- 763 BC – Assyrians record a solar eclipse that is later used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history.
- 844 – Louis II is crowned as king of Italy at Rome by pope Sergius II.
- 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 – The naval Battle of Fimreite is won by the Birkebeiner pretender Sverre Sigurdsson. Sigurdsson takes the Norwegian throne and King Magnus V of Norway is killed.
- 1215 – King John of England puts his seal to Magna Carta.
- 1219 – Northern Crusades: Danish victory at the Battle of Lindanise (modern-day Tallinn) establishes the Danish Duchy of Estonia.
- 1246 – With the death of Frederick II, Duke of Austria, the Babenberg dynasty ends in Austria.
- 1300 – The city of Bilbao is founded.
- 1312 – At the Battle of Rozgony, King Charles I of Hungary wins a decisive victory over the family of Palatine Amade Aba.
- 1389 – Battle of Kosovo: The Ottoman Empire defeats Serbs and Bosnians.
- 1410 – In a decisive battle at Onon River, the Mongol forces of Oljei Temur were decimated by the Chinese armies of the Yongle Emperor.
- 1502 – Christopher Columbus lands on the island of Martinique on his fourth voyage.
- 1520 – Pope Leo X threatens to excommunicate Martin Luther in Exsurge Domine.
- 1648 – Margaret Jones is hanged in Boston for witchcraft in the first such execution for the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
- 1667 – The first human blood transfusion is administered by Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys.
- 1670 – The first stone of Fort Ricasoli is laid down in Malta.
- 1752 – Benjamin Franklin proves that lightning is electricity (traditional date, the exact date is unknown).
- 1776 – Delaware Separation Day: Delaware votes to suspend government under the British Crown and separate officially from Pennsylvania.
- 1800 – The Provisional Army of the United States is dissolved.
- 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 extends the border between the United States and British North America, established by the Treaty of 1818, westward to the Pacific Ocean.
- 1859 – Ambiguity in the Oregon Treaty leads to the “Northwestern Boundary Dispute” between American and British/Canadian settlers.
- 1864 – American Civil War: The Second Battle of Petersburg begins.
- 1864 – Arlington National Cemetery is established when 200 acres (0.81 km2) of the Arlington estate (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.
- 1877 – Henry Ossian Flipper becomes the first African American cadet to graduate from the United States Military Academy.
- 1878 – Eadweard Muybridge takes a series of photographs to prove that all four feet of a horse leave the ground when it runs; the study becomes the basis of motion pictures.
- 1888 – Crown Prince Wilhelm becomes Kaiser Wilhelm II; he will be the last Emperor of the German Empire. Due to the death of his predecessors Wilhelm I and Frederick III, 1888 is the Year of the Three Emperors.
- 1896 – The deadliest tsunami in Japan’s history kills more than 22,000 people.
- 1904 – A fire aboard the steamboat SS General Slocum in New York City’s East River kills 1,000.
- 1916 – United States 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 when they reach Clifden, County Galway, Ireland.
- 1920 – Following the 1920 Schleswig plebiscites, Northern Schleswig is transferred from Germany to Denmark.
- 1921 – Bessie Coleman earns her pilot’s license, becoming the first female pilot of African-American descent.
- 1934 – The United States Great Smoky Mountains National Park is founded.
- 1936 – First flight of the Vickers Wellington bomber.
- 1937 – A German expedition led by Karl Wien loses sixteen members in an avalanche on Nanga Parbat. It is the worst single disaster to occur on an 8000m peak.
- 1940 – World War II: Operation Ariel begins: Allied troops start to evacuate France, following Germany’s takeover of Paris and most of the nation.
- 1944 – World War II: The United States invades Saipan, capital of Japan’s South Seas Mandate.
- 1944 – In the Saskatchewan general election, the CCF, led by Tommy Douglas, is elected and forms the first socialist government in North America.
- 1970 – Charles Manson goes on trial for the Sharon Tate murders.
- 1972 – Red Army Faction co-founder Ulrike Meinhof is captured by police in Langenhagen.
- 1977 – After the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, the first democratic elections took place in Spain.
- 1978 – King Hussein of Jordan marries American Lisa Halaby, who takes the name Queen Noor.
- 1985 – Rembrandt’s painting Danaë is attacked by a man (later judged insane) who throws sulfuric acid on the canvas and cuts it twice with a knife.
- 1991 – In the Philippines, Mount Pinatubo erupts in the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, killing over 800 people.
- 1992 – The United States Supreme Court rules in United States v. Álvarez-Machaín that it is permissible for the United States to forcibly extradite suspects in foreign countries and bring them to the United States for trial, without approval from those other countries.
- 1994 – Israel and Vatican City establish full diplomatic relations.
- 1996 – The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) detonates a powerful truck bomb in the middle of Manchester, England, devastating the city centre and injuring 200 people.
- 2001 – Leaders of the People’s Republic of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan formed the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
- 2012 – Nik Wallenda becomes the first person to successfully tightrope walk directly over Niagara Falls.
- 2013 – A bomb explodes on a bus in the Pakistani city of Quetta, killing at least 25 people and wounding 22 others.
Births on June 15
- 1330 – Edward, the Black Prince of England (d. 1376)
- 1479 – Lisa del Giocondo, Italian model, subject of the Mona Lisa (d. 1542)
- 1519 – Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1536)
- 1542 – Richard Grenville, English captain and explorer (d. 1591)
- 1549 – Elizabeth Knollys, English noblewoman (d. 1605)
- 1553 – Archduke Ernest of Austria (d. 1595)
- 1605 – Thomas Randolph, English poet and playwright (d. 1635)
- 1618 – François Blondel, French architect (d. 1686)
- 1623 – Cornelis de Witt, Dutch politician (d. 1672)
- 1624 – Hiob Ludolf, German orientalist and philologist (d. 1704)
- 1640 – Bernard Lamy, French mathematician and theologian (d. 1715)
- 1645 – Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin, English politician (d. 1712)
- 1749 – Georg Joseph Vogler, German organist, composer, and theorist (d. 1814)
- 1754 – Juan José Elhuyar, Spanish chemist and mineralogist (d. 1796)
- 1755 – Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy, French chemist and entomologist (d. 1809)
- 1763 – Franz Danzi, German cellist, composer, and conductor (d. 1826)
- 1763 – Kobayashi Issa, Japanese priest and poet (d. 1827)
- 1765 – Martin Baum, American businessman and politician, Mayor of Cincinnati (d. 1831)
- 1765 – Johann Gottlieb Friedrich von Bohnenberger, German astronomer and mathematician (d. 1831)
- 1767 – Rachel Jackson, American wife of Andrew Jackson (d. 1828)
- 1777 – David Daniel Davis, Welsh physician and academic (d. 1841)
- 1789 – Josiah Henson, American minister, author, and activist (d. 1883)
- 1792 – Thomas Mitchell, Scottish-Australian colonel and explorer (d. 1855)
- 1801 – Benjamin Wright Raymond, American merchant and politician, 3rd Mayor of Chicago (d. 1883)
- 1805 – William B. Ogden, American businessman and politician, 1st Mayor of Chicago (d. 1877)
- 1809 – François-Xavier Garneau, Canadian poet and historian (d. 1866)
- 1835 – Adah Isaacs Menken, American actress, painter, and poet (d. 1868)
- 1843 – Edvard Grieg, Norwegian pianist and composer (d. 1907)
- 1848 – Gheevarghese Mar Gregorios of Parumala, Indian bishop and saint (d. 1902)
- 1872 – Thomas William Burgess, English swimmer and water polo player (d. 1950)
- 1875 – Herman Smith-Johannsen, Norwegian-Canadian skier (d. 1987)
- 1878 – Margaret Abbott, Indian-American golfer (d. 1955)
- 1881 – Kesago Nakajima, Japanese lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army (d. 1945)
- 1884 – Harry Langdon, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1944)
- 1886 – Frank Clement, British racing driver (d. 1970)
- 1888 – Ramón López Velarde, Mexican poet and author (d. 1921)
- 1890 – Georg Wüst, German oceanographer and academic (d. 1977)
- 1894 – Robert Russell Bennett, American composer and conductor (d. 1981)
- 1894 – Nikolai Chebotaryov, Ukrainian-Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 1947)
- 1898 – Hubertus Strughold, German-American physiologist and academic (d. 1986)
- 1900 – Gotthard Günther, German philosopher and academic (d. 1984)
- 1900 – Otto Luening, German-American composer and conductor (d. 1996)
- 1901 – Elmar Lohk, Russian-Estonian architect (d. 1963)
- 1902 – Erik Erikson, German-American psychologist and psychoanalyst (d. 1994)
- 1906 – Gordon Welchman, English-American mathematician and author (d. 1985)
- 1906 – Léon Degrelle, Belgian SS officer (d. 1994)
- 1907 – James Robertson Justice, English actor and educator (d. 1975)
- 1909 – Elena Nikolaidi, Greek-American soprano and educator (d. 2002)
- 1910 – David Rose, English-American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1990)
- 1911 – Wilbert Awdry, English author, co-created Thomas the Tank Engine (d. 1997)
- 1913 – Tom Adair, American songwriter, composer, and screenwriter (d. 1988)
- 1914 – Yuri Andropov, Russian politician (d. 1984)
- 1914 – Saul Steinberg, Romanian-American cartoonist (d. 1999)
- 1914 – Hilda Terry, American cartoonist (d. 2006)
- 1915 – Nini Theilade, Danish ballet dancer, choreographer, and educator (d. 2018)
- 1915 – Thomas Huckle Weller, American biologist and virologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2008)
- 1916 – Olga Erteszek, Polish-American fashion designer (d. 1989)
- 1916 – Horacio Salgán, Argentinian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2016)
- 1916 – Herbert A. Simon, American political scientist and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2001)
- 1917 – John Fenn, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2010)
- 1917 – Michalis Genitsaris, Greek singer-songwriter (d. 2005)
- 1917 – Lash LaRue, American actor and producer (d. 1996)
- 1918 – François Tombalbaye, Chadian politician, 1st President of Chad (d. 1975)
- 1920 – Keith Andrews, American race car driver (d. 1957)
- 1920 – Alla Kazanskaya, Russian actress (d. 2008)
- 1920 – Sam Sniderman, Canadian businessman, founded Sam the Record Man (d. 2012)
- 1920 – Alberto Sordi, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
- 1921 – Erroll Garner, American pianist and composer (d. 1977)
- 1922 – Jaki Byard, American pianist and composer (d. 1999)
- 1923 – Erland Josephson, Swedish actor and director (d. 2012)
- 1923 – Ninian Stephen, English-Australian lieutenant, judge, and politician, 20th Governor-General of Australia (d. 2017)
- 1924 – Hédi Fried, Swedish author and psychologist
- 1924 – Ezer Weizman, Israeli general and politician, 7th President of Israel (d. 2005)
- 1925 – Richard Baker, English journalist and author (d. 2018)
- 1925 – Attilâ İlhan, Turkish poet, author, and critic (d. 2005)
- 1926 – Alfred Duraiappah, Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and politician (d. 1975)
- 1927 – Ross Andru, American illustrator (d. 1993)
- 1927 – Ibn-e-Insha, Indian-Pakistani poet and author (d. 1978)
- 1927 – Hugo Pratt, Italian author and illustrator (d. 1995)
- 1930 – Miguel Méndez, American author and academic (d. 2013)
- 1930 – Marcel Pronovost, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2015)
- 1931 – Joseph Gilbert, English air marshal
- 1931 – Brian Sewell, English art dealer and critic (d. 2015)
- 1932 – David Alliance, Baron Alliance, Iranian-English businessman and politician
- 1932 – Mario Cuomo, American lawyer and politician, 52nd Governor of New York (d. 2015)
- 1932 – Zia Fariduddin Dagar, Indian singer (d. 2013)
- 1932 – Bernie Faloney, American-Canadian football player and sportscaster (d. 1999)
- 1933 – Mohammad-Ali Rajai, Iranian politician, 2nd President of Iran (d. 1981)
- 1933 – Predrag Koraksić Corax, Serbian political caricaturist
- 1934 – Ruby Nash Garnett, American R&B singer
- 1936 – William Levada, American cardinal
- 1937 – Pierre Billon, Swiss-Canadian author and screenwriter
- 1937 – Waylon Jennings, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2002)
- 1938 – Billy Williams, American baseball player and coach
- 1939 – Ward Connerly, American activist and businessman, founded the American Civil Rights Institute
- 1941 – Neal Adams, American illustrator
- 1941 – Harry Nilsson, American singer-songwriter (d. 1994)
- 1942 – Ian Greenberg, Canadian broadcaster, founded Astral Media
- 1942 – John E. McLaughlin, American diplomat
- 1942 – Peter Norman, Australian sprinter (d. 2006)
- 1943 – Johnny Hallyday, French singer and actor (d. 2017)
- 1943 – Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, Danish politician, 38th Prime Minister of Denmark
- 1944 – Robert D. Keppel, American police officer and academic
- 1945 – Miriam Defensor Santiago, Filipino judge and politician (d. 2016)
- 1945 – Robert Sarah, Guinean cardinal
- 1945 – Lawrence Wilkerson, American colonel
- 1946 – Noddy Holder, English rock singer-songwriter, musician, and actor
- 1946 – John Horner, American paleontologist and academic
- 1946 – Demis Roussos, Egyptian-Greek singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2015)
- 1947 – John Hoagland, American photographer and journalist (d. 1984)
- 1948 – Mike Holmgren, American football player and coach
- 1948 – Alan Huckle, English politician and diplomat, Governor of Anguilla
- 1948 – Henry McLeish, Scottish footballer, academic, and politician, 2nd First Minister of Scotland
- 1949 – Dusty Baker, American baseball player and manager
- 1949 – Simon Callow, English actor and director
- 1949 – Russell Hitchcock, Australian singer-songwriter
- 1949 – Jim Varney, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter (d. 2000)
- 1950 – Uğur Erdener, Turkish ophthalmologist and professor
- 1950 – Juliana Azumah-Mensah, Ghanaian nurse and politician
- 1950 – Deney Terrio, American choreographer and host of the television musical variety series Dance Fever
- 1950 – Lakshmi Mittal, Indian-English businessman
- 1951 – Jane Amsterdam, American magazine and newspaper editor (Manhattan, inc., New York Post)
- 1951 – Vance A. Larson, American painter (d. 2000)
- 1951 – John Redwood, English politician, Secretary of State for Wales
- 1951 – Steve Walsh, American rock singer-songwriter and musician
- 1952 – Satya Pal Jain, Indian lawyer and politician, Additional Solicitor General of India
- 1953 – Vilma Bardauskienė, Lithuanian long jumper
- 1953 – Marc Brickman, American lighting and production designer
- 1953 – Eje Elgh, Swedish racing driver and sportscaster
- 1953 – Xi Jinping, Chinese engineer and politician, General Secretary of the Communist Party and President of China
- 1953 – Raphael Wallfisch, English cellist and educator
- 1954 – Jim Belushi, American actor
- 1954 – Terri Gibbs, American country music singer and keyboard player
- 1954 – Paul Rusesabagina, Rwandan humanitarian
- 1954 – Zdeňka Šilhavá, Czech discus thrower and shot putter
- 1954 – Beverley Whitfield, Australian swimmer (d. 1996)
- 1955 – Polly Draper, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
- 1955 – Julie Hagerty, American model and actress
- 1956 – Yevgeny Kiselyov, Russian-Ukrainian journalist
- 1956 – Lance Parrish, American baseball player, coach, and manager
- 1958 – Wade Boggs, American baseball player
- 1958 – Riccardo Paletti, Italian racing driver (d. 1982)
- 1959 – Alan Brazil, Scottish footballer and sportscaster
- 1959 – Eileen Davidson, American model and actress
- 1960 – Michèle Laroque, French actress, producer, and screenwriter
- 1960 – Marieke van Doorn, Dutch field hockey player and coach
- 1961 – Dave McAuley, Irish boxer and sportscaster
- 1961 – Scott Norton, American wrestler
- 1962 – Brad Armstrong, American wrestler (d. 2012)
- 1962 – Chris Morris, English actor, satirist, director, and producer
- 1962 – Andrea Rost, Hungarian soprano
- 1963 – Marina Azyabina, Russian hurdler
- 1963 – Mario Gosselin, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1963 – Helen Hunt, American actress, director, and producer
- 1964 – Courteney Cox, American actress and producer
- 1964 – Michael Laudrup, Danish footballer and manager
- 1965 – Annelies Bredael, Belgian rower
- 1965 – Karim Massimov, Kazakhstani politician, 7th Prime Minister of Kazakhstan
- 1965 – Adam Smith, American lawyer and politician
- 1966 – Raimonds Vējonis, Latvian politician, 9th President of Latvia
- 1968 – Károly Güttler, Hungarian swimmer
- 1969 – Jesse Bélanger, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1969 – Ice Cube, American rapper, producer, and actor
- 1969 – Idalis DeLeón, American singer and actress
- 1969 – Nasos Galakteros, Greek basketball player
- 1969 – Oliver Kahn, German footballer and sportscaster
- 1969 – Maurice Odumbe, Kenyan cricketer
- 1969 – Cédric Pioline, French tennis player
- 1970 – Christian Bauman, American soldier and author
- 1970 – David Bayssari, Australian rugby league player
- 1970 – Gaëlle Méchaly, French soprano
- 1970 – Leah Remini, American actress and producer
- 1970 – Žan Tabak, Croatian basketball player and coach
- 1971 – Christos Myriounis, Greek basketball player
- 1971 – Jake Busey, American actor, musician, and film producer
- 1972 – Justin Leonard, American golfer
- 1972 – Andy Pettitte, American baseball player
- 1973 – Tore Andre Flo, Norwegian footballer and coach
- 1973 – Neil Patrick Harris, American actor and singer
- 1973 – Pia Miranda, Australian actress
- 1976 – Jiří Ryba, Czech decathlete
- 1977 – Michael Doleac, American basketball player and manager
- 1978 – Wilfred Bouma, Dutch footballer
- 1978 – Zach Day, American baseball player
- 1979 – Yulia Nestsiarenka, Belarusian sprinter
- 1979 – Christian Rahn, German footballer
- 1979 – Charles Zwolsman, Jr., Dutch racing driver
- 1980 – David Lyons, Australian rugby player
- 1981 – John Paintsil, Ghanaian footballer
- 1982 – Mike Delany, New Zealand rugby player
- 1982 – Abdur Razzak, Bangladeshi cricketer
- 1983 – Julia Fischer, German violinist and pianist[citation needed]
- 1983 – Laura Imbruglia, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist[citation needed]
- 1983 – Josh McGuire, Canadian fencer
- 1984 – Luke Hodge, Australian footballer
- 1984 – Eva Hrdinová, Czech tennis player
- 1984 – Tim Lincecum, American baseball player
- 1984 – Edison Toloza, Colombian footballer
- 1985 – Ashley Nicole Black, American comedian, actress, and writer
- 1986 – James Maloney, Australian rugby league player
- 1986 – Trevor Plouffe, American baseball player
- 1989 – Víctor Cabedo, Spanish cyclist (d. 2012)
- 1989 – Bryan Clauson, American race car driver (d. 2016)
- 1992 – Michał Kopczyński, Polish footballer
- 1992 – Mohamed Salah, Egyptian footballer
- 1992 – Dafne Schippers, Dutch heptathlete and sprinter
- 1993 – Irfan Hadžić, Bosnian footballer
- 1994 – Inaki Williams, Basque footballer
- 1997 – Madison Kocian, American gymnast
Deaths on June 15
- 923 – Robert I of France (b. 866)
- 948 – Romanos I Lekapenos, Byzantine Emperor (b. c. 870)
- 952 – Murong Yanchao, Chinese general
- 960 – Eadburh of Winchester, English princess and saint
- 970 – Adalbert, bishop of Passau
- 991 – Theophanu, Byzantine wife of Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 960)
- 1073 – Emperor Go-Sanjō of Japan (b. 1034)
- 1184 – Magnus Erlingsson, King of Norway (b. 1156)
- 1189 – Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Japanese general (b. 1159)
- 1246 – Frederick II, Duke of Austria (b. 1219)
- 1337 – Angelo da Clareno, Italian Franciscan and leader of a group of Fraticelli (b. 1247)
- 1341 – Andronikos III Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1297)
- 1381 – John Cavendish, English lawyer and judge (b. 1346)
- 1381 – Wat Tyler, English rebel leader (b. 1341)
- 1383 – John VI Kantakouzenos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1292)
- 1383 – Matthew Kantakouzenos, Byzantine emperor
- 1389 – Lazar of Serbia (b. 1329)
- 1389 – Murad I, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1319)
- 1389 – Miloš Obilić, Serbian knight.
- 1416 – John, Duke of Berry (b. 1340)
- 1467 – Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1396)
- 1521 – Tamás Bakócz, Hungarian cardinal (b. 1442)
- 1614 – Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton, English courtier and politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1540)
- 1724 – Henry Sacheverell, English minister and politician (b. 1674)
- 1768 – James Short, Scottish mathematician and optician (b. 1710)
- 1772 – Louis-Claude Daquin, French organist and composer (b. 1694)
- 1844 – Thomas Campbell, Scottish poet and academic (b. 1777)
- 1849 – James K. Polk, American lawyer and politician, 11th President of the United States (b. 1795)
- 1858 – Ary Scheffer, Dutch-French painter and academic (b. 1795)
- 1888 – Frederick III, German Emperor (b. 1831)
- 1889 – Mihai Eminescu, Romanian journalist, author, and poet (b. 1850)
- 1890 – Unryū Kyūkichi, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 10th Yokozuna (b. 1822)
- 1917 – Kristian Birkeland, Norwegian physicist and academic (b. 1867)
- 1934 – Alfred Bruneau, French cellist and composer (b. 1857)
- 1938 – Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, German painter and illustrator (b. 1880)
- 1941 – Otfrid Foerster, German neurologist and physician (b. 1873)
- 1941 – Evelyn Underhill, English mystic and author (b. 1875)
- 1945 – Count Albert von Mensdorff-Pouilly-Dietrichstein, Austrian diplomat
- 1961 – Giulio Cabianca, Italian racing driver (b. 1923)
- 1961 – Peyami Safa, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1899)
- 1962 – Alfred Cortot, Swiss pianist and conductor (b. 1877)
- 1967 – Tatu Kolehmainen, Finnish runner (b. 1885)
- 1968 – Sam Crawford, American baseball player, coach, and umpire (b. 1880)
- 1968 – Wes Montgomery, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1925)
- 1971 – Wendell Meredith Stanley, American biochemist and virologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
- 1976 – Jimmy Dykes, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1896)
- 1984 – Meredith Willson, American playwright, composer, and conductor (b. 1902)
- 1985 – Andy Stanfield, American sprinter (b. 1927)
- 1989 – Maurice Bellemare, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1912)
- 1989 – Ray McAnally, Irish actor (b. 1926)
- 1991 – Happy Chandler, American businessman and politician, 49th Governor of Kentucky (b. 1898)
- 1991 – Arthur Lewis, Saint Lucian economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
- 1992 – Chuck Menville, American animator, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1940)
- 1992 – Brett Whiteley, Australian painter (b. 1939)
- 1993 – John Connally, American commander, lawyer, and politician, 61st United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1917)
- 1993 – James Hunt, English racing driver and sportscaster (b. 1947)
- 1994 – Manos Hatzidakis, Greek composer and theorist (b. 1925)
- 1995 – John Vincent Atanasoff, American physicist and inventor, invented the Atanasoff–Berry computer (b. 1903)
- 1996 – Ella Fitzgerald, American singer and actress (b. 1917)
- 1996 – Sir Fitzroy Maclean, 1st Baronet, Scottish general and politician (b. 1911)
- 1996 – Dick Murdoch, American wrestler (b. 1946)
- 1999 – Omer Côté, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1906)
- 2000 – Jules Roy, French author, poet, and playwright (b. 1907)
- 2001 – Henri Alekan, French cinematographer (b. 1909)
- 2002 – Choi Hong Hi, South Korean general and martial artist, founded Taekwondo (b. 1918)
- 2003 – Hume Cronyn, Canadian-American actor (b. 1911)
- 2004 – Ahmet Piriştina, Turkish politician and mayor of İzmir (b. 1952)
- 2005 – Suzanne Flon, French actress (b. 1918)
- 2006 – Raymond Devos, Belgian-French comedian and clown (b. 1922)
- 2006 – Herb Pearson, New Zealand cricketer (b. 1910)
- 2008 – Ray Getliffe, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1914)
- 2011 – Bill Haast, American herpetologist and academic (b. 1910)
- 2012 – Phillip D. Cagan, American economist and author (b. 1927)
- 2012 – Capitola Dickerson, American pianist and educator (b. 1913)
- 2012 – Barry MacKay, American tennis player and sportscaster (b. 1935)
- 2012 – Israel Nogueda Otero, Mexican economist and politician, 10th Governor of Guerrero (b. 1935)
- 2012 – Jerry Tubbs, American football player and coach (b. 1935)
- 2013 – Heinz Flohe, German footballer and manager (b. 1948)
- 2013 – José Froilán González, Argentinian racing driver (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Dennis O’Rourke, Australian director and producer (b. 1945)
- 2013 – Kenneth G. Wilson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1936)
- 2014 – Jacques Bergerac, French actor and businessman (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Casey Kasem, American radio host, producer, and voice actor, co-created American Top 40 (b. 1932)
- 2014 – Daniel Keyes, American short story writer and novelist (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Moise Safra, Brazilian businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Banco Safra (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Kirk Kerkorian, American businessman, founded the Tracinda Corporation (b. 1917)
- 2016 – Lois Duncan, American author (b. 1934)
- 2018 – Matt “Guitar” Murphy, American Blues guitarist (The Blues Brothers) (b. 1929)
- 2019 – Franco Zeffirelli, Italian film director (b. 1923)
Holidays and observances on June 15
- Arbor Day (Costa Rica)
- Christian feast day:
- Abraham of Clermont (or of St Cyriacus)
- Alice (or Adelaide) of Schaerbeek
- Augustine of Hippo (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Blessed Albertina Berkenbrock
- Blessed Clement Vismara
- Edburga of Winchester
- Evelyn Underhill (Church of England and The Episcopal Church)
- Germaine Cousin
- Landelin (of Crespin or of Lobbes)
- Trillo
- Vitus (Guy), Modestus and Crescentia
- June 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Day of Valdemar and Reunion Day (Flag Day) (Denmark)
- Earliest day on which Father’s Day can fall, while June 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Sunday in June. (United States, and most other countries.)
- Engineer’s Day (Italy)
- Global Wind Day (international)
- National Beer Day (United Kingdom)
- National Salvation Day (Azerbaijan)