stages the first annual "Operation Alert" (OPAL) exercise, an attempt to assess the USA's preparations for a nuclear attack.
- 1962 – Students for a Democratic Society complete the Port Huron Statement.
- 1978 – King Hussein of Jordan weds American Lisa Halaby, who takes the name Queen Noor.
- 1985 – Rembrandt's painting Danaë is attacked by a man later judged insane; he threw sulfuric acid on the canvas and cut it twice with his knife.
- 1991 – Birth of the first federal political party in Canada that supports Quebec nationalism, le Bloc Québécois.
- 1992 – The United States Supreme Court rules in United States v. Álvarez-Machaín that it is permissible for the USA to forcibly extradite suspects in foreign countries and bring them to the USA for trial, without approval from those other countries.
- 1994 – Israel and Vatican City establish full diplomatic relations.
- 1996 – In Manchester, UK, a terrorist bomb injures over 200 people and devastates a large part of the city centre.
- 2002 – Near earth asteroid 2002 MN missed the Earth by 75,000 miles (120,000 km), about one-third of the distance between the Earth and the Moon
[edit] Births
- 1330 – Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales (d. 1376)
- 1519 – Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset, illegitimate son of King Henry VIII of England (d. 1536)
- 1594 – Nicolas Poussin, French painter (d. 1665)
- 1623 – Cornelis de Witt, Dutch politician (d. 1672)
- 1624 – Hiob Ludolf, German orientalist (d. 1704)
- 1640 – Bernard Lamy, French mathematician (d. 1715)
- 1755 – Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy, French chemist (d. 1809)
- 1765 – Johann Gottlieb Friedrich von Bohnenberger, German mathematician (d. 1831)
- 1767 – Rachel Donelson Jackson, First Lady of the United States (d. 1828)
- 1777 – David Daniel Davis, British politician (d. 1841)
- 1789 – Josiah Henson, American slave and settlement founder (d. 1883)
- 1801 – Benjamin Raymond, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1883)
- 1805 – William Butler Ogden, first Mayor of Chicago (d. 1877)
- 1809 – François-Xavier Garneau, French-Canadian poet and historian (d. 1866)
- 1843 – Edvard Grieg, Norwegian composer (d. 1907)
- 1875 – Herman Smith-Johannsen, cross-country skier (d. 1987)
- 1882 – Ion Antonescu, Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1946)
- 1884 – Harry Langdon, American actor (d. 1944)
- 1888 – Ramón López Velarde, Mexican poet (d. 1921)
- 1894 – Nikolai Chebotaryov, Ukrainian mathematician (d. 1947)
- 1894 – Robert Russell Bennett, American composer and arranger (d. 1981)
- 1900 – Gotthard Günther, German philosopher (d. 1984)
- 1900 – Otto Luening, German-American composer (d. 1996)
- 1902 – Erik Erikson, psychoanalyst (d. 1994)
- 1906 – Léon Degrelle, Belgian SS officer (d. 1994)
- 1908 – Sam Giancana, American mafioso (d. 1975)
- 1910 – David Rose, American songwriter, composer and orchestra leader (d. 1990)
- 1911 – W.V. Awdry, British children's writer (d. 1997)
- 1914 – Yuri Andropov, Soviet politician (d. 1984)
- 1914 – Saul Steinberg, Romanian/American cartoonist (d. 1999)
- 1914 – Hilda Terry, American Cartoonist (d. 2006)
- 1915 – Thomas Huckle Weller, American virologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- 1916 – Herbert Simon, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2001)
- 1917 – John Bennett Fenn, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1917 – Lash La Rue, American actor (d. 1996)
- 1917 – Michalis Genitsaris, Greek singer and composer (d. 2005)
- 1920 – Alberto Sordi, Italian actor and director (d. 2003)
- 1920 – Alla Kazanskaya, Russian stage and film actress (d. 2008)
- 1921 – Errol Garner, American musician (d. 1977)
- 1922 – John Veale, English composer (d. 2006)
- 1924 – Ezer Weizman, Israeli politician (d. 2005)
- 1926 – Mac McGarry, American quiz show host
- 1926 – Shigeru Kayano, Japanese Ainu activist (d. 2006)
- 1927 – Ibn-e-Insha, Pakistani humourist and Urdu poet (d. 1978)
- 1927 – Hugo Pratt, Italian comic book creator (d. 1995)
- 1930 – Marcel Pronovost, Canadian professional ice hockey player
- 1932 – Mario Cuomo, American politician
- 1933 – Sergio Endrigo, Italian singer (d. 2005)
- 1933 – Mark Jones, English footballer (d. 1958)
- 1934 – Jerry Buss, American basketball team owner
- 1934 – Mikel Laboa, Basque singer and songwriter. (d. 2008)
- 1936 – Claude Brasseur, French actor
- 1936 – William Joseph Levada, American Catholic prelate
- 1937 – Waylon Jennings, American singer (d. 2002)
- 1938 – Billy Williams, baseball player
- 1939 – Ward Connerly, American political figure
- 1939 – Brian Jacques, British author
- 1941 – Harry Nilsson, American singer and composer (d. 1994)
- 1942 – John E. McLaughlin, former Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
- 1943 – Xaviera Hollander, Dutch author
- 1943 – Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, former Prime Minister of Denmark
- 1943 – Johnny Hallyday, French singer and actor
- 1943 – Muff Winwood, British songwriter and bassist (Spencer Davis Group)
- 1943 – Lee Shallat-Chemel, American television director
- 1944 – Robert Keppel, American criminologist
- 1945 – Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Philippine senator
- 1945 – Nicola Pagett, British actress
- 1945 – Lawrence Wilkerson, American retired military officer
- 1946 – Noddy Holder, British singer (Slade)
- 1946 – Demis Roussos, Greek singer
- 1947 – John Hoagland, American photographer
- 1947 – Lee Purcell, American actress
- 1948 – Mike Holmgren, American football coach
- 1949 – Dusty Baker, baseball player and manager
- 1949 – Simon Callow, British actor
- 1949 – Russell Hitchcock, Australian singer (Air Supply)
- 1949 – Jim Varney, American actor (d. 2000)
- 1950 – Lakshmi Mittal, Indian industrialist
- 1951 – Steve Walsh, American singer (Kansas)
- 1953 – Rita Lee, American model and Playboy Playmate
- 1954 – James Belushi, American actor
- 1954 – Paul Rusesabagina, Rwandan hotel manager
- 1954 – Beverley Whitfield, Australian swimmer (d. 1996)
- 1955 – Julie Hagerty, American actress
- 1955 – David Kennedy, Kennedy family member (d. 1984)
- 1956 – Ava Cadell, American actress
- 1956 – Robin Curtis, American actress
- 1956 – Polly Draper, American actress
- 1957 – Seppo Pääkkönen, Finnish actor
- 1958 – Wade Boggs, American baseball player
- 1958 – Riccardo Paletti, Italian racing driver (d. 1982)
- 1959 – Eileen Davidson, American actress
- 1959 – Alan Brazil, British footballer
- 1960 – Michèle Laroque, French actress
- 1960 – Marieke van Doorn, Dutch field hockey player
- 1961 – Kai Eckhardt, German musician (Garaj Mahal)
- 1961 – Dave McAuley, Northern Irish boxer
- 1961 – Yoshimi Iwasaki, Japanese singer/actress
- 1961 – Scott Norton, American professional wrestler
- 1962 – Andrea Rost, Hungarian soprano
- 1963 – Mario Gosselin, Quebec ice hockey player
- 1963 – Helen Hunt, American actress
- 1963 – Blanca Portillo, Spanish actress
- 1963 – Nigel Walker, Welsh athlete and rugby union player
- 1964 – Courteney Cox, American actress
- 1964 – Gavin Greenaway, British composer
- 1964 – Michael Laudrup, Danish footballer
- 1965 – Annelies Bredael, Belgian rower
- 1965 – Adam Smith, American politician
- 1966 – Idalis DeLeon, American actress/singer
- 1967 – Yūji Ueda, Japanese voice actor
- 1968 – Oh Dal-su, South Korean actor
- 1969 – Ice Cube, American rapper
- 1969 – Oliver Kahn, German footballer
- 1969 – Cédric Pioline, French tennis player
- 1969 – Maurice Odumbe, Kenyan cricketer
- 1970 – Leah Remini, American actress
- 1970 – Gaëlle Méchaly, French soprano
- 1970 – Christian Bauman, American novelist and essayist
- 1971 – Edwin Brienen, Dutch director
- 1971 – Jake Busey, American actor
- 1971 – Bif Naked, Canadian musician
- 1971 – Nathan Astle, New Zealand cricketer
- 1972 – Justin Leonard, American golfer
- 1972 – Andy Pettitte, American baseball player
- 1972 – Marcus Hahnemann, American soccer player
- 1972 – Hank Von Helvete, Turbonegro Frontman
- 1972 – Chloe Dao, American designer and winner of Project Runway (season 2)
- 1973 – Neil Patrick Harris, American actor
- 1973 – Tore André Flo, Norwegian footballer
- 1973 – Pia Miranda, Australian actress
- 1973 – Greg Vaughan, American actor
- 1975 – Elizabeth Reaser, American actress
- 1975 – Rachel Wacholder, American beach volleyballer
- 1976 – Gary Lightbody, Northern Irish musician (Snow Patrol)
- 1977 – Nina Liu, Australian actress
- 1977 – Michael Doleac, American basketball player
- 1978 – Wilfred Bouma, Dutch footballer
- 1978 – Zach Day, American baseball player
- 1979 – Yulia Nestsiarenka, Belarusian athlete
- 1979 – Julia Schultz, American model
- 1979 – Charles Zwolsman Jr., Dutch racing driver
- 1980 – Mary Carey, American pornographic actress
- 1980 – Christopher Castile, American actor
- 1980 – Almudena Cid Tostado, Spanish gymnast
- 1980 – Cara Zavaleta, American model
- 1981 – William Dean Martin, American musician (Good Charlotte)
- 1981 – Jeremy Reed, American baseball player
- 1981 – Jordi Vilasuso, American actor
- 1982 – Abdur Razzak, Bangladeshi cricketer
- 1982 – Haley Scarnato, American singer
- 1983 – Derek Anderson, American football player
- 1983 – Julia Fischer, German violinist
- 1983 – Laura Imbruglia, Australian musician
- 1984 – Airu Shiozaki, Irish-Japanese actor
- 1984 – Tim Lincecum, American baseball player
- 1984 – Luke Hodge, AFL player for Hawthorn
- 1985 – Nadine Coyle, Northern Irish singer (Girls Aloud)
- 1988 – Miku Ishida, Japanese teen idol
[edit] Deaths
- 923 – Robert I of France (b. 866)
- 991 – Empress Theophanu
- 1073 – Emperor Go-Sanjō of Japan (b. 1034)
- 1246 – Duke Frederick II of Austria (b. 1219)
- 1341 – Andronikos III Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1297)
- 1381 – John Cavendish, Lord Chief Justice of England
- 1381 – Wat Tyler, English rebel
- 1383 – John VI Cantacuzenus, Byzantine Emperor
- 1389 – Murad I, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1326)
- 1389 – Prince Lazar, Serbian Orthodox saint (b. 1329)
- 1467 – Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1396)
- 1521 – Tamás Bakócz. Hungarian Catholic cardinal and statesman (b. 1442)
- 1614 – Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton, English politician (b. 1540)
- 1679 – Guillaume Courtois, French painter (b. 1628)
- 1724 – Henry Sacheverell, English churchman and politician (b. 1674)
- 1750 – Marguerite De Launay, Baronne Staal, French writer (b. 1684)
- 1768 – James Short, Scottish mathematician and optician (b. 1710)
- 1772 – Louis-Claude Daquin, French composer (b. 1694)
- 1844 – Thomas Campbell, Scottish poet (b. 1777)
- 1849 – James Knox Polk, 11th President of the United States (b. 1795)
- 1858 – Ary Scheffer, Dutch-French painter (b. 1795)
- 1888 – Emperor Friedrich III of Germany (b. 1831)
- 1889 – Mihai Eminescu, Romanian poet (b. 1850)
- 1917 – Kristian Birkeland, Norwegian physicist (b. 1867)
- 1934 – Alfred Bruneau, French composer (b. 1857)
- 1941 – Evelyn Underhill, British writer (b. 1875)
- 1941 – Otfrid Foerster, German neurologist (b. 1873)
- 1961 – Giulio Cabianca, Italian racing driver (b. 1923)
- 1962 – Alfred Cortot, Franco-Swiss pianist (b. 1877)
- 1965 – E. A. Speiser, American Bible scholar (b. 1902)
- 1965 – Steve Cochran, American actor (b. 1917)
- 1968 – Sam Crawford, baseball player (b. 1880)
- 1968 – Wes Montgomery, American jazz guitarist (b. 1925)
- 1971 – Wendell Meredith Stanley, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
- 1976 – Jimmy Dykes, baseball player and manager (b. 1896)
- 1983 – Srirangam Srinivasarao, also known as Sri Sri, Telugu poet (b. 1910)
- 1984 – Meredith Willson, American composer (b. 1902)
- 1985 – Andy Stanfield, American athlete (b. 1927)
- 1985 – Robert Stethem, U.S. Navy Seabee diver murdered by terrorists on TWA Flight 847 (b. 1961)
- 1989 – Victor French, American actor (b. 1934)
- 1989 – Maurice Bellemare, Canadian politician (b. 1912)
- 1991 – Arthur Lewis, British economist, Nobel laureate (b. 1915)
- 1991 – Happy Chandler, American politician and Commissioner of Baseball (b. 1898)
- 1993 – John Connally, American politician (b. 1917)
- 1993 – James Hunt, English race car driver and 1976 F1 world champion (b. 1947)
- 1994 – Manos Hadjidakis, Greek composer (b. 1925)
- 1995 – John Vincent Atanasoff, American computer pioneer (b. 1903)
- 1996 – Ella Fitzgerald, American singer (b. 1917)
- 1996 – Dick Murdoch, professional wrestler (b. 1946)
- 2000 – Jules Roy, French writer (b. 1907)
- 2001 – Henri Alekan, French cinematographer (b. 1909)
- 2002 – Choi Hong Hi, founder of Taekwon-Do (b. 1918)
- 2003 – Hume Cronyn, Canadian actor (b. 1911)
- 2005 – Suzanne Flon, French actress (b. 1918)
- 2006 – Raymond Devos, French humourist (b. 1922)
- 2006 – Herb Pearson, New Zealand cricketer (b. 1910)
- 2007 – Claudia Cohen, American gossip columnist and socialite (b. 1950)
- 2007 – Sherri Martel, American professional wrestler and valet (b. 1958)
- 2008 – Stan Winston, American special effects and makeup artist, and film director (b. 1946)
[edit] Holidays and observances
[edit] External links
