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1830

July 2 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

This day is the midpoint of a common year because there are 182 days before and 182 days after it in common years, and 183 before and 182 after in leap years. The exact time of the middle of the year is at noon. In countries that use summertime the actual exact time of the midpoint in a common year is at 1:00 p.m for locations in the northern hemisphere or 11:00 a.m for locations in the southern hemisphere; this is when 182 days and 12 hours have elapsed and there are 182 days and 12 hours remaining. In a leap year in those countries, the middle of the year is at midnight. In countries that use summer time, the midpoint occurs at 1:00 a.m. on July 2, or 11:00 p.m. on July 1 in the southern hemisphere. This is due to summertime having advanced the time by one hour. It falls on the same day of the week as New Year’s Day in common years.

  • 437 – Emperor Valentinian III begins his reign over the Western Roman Empire. His mother Galla Placidia ends her regency, but continues to exercise political influence at the court in Rome.
  • 626 – Li Shimin, the future Emperor Taizong of Tang, ambushes and kills his rival brothers Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng in the Xuanwu Gate Incident.
  • 706 – In China, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang inters the bodies of relatives in the Qianling Mausoleum, located on Mount Liang outside Chang’an.
  • 866 – Battle of Brissarthe: The Franks led by Robert the Strong are defeated by a joint Breton-Viking army.
  • 936 – King Henry the Fowler dies in his royal palace in Memleben. He is succeeded by his son Otto I, who becomes the ruler of East Francia.
  • 963 – The Byzantine army proclaims Nikephoros II Phokas Emperor of the Romans on the plains outside Cappadocian Caesarea.
  • 1298 – The Battle of Göllheim is fought between Albert I of Habsburg and Adolf of Nassau-Weilburg.
  • 1494 – The Treaty of Tordesillas is ratified by Spain.
  • 1504 – Bogdan III the One-Eyed becomes Voivode of Moldavia.
  • 1555 – Ottoman Admiral Turgut Reis sacks the Italian city of Paola.
  • 1561 – Menas, emperor of Ethiopia, defeats a revolt in Emfraz.
  • 1582 – Battle of Yamazaki: Toyotomi Hideyoshi defeats Akechi Mitsuhide.
  • 1613 – The first English expedition (from Virginia) against Acadia led by Samuel Argall takes place.
  • 1644 – English Civil War: Battle of Marston Moor.
  • 1645 – Battle of Alford: Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
  • 1698 – Thomas Savery patents the first steam engine.
  • 1776 – American Revolution: The Continental Congress adopts a resolution severing ties with the Kingdom of Great Britain although the wording of the formal Declaration of Independence is not published until July 4.
  • 1816 – The French frigate Méduse strikes the Bank of Arguin and 151 people on board have to be evacuated on an improvised raft, a case immortalised by Géricault’s painting The Raft of the Medusa.
  • 1822 – Thirty-five slaves, including Denmark Vesey, are hanged in South Carolina after being accused of organizing a slave rebellion.
  • 1823 – Bahia Independence Day: The end of Portuguese rule in Brazil, with the final defeat of the Portuguese crown loyalists in the province of Bahia.
  • 1839 – Twenty miles off the coast of Cuba, 53 kidnapped Africans led by Joseph Cinqué mutiny and take over the slave ship Amistad.
  • 1853 – The Russian Army crosses the Pruth river into the Danubian Principalities, Moldavia and Wallachia—providing the spark that will set off the Crimean War.
  • 1871 – Victor Emmanuel II of Italy enters Rome after having conquered it from the Papal States.
  • 1881 – Charles J. Guiteau shoots and fatally wounds U.S. President James A. Garfield (who will die of complications from his wounds on September 19).
  • 1890 – The U.S. Congress passes the Sherman Antitrust Act.
  • 1897 – British-Italian engineer Guglielmo Marconi obtains a patent for radio in London.
  • 1900 – The first Zeppelin flight takes place on Lake Constance near Friedrichshafen, Germany.
  • 1900 – Jean Sibelius’ Finlandia receives its première performance in Helsinki with the Helsinki Philharmonic Society conducted by Robert Kajanus.
  • 1921 – World War I: U.S. President Warren G. Harding signs the Knox–Porter Resolution formally ending the war between the United States and Germany.
  • 1934 – The Night of the Long Knives ends with the death of Ernst Röhm.
  • 1937 – Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan are last heard from over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first equatorial round-the-world flight.
  • 1940 – Indian independence leader Subhas Chandra Bose is arrested and detained in Calcutta.
  • 1940 – The SS Arandora Star is sunk by U-47 in the North Atlantic with the loss of over 800 lives, mostly civilians.
  • 1962 – The first Walmart store, then known as Wal-Mart, opens for business in Rogers, Arkansas.
  • 1964 – Civil rights movement: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 meant to prohibit segregation in public places.
  • 1966 – France conducts its first nuclear weapon test in the Pacific, on Moruroa Atoll.
  • 1976 – End of South Vietnam; Communist North Vietnam annexes the former South Vietnam to form the unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
  • 1986 – Rodrigo Rojas and Carmen Gloria Quintana are burnt alive during a street demonstration against the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet in Chile.
  • 1990 – In the 1990 Mecca tunnel tragedy, 1,400 Muslim pilgrims are suffocated to death and trampled upon in a pedestrian tunnel leading to the holy city of Mecca.
  • 1994 – USAir Flight 1016 crashes near Charlotte Douglas International Airport, killing 37 of the 57 people on board.
  • 1997 – The Bank of Thailand floats the baht, triggering the Asian financial crisis.
  • 2000 – Vicente Fox Quesada is elected the first President of México from an opposition party, the Partido Acción Nacional, after more than 70 years of continuous rule by the Partido Revolucionario Institucional.
  • 2001 – The AbioCor self-contained artificial heart is first implanted.
  • 2002 – Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo around the world nonstop in a balloon.
  • 2005 – The Live 8 benefit concerts takes place in the G8 states and in South Africa. More than 1,000 musicians perform and are broadcast on 182 television networks and 2,000 radio networks.
  • 2008 – Colombian conflict: Íngrid Betancourt, a member of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia, is released from captivity after being held for six and a half years by FARC.
  • 2010 – The South Kivu tank truck explosion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo kills at least 230 people.
  • 2013 – The International Astronomical Union names Pluto’s fourth and fifth moons, Kerberos and Styx.
  • 2013 – A magnitude 6.1 earthquake strikes Aceh, Indonesia, killing at least 42 people and injuring 420 others.

Births on July 2

  • 419 – Valentinian III, Roman emperor (d. 455)
  • 1363 – Maria, Queen of Sicily (d. 1401)
  • 1478 – Louis V, Elector Palatine (d. 1544)
  • 1486 – Jacopo Sansovino, Italian sculptor and architect (d. 1570)
  • 1489 – Thomas Cranmer, English archbishop, theologian, and saint (d. 1556)
  • 1492 – Elizabeth Tudor, English daughter of Henry VII of England (d. 1495)
  • 1500 – Federico Cesi (cardinal), Italian cardinal (d. 1565)
  • 1575 – Elizabeth de Vere, Countess of Derby, English noblewoman and head of state of the Isle of Man (d. 1627)
  • 1597 – Theodoor Rombouts, Flemish painter (d. 1637)
  • 1647 – Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, English politician, Lord President of the Council (d. 1730)
  • 1648 – Arp Schnitger, German organ builder (d. 1719)
  • 1665 – Samuel Penhallow, English-American soldier and historian (d. 1726)
  • 1667 – Pietro Ottoboni, Italian cardinal and art collector (d. 1740)
  • 1714 – Christoph Willibald Gluck, German composer (d. 1787)
  • 1724 – Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, German poet and author (d. 1803)
  • 1797 – Francisco Javier Echeverría, Mexican businessman and politician. President of Mexico (1841) (d. 1852)
  • 1819 – Charles-Louis Hanon, French pianist and composer (d. 1900)
  • 1820 – George Law Curry, American publisher and politician, 5th Governor of the Oregon Territory (d. 1878)
  • 1820 – Juan N. Méndez, Mexican general and interim president, 1876-1877 (d. 1894)
  • 1821 – Charles Tupper, Canadian physician and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1915)
  • 1825 – Émile Ollivier, French statesman (d. 1913)
  • 1834 – Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack, Dutch economist and historian (d. 1917)
  • 1849 – Maria Theresa of Austria-Este (d. 1919)
  • 1862 – William Henry Bragg, English physicist, chemist, and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1942)
  • 1865 – Lily Braun, German author and publicist (d. 1916)
  • 1869 – Liane de Pougy, French-Swiss dancer and author (d. 1950)
  • 1876 – Harriet Brooks, Canadian physicist and academic (d. 1933)
  • 1876 – Wilhelm Cuno, German businessman and politician, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1933)
  • 1877 – Hermann Hesse, German-born Swiss poet, novelist, and painter, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1962)
  • 1877 – Rinaldo Cuneo, American artist (“the painter of San Francisco”) (d. 1939)
  • 1881 – Royal Hurlburt Weller, American lawyer and politician (d. 1929)
  • 1884 – Alfons Maria Jakob, German neurologist and author (d. 1931)
  • 1893 – Ralph Hancock, Welsh gardener and author (d. 1950)
  • 1900 – Tyrone Guthrie, English actor and director (d. 1971)
  • 1900 – Sophie Harris, English costume and scenic designer for theatre and opera (d. 1966)
  • 1902 – K. Kanapathypillai, Sri Lankan author and academic (d. 1968)
  • 1902 – Germaine Thyssens-Valentin, Dutch-French pianist (d. 1987)
  • 1903 – Alec Douglas-Home, English cricketer and politician, 66th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1995)
  • 1903 – Olav V of Norway (d. 1991)
  • 1904 – René Lacoste, French tennis player and businessman, created the polo shirt (d. 1996)
  • 1906 – Hans Bethe, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2005)
  • 1906 – Károly Kárpáti, Hungarian Jewish wrestler (d. 1996)
  • 1906 – Séra Martin, French middle-distance runner (d. 1993)
  • 1908 – Thurgood Marshall, American lawyer and jurist, 32nd Solicitor General of the United States (d. 1993)
  • 1911 – Reg Parnell, English race car driver and manager (d. 1964)
  • 1913 – Max Beloff, Baron Beloff, English historian and academic (d. 1999)
  • 1914 – Frederick Fennell, American conductor and educator (d. 2004)
  • 1914 – Ethelreda Leopold, American actress (d. 1988)
  • 1914 – Mário Schenberg, Brazilian physicist and engineer (d. 1990)
  • 1914 – Erich Topp, German admiral (d. 2005)
  • 1915 – Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington, British peer, politician and soldier (d. 2014)
  • 1916 – Ken Curtis, American actor and singer (d. 1991)
  • 1916 – Hans-Ulrich Rudel, German colonel and pilot (d. 1982)
  • 1916 – Reino Kangasmäki, Finnish wrestler (d. 2010)
  • 1916 – Zélia Gattai, Brazilian author and photographer (d. 2008)
  • 1917 – Leonard J. Arrington, American author and academic, founded the Mormon History Association (d. 1999)
  • 1918 – Athos Bulcão, Brazilian painter and sculptor (d. 2008)
  • 1918 – Indumati Bhattacharya, Indian politician
  • 1919 – Jean Craighead George, American author (d. 2012)
  • 1920 – John Kneubuhl, Samoan-American historian, screenwriter, and playwright (d. 1992)
  • 1922 – Pierre Cardin, Italian-French fashion designer
  • 1922 – Paula Valenska, Czech actress
  • 1923 – Cyril M. Kornbluth, American soldier and author (d. 1958)
  • 1923 – Wisława Szymborska, Polish poet and translator, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
  • 1925 – Medgar Evers, American soldier and activist (d. 1963)
  • 1925 – Patrice Lumumba, Congolese politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (d. 1961)
  • 1925 – Marvin Rainwater, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1926 – Octavian Paler, Romanian journalist and politician (d. 2007)
  • 1927 – Lee Allen, American saxophone player (d. 1994)
  • 1927 – James Mackay, Baron Mackay of Clashfern, Scottish lawyer and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
  • 1927 – Brock Peters, American actor (d. 2005)
  • 1929 – Imelda Marcos, Filipino politician; 10th First Lady of the Philippines
  • 1930 – Carlos Menem, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 50th President of Argentina
  • 1931 – Mohammad Yazdi, Iranian cleric
  • 1932 – Dave Thomas, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Wendy’s (d. 2002)
  • 1933 – Peter Desbarats, Canadian journalist, author, and playwright
  • 1933 – Kenny Wharram, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2017)
  • 1934 – Tom Springfield, English musician
  • 1935 – Gilbert Kalish, American pianist and educator
  • 1936 – Omar Suleiman, Egyptian general and politician, 16th Vice President of Egypt (d. 2012)
  • 1937 – Polly Holliday, American actress
  • 1937 – Richard Petty, American race car driver and sportscaster
  • 1938 – David Owen, English physician and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
  • 1939 – Alexandros Panagoulis, Greek poet and politician (d. 1976)
  • 1939 – John H. Sununu, American engineer and politician, 14th White House Chief of Staff
  • 1939 – Paul Williams, American singer and choreographer (d. 1973)
  • 1940 – Kenneth Clarke, English politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
  • 1941 – William Guest, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2015)
  • 1941 – Wendell Mottley, Trinidadian sprinter, economist, and politician
  • 1942 – John Eekelaar, South African-English lawyer and scholar
  • 1942 – Vicente Fox, Mexican businessman and politician, 35th President of Mexico (2000-2006)
  • 1943 – Ivi Eenmaa, Estonian politician, 36th Mayor of Tallinn
  • 1943 – Larry Lake, American-Canadian trumpet player and composer (d. 2013)
  • 1946 – Richard Axel, American neuroscientist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1946 – Ron Silver, American actor, director, and political activist (d. 2009)
  • 1947 – Larry David, American actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1947 – Ann Taylor, Baroness Taylor of Bolton, English politician, Minister for International Security Strategy
  • 1948 – Mutula Kilonzo, Kenyan lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1949 – Greg Brown, American musician
  • 1949 – Robert Paquette, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1950 – Lynne Brindley, English librarian and academic
  • 1950 – Jon Trickett, English politician
  • 1952 – Sylvia Rivera, American transgender rights activist (d. 2002)
  • 1952 – Anatoliy Solomin, Ukrainian race walker and coach
  • 1954 – Chris Huhne, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
  • 1955 – Kim Carr, Australian educator and politician, 31st Australian Minister for Human Services
  • 1956 – Jerry Hall, American model and actress
  • 1957 – Bret Hart, Canadian wrestler
  • 1957 – Jüri Raidla, Estonian lawyer and politician, Estonian Minister of Justice
  • 1957 – Purvis Short, American basketball player
  • 1958 – Pavan Malhotra, Indian actor
  • 1960 – Maria Lourdes Sereno, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 24th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
  • 1961 – Clark Kellogg, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1962 – Neil Williams, English cricketer (d. 2006)
  • 1964 – Jose Canseco, Cuban-American baseball player and mixed martial artist
  • 1964 – Ozzie Canseco, Cuban-American baseball player, coach, and manager
  • 1964 – Joe Magrane, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1964 – Alan Tait, English-Scottish rugby player and coach
  • 1965 – Norbert Röttgen, German lawyer and politician
  • 1969 – Tim Rodber, English rugby player
  • 1970 – Derrick Adkins, American hurdler
  • 1970 – Steve Morrow, Northern Irish footballer and manager
  • 1971 – Troy Brown, American football player and actor
  • 1971 – Bryan Redpath, Scottish rugby player and coach
  • 1972 – Darren Shan, English author
  • 1974 – Sean Casey, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1975 – Éric Dazé, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1975 – Kristen Michal, Estonian lawyer and politician
  • 1975 – Erik Ohlsson, Swedish singer and guitarist
  • 1975 – Stefan Terblanche, South African rugby player
  • 1976 – Krisztián Lisztes, Hungarian footballer
  • 1976 – Tomáš Vokoun, Czech-American ice hockey player
  • 1977 – Deniz Barış, Turkish footballer
  • 1978 – Jüri Ratas, Estonian politician, 42nd Mayor of Tallinn
  • 1979 – Walter Davis, American triple jumper
  • 1979 – Ahmed al-Ghamdi, Saudi Arabian terrorist, hijacker of United Airlines Flight 175 (d. 2001)
  • 1979 – Sam Hornish Jr., American race car driver
  • 1979 – Joe Thornton, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1980 – Nyjer Morgan, American baseball player
  • 1981 – Nathan Ellington, English footballer
  • 1981 – Carlos Rogers, American football player
  • 1983 – Michelle Branch, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1983 – Kyle Hogg, English cricketer
  • 1984 – Thomas Kortegaard, Danish footballer
  • 1984 – Johnny Weir, American figure skater
  • 1985 – Rhett Bomar, American football player
  • 1985 – Chad Henne, American football player
  • 1985 – Ashley Tisdale, American actress, singer, and producer
  • 1986 – Brett Cecil, American baseball player
  • 1986 – Lindsay Lohan, American actress and singer
  • 1987 – Esteban Granero, Spanish footballer
  • 1988 – Lee Chung-yong, South Korean footballer
  • 1989 – Nadezhda Grishaeva, Russian basketball player
  • 1989 – Alex Morgan, American soccer player
  • 1990 – Kayla Harrison, American judoka
  • 1990 – Merritt Mathias, American soccer player
  • 1990 – Morag McLellan, Scottish field hockey player
  • 1990 – Margot Robbie, Australian actress and producer
  • 1990 – Danny Rose, English footballer
  • 1990 – Bill Tupou, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1992 – Madison Chock, American ice dancer
  • 1993 – Vince Staples, American rapper and actor
  • 1994 – Henrik Kristoffersen, Norwegian skier
  • 1995 – Ryan Murphy, American swimmer
  • 1996 – Julia Grabher, Austrian tennis player

Deaths on July 2

  • 626 – Li Jiancheng, Chinese prince (b. 589)
  • 626 – Li Yuanji, Chinese prince (b. 603)
  • 649 – Li Jing, Chinese general (b. 571)
  • 862 – Swithun, English bishop and saint (b. 789)
  • 866 – Robert the Strong, Frankish nobleman
  • 936 – Henry the Fowler, German king (b. 876)
  • 1215 – Eisai, Japanese Buddhist priest (b. 1141)
  • 1298 – Adolf of Germany (b. 1220)
  • 1504 – Stephen III of Moldavia (b. 1434)
  • 1566 – Nostradamus, French astrologer and author (b. 1503)
  • 1578 – Thomas Doughty, English explorer
  • 1582 – Akechi Mitsuhide, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1528)
  • 1591 – Vincenzo Galilei, Italian lute player and composer (b. 1520)
  • 1619 – Francis II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (b. 1547)
  • 1621 – Thomas Harriot, English astronomer, mathematician, and ethnographer (b. 1560)
  • 1656 – François-Marie, comte de Broglie, Italian-French general (b. 1611)
  • 1674 – Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg (b. 1614)
  • 1743 – Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1673)
  • 1746 – Thomas Baker, English antiquarian and author (b. 1656)
  • 1778 – Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Swiss philosopher and composer (b. 1712)
  • 1833 – Gervasio Antonio de Posadas, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 1st Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (b. 1757)
  • 1843 – Samuel Hahnemann, German physician and academic (b. 1755)
  • 1850 – Robert Peel, English lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1788)
  • 1857 – Carlo Pisacane, Italian soldier and philosopher (b. 1818)
  • 1903 – Ed Delahanty, American baseball player (b. 1867)
  • 1912 – Tom Richardson, English cricketer (b. 1870)
  • 1914 – Joseph Chamberlain, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (b. 1836)
  • 1915 – Porfirio Díaz, Mexican general and politician, 29th President of Mexico (b. 1830)
  • 1920 – William Louis Marshall, American general and engineer (b. 1846)
  • 1926 – Émile Coué, French psychologist and pharmacist (b. 1857)
  • 1929 – Gladys Brockwell, American actress (b. 1894)
  • 1932 – Manuel II of Portugal (b. 1889)
  • 1950 – Thomas William Burgess, English swimmer and water polo player (b. 1872)
  • 1955 – Edward Lawson, English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1873)
  • 1961 – Ernest Hemingway, American novelist, short story writer, and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
  • 1963 – Alicia Patterson, American publisher, co-founded Newsday (b. 1906)
  • 1964 – Fireball Roberts, American race car driver (b. 1929)
  • 1966 – Jan Brzechwa, Polish poet and author (b. 1900)
  • 1970 – Jessie Street, Australian suffragette and feminist (b. 1889)
  • 1972 – Joseph Fielding Smith, American religious leader, 10th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1876)
  • 1973 – Betty Grable, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1916)
  • 1973 – George McBride, American baseball player and manager (b. 1880)
  • 1973 – Ferdinand Schörner, German field marshal (b. 1892)
  • 1975 – James Robertson Justice, English actor (b. 1907)
  • 1977 – Vladimir Nabokov, Russian-born novelist and critic (b. 1899)
  • 1978 – Aris Alexandrou, Greek author and poet (b. 1922)
  • 1986 – Peanuts Lowrey, American baseball player and manager (b. 1917)
  • 1988 – Vibert Douglas, Canadian astronomer and astrophysicist (b. 1894)
  • 1989 – Andrei Gromyko, Soviet economist and politician, Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1909)
  • 1990 – Snooky Lanson, American singer (b. 1914)
  • 1991 – Lee Remick, American actress (b. 1935)
  • 1993 – Fred Gwynne, American actor (b. 1926)
  • 1994 – Andrés Escobar, Colombian footballer (b. 1967)
  • 1995 – Lloyd MacPhail, Canadian businessman and politician, 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island (b. 1920)
  • 1997 – James Stewart, American actor (b. 1908)
  • 1999 – Mario Puzo, American author and screenwriter (b. 1920)
  • 2000 – Joey Dunlop, Northern Irish motorcycle racer (b. 1952)
  • 2002 – Ray Brown, American bassist and composer (b. 1926)
  • 2003 – Briggs Cunningham, American race car driver and businessman (b. 1907)
  • 2004 – Mochtar Lubis, Indonesian journalist and author (b. 1922)
  • 2005 – Ernest Lehman, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1915)
  • 2005 – Norm Prescott, American actor, composer, and producer, co-founded Filmation Studios (b. 1927)
  • 2006 – Jan Murray, American comedian, actor, and game show host (b. 1916)
  • 2007 – Beverly Sills, American operatic soprano and television personality (b. 1929)
  • 2008 – Natasha Shneider, Russian-American singer, keyboard player, and actress (b. 1956)
  • 2008 – Elizabeth Spriggs, English actress and screenwriter (b. 1929)
  • 2010 – Beryl Bainbridge, English screenwriter and author (b. 1932)
  • 2011 – Itamar Franco, Brazilian engineer and politician, 33rd President of Brazil (b. 1930)
  • 2012 – Maurice Chevit, French actor and screenwriter (b. 1923)
  • 2012 – Julian Goodman, American journalist (b. 1922)
  • 2012 – Angelo Mangiarotti, Italian architect and academic (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Betty Meggers, American archaeologist and academic (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Ed Stroud, American baseball player (b. 1939)
  • 2013 – Anthony G. Bosco, American bishop (b. 1927)
  • 2013 – Douglas Engelbart, American computer scientist, invented the computer mouse (b. 1925)
  • 2013 – Armand Gaudreault, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1921)
  • 2013 – Anthony Llewellyn, Welsh-American chemist, academic, and astronaut (b. 1933)
  • 2014 – Emilio Álvarez Montalván, Nicaraguan ophthalmologist and politician (b. 1919)
  • 2014 – Manuel Cardona, Spanish physicist and academic (b. 1934)
  • 2014 – Mary Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe (b. 1915)
  • 2014 – Harold W. Kuhn, American mathematician and academic (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Louis Zamperini, American runner and World War II US Army Air Forces captain (b. 1917)
  • 2015 – Ronald Davison, New Zealand lawyer and judge, 10th Chief Justice of New Zealand (b. 1920)
  • 2015 – Charlie Sanders, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1946)
  • 2015 – Jim Weaver, American football player and coach (b. 1945)
  • 2015 – Jacobo Zabludovsky, Mexican journalist (b. 1928)
  • 2016 – Caroline Aherne, English actress and comedian (b. 1963)
  • 2016 – Michael Cimino, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1939)
  • 2016 – Patrick Manning, 4th & 6th Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago (b. 1946)
  • 2016 – Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor, activist, and author (b. 1928)
  • 2020 – Ángela Jeria, Chilean archaeologist (b. 1926)
  • 2020 – Byron Bernstein Reckful, gamer, Twitch streamer, investor (b. 1989)

Holidays and observances on July 2

  • Christian feast day:
    • Aberoh and Atom (Coptic Church)
    • Bernardino Realino
    • Feast of the Visitation (Anglicanism; Levoča at Mariánska hora)
    • Monegundis
    • Otto of Bamberg
    • Oudoceus
    • Martinian and Processus
    • Pishoy (Coptic Church)
    • Stephen III of Moldavia
    • July 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Unity Day can fall, while July 8 is the latest; celebrated on Tuesday following Heroes’ Day. (Zambia)
  • Flag Day (Curaçao)
  • Palio di Provenzano (Siena, Italy)
  • Police Day (Azerbaijan)

July 2 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

June 26 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 4 AD – Augustus adopts Tiberius.
  • 221 – Roman emperor Elagabalus adopts his cousin Alexander Severus as his heir and receives the title of Caesar.
  • 363 – Roman emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sasanian Empire.
  • 684 – Pope Benedict II is chosen.
  • 699 – En no Ozuno, a Japanese mystic and apothecary who will later be regarded as the founder of a folk religion Shugendō, is banished to Izu Ōshima.
  • 1243 – Mongols defeat the Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Köse Dağ.
  • 1295 – Przemysł II crowned king of Poland, following Ducal period. The white eagle is added to the Polish coat of arms.
  • 1407 – Ulrich von Jungingen becomes Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights.
  • 1409 – Western Schism: The Roman Catholic Church is led into a double schism as Petros Philargos is crowned Pope Alexander V after the Council of Pisa, joining Pope Gregory XII in Rome and Pope Benedict XII in Avignon.
  • 1460 – Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, and Edward, Earl of March, land in England with a rebel army and march on London.
  • 1483 – Richard III becomes King of England.
  • 1522 – Ottomans begin the second Siege of Rhodes.
  • 1541 – Francisco Pizarro is assassinated in Lima by the son of his former companion and later antagonist, Diego de Almagro the younger. Almagro is later caught and executed.
  • 1579 – Livonian campaign of Stephen Báthory begins.
  • 1718 – Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia, Peter the Great’s son, mysteriously dies after being sentenced to death by his father for plotting against him.
  • 1723 – After a siege and bombardment by cannon, Baku surrenders to the Russians.
  • 1740 – A combined force of Spanish, free blacks and allied Indians defeat a British garrison at the Siege of Fort Mose near St. Augustine during the War of Jenkins’ Ear.
  • 1794 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of Fleurus marked the first successful military use of aircraft.
  • 1830 – William IV becomes king of Britain and Hanover.
  • 1843 – Treaty of Nanking comes into effect, Hong Kong Island is ceded to the British “in perpetuity”.
  • 1848 – End of the June Days Uprising in Paris.
  • 1857 – The first investiture of the Victoria Cross in Hyde Park, London.
  • 1870 – The Christian holiday of Christmas is declared a federal holiday in the United States.
  • 1886 – Henri Moissan isolated elemental Fluorine for the first time.
  • 1889 – Bangui is founded by Albert Dolisie and Alfred Uzac in what was then the upper reaches of the French Congo.
  • 1906 – The first Grand Prix motor race is held at Le Mans.
  • 1909 – The Science Museum in London comes into existence as an independent entity.
  • 1917 – World War I: The American Expeditionary Forces begin to arrive in France. They will first enter combat four months later.
  • 1918 – World War I: Allied forces under John J. Pershing and James Harbord defeat Imperial German forces under Wilhelm, German Crown Prince in the Battle of Belleau Wood.
  • 1924 – The American occupation of the Dominican Republic ends after eight years.
  • 1927 – The Cyclone roller coaster opens on Coney Island.
  • 1934 – United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Federal Credit Union Act, which establishes credit unions.
  • 1936 – Initial flight of the Focke-Wulf Fw 61, the first practical helicopter.
  • 1940 – World War II: Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet Union presents an ultimatum to Romania requiring it to cede Bessarabia and the northern part of Bukovina.
  • 1941 – World War II: Soviet planes bomb Kassa, Hungary (now Košice, Slovakia), giving Hungary the impetus to declare war the next day.
  • 1942 – The first flight of the Grumman F6F Hellcat.
  • 1944 – World War II: San Marino, a neutral state, is mistakenly bombed by the RAF based on faulty information, leading to 35 civilian deaths.
  • 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Osuchy in Osuchy, Poland, one of the largest battles between Nazi Germany and Polish resistance forces, ends with the defeat of the latter.
  • 1945 – The United Nations Charter is signed by 50 Allied nations in San Francisco, California.
  • 1948 – Cold War: The first supply flights are made in response to the Berlin Blockade.
  • 1948 – William Shockley files the original patent for the grown-junction transistor, the first bipolar junction transistor.
  • 1948 – Shirley Jackson’s short story The Lottery is published in The New Yorker magazine.
  • 1952 – The Pan-Malayan Labour Party is founded in Malaya, as a union of statewide labour parties.
  • 1953 – Lavrentiy Beria, head of MVD, is arrested by Nikita Khrushchev and other members of the Politburo.
  • 1955 – The South African Congress Alliance adopts the Freedom Charter at the Congress of the People in Kliptown.
  • 1959 – Swedish boxer Ingemar Johansson becomes world champion of heavy weight boxing, by defeating American Floyd Patterson on technical knockout after two minutes and three seconds in the third round at Yankee Stadium.
  • 1960 – The former British Protectorate of British Somaliland gains its independence as Somaliland.
  • 1960 – Madagascar gains its independence from France.
  • 1963 – Cold War: U.S. President John F. Kennedy gave his “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech, underlining the support of the United States for democratic West Germany shortly after Soviet-supported East Germany erected the Berlin Wall.
  • 1967 – Karol Wojtyła (later John Paul II) made a cardinal by Pope Paul VI.
  • 1974 – The Universal Product Code is scanned for the first time to sell a package of Wrigley’s chewing gum at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio.
  • 1975 – Two FBI agents and a member of the American Indian Movement are killed in a shootout on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota; Leonard Peltier is later convicted of the murders in a controversial trial.
  • 1977 – Elvis Presley held his final concert in Indianapolis, Indiana at Market Square Arena.
  • 1978 – Air Canada Flight 189, flying to Toronto, overruns the runway and crashes into the Etobicoke Creek ravine. Two of the 107 passengers on board perish.
  • 1991 – Yugoslav Wars: The Yugoslav People’s Army begins the Ten-Day War in Slovenia.
  • 1995 – Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani deposes his father Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, in a bloodless coup d’état.
  • 1997 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Communications Decency Act violates the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
  • 2000 – The Human Genome Project announces the completion of a “rough draft” sequence.
  • 2003 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Lawrence v. Texas that gender-based sodomy laws are unconstitutional.
  • 2006 – Mari Alkatiri, the first Prime Minister of East Timor, resigns after weeks of political unrest.
  • 2007 – Pope Benedict XVI reinstates the traditional laws of papal election in which a successful candidate must receive two-thirds of the votes.
  • 2008 – A suicide bomber dressed as an Iraqi policeman detonates an explosive vest, killing 25 people.
  • 2012 – The Waldo Canyon fire descends into the Mountain Shadows neighborhood in Colorado Springs burning 347 homes in a matter of hours and killing two people.
  • 2013 – Riots in China’s Xinjiang region kill at least 36 people and injure 21 others.
  • 2013 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled, 5–4, that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional and in violation of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
  • 2015 – Five different terrorist attacks in France, Tunisia, Somalia, Kuwait, and Syria occurred on what was dubbed Bloody Friday by international media. Upwards of 750 people were either killed or injured in these uncoordinated attacks.
  • 2015 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled, 5–4, that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marriage under the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Births on June 26

  • 12 BC – Agrippa Postumus, Roman son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder (d. 14)
  • 1399 – John, Count of Angoulême (d. 1467)
  • 1575 – Anne Catherine of Brandenburg (d. 1612)
  • 1581 – San Pedro Claver, Spanish Jesuit saint (d. 1654)
  • 1600 – Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, Spanish-born bishop and viceroy of New Spain (d. 1659)
  • 1681 – Hedvig Sophia of Sweden (d. 1708)
  • 1689 – Edward Holyoke, American pastor and academic (d. 1769)
  • 1694 – Georg Brandt, Swedish chemist and mineralogist (d. 1768)
  • 1699 – Marie Thérèse Rodet Geoffrin, French businesswoman (d. 1777)
  • 1702 – Philip Doddridge, English hymn-writer and educator (d. 1751)
  • 1703 – Thomas Clap, American minister and academic (d. 1767)
  • 1726 – Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia (d. 1796)
  • 1730 – Charles Messier, French astronomer and academic (d. 1817)
  • 1764 – Jan Paweł Łuszczewski, Polish politician (d. 1812)
  • 1796 – Jan Paweł Lelewel, Polish painter and engineer (d. 1847)
  • 1798 – Wolfgang Menzel, German poet and critic (d. 1873)
  • 1817 – Branwell Brontë, English painter and poet (d. 1848)
  • 1819 – Abner Doubleday, American general (d. 1893)
  • 1821 – Bartolomé Mitre, Argentinian soldier, journalist, and politician, 6th President of Argentina (d. 1906)
  • 1824 – William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, Irish-Scottish physicist and engineer (d. 1907)
  • 1835 – Thomas W. Knox, American journalist and author (d. 1896)
  • 1839 – Sam Watkins, American soldier and author (d. 1901)
  • 1852 – Daoud Corm, Lebanese painter (d. 1930)
  • 1854 – Robert Laird Borden, Canadian lawyer and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1937)
  • 1865 – Bernard Berenson, Lithuanian-American historian and author (d. 1959)
  • 1866 – George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, English archaeologist and banker (d. 1923)
  • 1869 – Martin Andersen Nexø, Danish journalist and author (d. 1954)
  • 1878 – Leopold Löwenheim, German mathematician and logician (d. 1957)
  • 1880 – Mitchell Lewis, American actor (d. 1956)
  • 1881 – Ya’akov Cohen, Israeli linguist, poet, and playwright (d. 1960)
  • 1892 – Pearl S. Buck, American novelist, essayist, short story writer Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
  • 1893 – Dorothy Fuldheim, American journalist and news anchor(d. 1989)
  • 1895 – George Hainsworth, Canadian ice hockey player and politician (d. 1950)
  • 1898 – Willy Messerschmitt, German engineer and businessman (d. 1978)
  • 1898 – Chesty Puller, US general (d. 1971)
  • 1899 – Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (d. 1918)
  • 1901 – Stuart Symington, American lieutenant and politician, 1st United States Secretary of the Air Force (d. 1988)
  • 1902 – Hugues Cuénod, Swiss tenor and educator (d. 2010)
  • 1903 – Big Bill Broonzy, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1958)
  • 1904 – Frank Scott Hogg, Canadian astronomer and academic (d. 1951)
  • 1904 – Peter Lorre, Slovak-American actor and singer (d. 1964)
  • 1905 – Lynd Ward, American author and illustrator (d. 1985)
  • 1906 – Alberto Rabagliati, Italian singer (d. 1974)
  • 1906 – Viktor Schreckengost, American sculptor and educator (d. 2008)
  • 1907 – Debs Garms, American baseball player (d. 1984)
  • 1908 – Salvador Allende, Chilean physician and politician, 29th President of Chile (d. 1973)
  • 1909 – Colonel Tom Parker, Dutch-American talent manager (d. 1997)
  • 1909 – Wolfgang Reitherman, German-American animator, director, and producer (d. 1985)
  • 1911 – Babe Didrikson Zaharias, American golfer and basketball player (d. 1956)
  • 1911 – Bronisław Żurakowski, Polish pilot and engineer (d. 2009)
  • 1913 – Aimé Césaire, French poet, author, and politician (d. 2008)
  • 1913 – Maurice Wilkes, English computer scientist and physicist (d. 2010)
  • 1914 – Laurie Lee, English author and poet (d. 1997)
  • 1914 – Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark, European royalty (d. 2001)
  • 1915 – Paul Castellano, American gangster (d. 1985)
  • 1915 – George Haigh, English professional footballer (d. 2019)
  • 1915 – Charlotte Zolotow, American author and poet (d. 2013)
  • 1916 – Virginia Satir, American psychotherapist and author (d. 1988)
  • 1916 – Giuseppe Taddei, Italian actor and singer (d. 2010)
  • 1917 – Idriz Ajeti, Albanian albanologist (d. 2019)
  • 1918 – Leo Rosner, Polish-born Austrian Jewish musician (d. 2008)
  • 1918 – Raleigh Rhodes, American combat fighter pilot (d. 2007)
  • 1918 – J. B. Fuqua, American entrepreneur and philanthropist (d. 2006)
  • 1919 – Richard Neustadt, American political scientist and academic (d. 2003)
  • 1919 – Jimmy Newberry, American pitcher (d. 1983)
  • 1919 – George Athan Billias, American historian (d. 2018)
  • 1919 – Donald M. Ashton, English art director (d. 2004)
  • 1920 – Jean-Pierre Roy, Canadian-American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster (d. 2014)
  • 1921 – Violette Szabo, French-British secret agent (d. 1945)
  • 1921 – Robert Everett, American computer scientist (d. 2018)
  • 1922 – Walter Farley, American author (d. 1989)
  • 1922 – Eleanor Parker, American actress (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Enzo Apicella, English artist, cartoonist, designer, and restaurateur (d. 2018)
  • 1923 – Franz-Paul Decker, German conductor (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – Ed Bearss, American veteran of World War II
  • 1924 – Kostas Axelos, Greek-French philosopher and author (d. 2010)
  • 1924 – James W. McCord Jr., CIA officer (d. 2017)
  • 1925 – Pavel Belyayev, Russian soldier, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1970)
  • 1925 – Wolfgang Unzicker, German chess player (d. 2006)
  • 1925 – Jean Frydman, French resistant and businessman
  • 1926 – Kenny Baker, American fiddler (d.2011)
  • 1926 – Mahendra Bhatnagar, Indian poet
  • 1926 – Fernando Mönckeberg Barros, Chilean surgeon
  • 1926 – Dinu Zamfirescu, Romanian politician
  • 1927 – Robert Kroetsch, Canadian author and poet (d. 2011)
  • 1928 – Jacob Druckman, American composer and academic (d. 1996)
  • 1928 – Yoshiro Nakamatsu, Japanese inventor
  • 1928 – Bill Sheffield, American politician; 5th Governor of Alaska
  • 1928 – Samuel Belzberg, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 2018)
  • 1929 – June Bronhill, Australian soprano and actress (d. 2005)
  • 1929 – Fred Bruemmer, Latvian-Canadian photographer and author (d. 2013)
  • 1929 – Milton Glaser, American illustrator and graphic designer
  • 1930 – Jackie Fargo, American wrestler and trainer (d. 2013)
  • 1930 – Wolfgang Schwanitz, East German secret police
  • 1931 – Colin Wilson, English philosopher and author (d. 2013)
  • 1931 – Robert Colbert, American actor
  • 1932 – Dame Marguerite Pindling, Bahamian politician; Governor-General of the Bahamas
  • 1932 – Don Valentine, American venture capitalist (d. 2019)
  • 1933 – Claudio Abbado, Italian conductor (d. 2014)
  • 1933 – Gene Green, American baseball player (d. 1981)
  • 1933 – David Winnick, English politician
  • 1934 – Dave Grusin, American pianist and composer
  • 1934 – Toru Goto, Japanese swimmer
  • 1935 – Carlo Facetti, Italian race car driver
  • 1935 – Sandro Riminucci, Italian basketball player
  • 1935 – Dwight York, American singer
  • 1936 – Benjamin Adekunle, Nigerian general (d. 2014)
  • 1936 – Hal Greer, American basketball player (d. 2018)
  • 1936 – Robert Maclennan, Baron Maclennan of Rogart, Scottish politician (d. 2020)
  • 1936 – Edith Pearlman, American short story writer
  • 1936 – Jean-Claude Turcotte, Canadian cardinal (d. 2015)
  • 1936 – Nancy Willard, American author and poet (d. 2017)
  • 1937 – Robert Coleman Richardson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
  • 1937 – Reggie Workman, American bassist and composer
  • 1938 – Neil Abercrombie, American sociologist and politician, 7th Governor of Hawaii
  • 1938 – Billy Davis Jr., American pop-soul singer
  • 1938 – Gerald North, American climatologist and academic
  • 1939 – Chuck Robb, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 64th Governor of Virginia
  • 1939 – Zainuddin Maidin, Malaysian politician (d. 2018)
  • 1941 – Yves Beauchemin, Canadian author and academic
  • 1942 – J.J. Dillon, American wrestler and manager
  • 1942 – Gilberto Gil, Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and politician, Brazilian Minister of Culture
  • 1943 – Georgie Fame, English singer, pianist, and keyboard player
  • 1943 – Warren Farrell, American author and educator
  • 1944 – Gennady Zyuganov, Russian colonel and politician
  • 1946 – Candace Pert, American neuroscientist and pharmacologist (d. 2013)
  • 1949 – Fredric Brandt, American dermatologist and author (d. 2015)
  • 1949 – Adrian Gurvitz, English singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1949 – Mary Styles Harris, American biologist and geneticist
  • 1951 – Gary Gilmour, Australian cricketer and manager (d. 2014)
  • 1952 – Gordon McQueen, Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1952 – Olive Morris, Jamaican-English civil rights activist (d. 1979)
  • 1954 – Luis Arconada, Spanish footballer
  • 1955 – Mick Jones, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1955 – Gedde Watanabe, American actor
  • 1956 – Chris Isaak, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1956 – Catherine Samba-Panza, interim president of the Central African Republic
  • 1956 – Patrick Mercer, English colonel and politician
  • 1957 – Al Hunter Ashton, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2007)
  • 1957 – Philippe Couillard, Canadian surgeon and politician, 31st Premier of Quebec
  • 1957 – Patty Smyth, American singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1959 – Mark McKinney, Canadian actor and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Mark Durkan, Irish politician
  • 1961 – Greg LeMond, American cyclist
  • 1961 – Terri Nunn, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1962 – Jerome Kersey, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1963 – Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russian-Swiss businessman and philanthropist
  • 1963 – Mark McClellan, American economist and politician
  • 1963 – Harriet Wheeler, English singer-songwriter
  • 1964 – Tommi Mäkinen, Finnish race car driver
  • 1966 – Dany Boon, French actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1966 – Kirk McLean, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1966 – Jürgen Reil, American drummer
  • 1967 – Inha Babakova, Ukrainian high jumper
  • 1967 – Olivier Dahan, French director and screenwriter
  • 1968 – Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, Icelandic lecturer and politician, 6th President of Iceland
  • 1968 – Paolo Maldini, Italian footballer
  • 1968 – Shannon Sharpe, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1969 – Colin Greenwood, English bass player and songwriter
  • 1969 – Ingrid Lempereur, Belgian swimmer
  • 1969 – Geir Moen, Norwegian sprinter
  • 1969 – Mike Myers, American baseball player
  • 1970 – Paul Thomas Anderson, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1970 – Paul Bitok, Kenyan runner
  • 1970 – Irv Gotti, American record producer, co-founded Murder Inc Records
  • 1970 – Sean Hayes, American actor
  • 1970 – Adam Ndlovu, Zimbabwean footballer
  • 1970 – Chris O’Donnell, American actor
  • 1970 – Nick Offerman, American actor
  • 1971 – Max Biaggi, Italian motorcycle racer
  • 1972 – Jai Taurima, Australian long jumper and police officer
  • 1973 – Gretchen Wilson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1974 – Derek Jeter, American baseball player
  • 1974 – Jason Kendall, American baseball player
  • 1975 – Chris Armstrong, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1975 – Terry Skiverton, English footballer and manager
  • 1976 – Ed Jovanovski, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1976 – Pommie Mbangwa, Zimbabwean cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1976 – Chad Pennington, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1976 – Dave Rubin, American political commentator
  • 1977 – Quincy Lewis, American basketball player
  • 1979 – Ryō Fukuda, Japanese race car driver
  • 1979 – Walter Herrmann, Argentinian basketball player
  • 1979 – Ryan Tedder, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
  • 1980 – Hamílton Hênio Ferreira Calheiros, Togolese footballer
  • 1980 – Michael Jackson, English footballer
  • 1980 – Jason Schwartzman, American singer-songwriter, drummer, and actor
  • 1980 – Chris Shelton, American baseball player
  • 1980 – Michael Vick, American football player
  • 1981 – Natalya Antyukh, Russian sprinter and hurdler
  • 1981 – Paolo Cannavaro, Italian footballer
  • 1981 – Kanako Kondō, Japanese voice actress and singer
  • 1981 – Takashi Toritani, Japanese baseball player
  • 1982 – Zuzana Kučová, Slovak tennis player
  • 1983 – Vinícius Rodrigues Almeida, Brazilian footballer
  • 1983 – Nick Compton, South African-English cricketer
  • 1983 – Toyonoshima Daiki, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1983 – Felipe Melo, Brazilian footballer
  • 1983 – Antonio Rosati, Italian footballer
  • 1984 – Indila, French singer
  • 1984 – José Juan Barea, Puerto Rican-American basketball player
  • 1984 – Yankuba Ceesay, Gambian footballer
  • 1984 – Elijah Dukes, American baseball player
  • 1984 – Raymond Felton, American basketball player
  • 1984 – Priscah Jeptoo, Kenyan runner
  • 1984 – Jūlija Tepliha, Latvian figure skater
  • 1984 – Deron Williams, American basketball player
  • 1984 – Preslava, Bulgarian singer
  • 1985 – Ogyen Trinley Dorje, Tibetan spiritual leader, 17th Karmapa Lama
  • 1986 – Duvier Riascos, Colombian footballer
  • 1987 – Carlos Iaconelli, Brazilian race car driver
  • 1987 – Samir Nasri, French footballer
  • 1988 – Oliver Stang, German footballer
  • 1990 – Belaynesh Oljira, Ethiopian runner
  • 1990 – Igor Subbotin, Estonian footballer
  • 1991 – Houssem Chemali, French footballer
  • 1991 – Diego Falcinelli, Italian footballer
  • 1991 – Dustin Martin, Australian rules footballer
  • 1992 – Joel Campbell, Costa Rican footballer
  • 1992 – Rudy Gobert, French basketball player
  • 1992 – Jennette McCurdy, American actress and singer-songwriter
  • 1993 – Ariana Grande, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
  • 1994 – Hollie Arnold, English javelin thrower
  • 1994 – Leonard Carow, German actor
  • 1997 – Baek Ye-rin, South Korean singer
  • 1997 – Callum Taylor, English cricketer
  • 2002 – Chandler Smith, American racing driver
  • 2009 – Yesha Camile, Filipino child actress

Deaths on June 26

  • 116 BC – Ptolemy VIII, king of Egypt
  • 363 – Julian the Apostate, Roman emperor (b. 332)
  • 405 – Vigilius, bishop of Trent (b. 353)
  • 822 – Saichō, Japanese Buddhist monk (b. 767)
  • 969 – George El Mozahem, Egyptian martyr (b. 940)
  • 985 – Ramiro III, king of León
  • 1090 – Jaromír, bishop of Prague
  • 1095 – Robert, bishop of Hereford
  • 1265 – Anne of Bohemia, duchess of Silesia (b. 1203 or 1204)
  • 1274 – Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, Persian scientist and writer (b. 1201)
  • 1487 – John Argyropoulos, Byzantine philosopher and scholar (b. 1415)
  • 1541 – Francisco Pizarro, Spanish explorer and politician, Governor of New Castile (b. c. 1471)
  • 1574 – Gabriel, comte de Montgomery, captain of the Scottish Guard of Henry II of France (b. 1530)
  • 1688 – Ralph Cudworth, English philosopher and academic (b. 1617)
  • 1752 – Giulio Alberoni, Spanish cardinal (b. 1664)
  • 1757 – Maximilian Ulysses Browne, Austrian field marshal (b. 1705)
  • 1784 – Caesar Rodney, American lawyer and politician, 4th Governor of Delaware (b. 1728)
  • 1793 – James Dickey, Irish revolutionary (b. 1776)
  • 1793 – Gilbert White, English ornithologist and ecologist (b. 1720)
  • 1795 – Johannes Jährig, German linguist and translator (b. 1747)
  • 1808 – Ludwik Tyszkiewicz, Polish poet and politician (b. 1748)
  • 1810 – Joseph-Michel Montgolfier, French inventor, co-invented the hot air balloon (b. 1740)
  • 1830 – George IV of the United Kingdom (b. 1762)
  • 1836 – Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, French soldier and composer (b. 1760)
  • 1856 – Max Stirner, German philosopher and author (b. 1806)
  • 1870 – Armand Barbès, French lawyer and politician (b. 1809)
  • 1878 – Mercedes of Orléans (b. 1860)
  • 1879 – Richard H. Anderson, American general (b. 1821)
  • 1883 – Edward Sabine, Irish-English astronomer, geophysicist, and ornithologist (b. 1788)
  • 1918 – Peter Rosegger, Austrian poet and author (b. 1843)
  • 1922 – Albert I, Prince of Monaco (b. 1848)
  • 1927 – Armand Guillaumin, French painter (b. 1841)
  • 1932 – Adelaide Ames, American astronomer and academic (b. 1900)
  • 1932 – William Murray McPherson, Australian politician, 31st Premier of Victoria (b. 1865)
  • 1938 – James Weldon Johnson, American poet, lawyer and politician (b. 1871)
  • 1938 – Daria Pratt, American golfer (b. 1859)
  • 1939 – Ford Madox Ford, English novelist, poet, and critic (b. 1873)
  • 1943 – Karl Landsteiner, Austrian biologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1868)
  • 1945 – Emil Hácha, Czech lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Czechoslovakia (b. 1872)
  • 1946 – Max Kögel, German SS officer (b. 1895)
  • 1946 – Yōsuke Matsuoka, Japanese politician, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1880)
  • 1947 – R. B. Bennett, Canadian lawyer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1870)
  • 1949 – Kim Koo, South Korean educator and politician, 13th President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (b. 1876)
  • 1955 – Engelbert Zaschka, German engineer (b. 1895)
  • 1956 – Clifford Brown, American trumpet player and composer (b. 1930)
  • 1956 – Richie Powell, American pianist (b. 1931)
  • 1957 – Alfred Döblin, Polish-German physician and author (b. 1878)
  • 1957 – Malcolm Lowry, English novelist and poet (b. 1909)
  • 1958 – George Orton, Canadian runner and hurdler (b. 1873)
  • 1958 – Andrija Štampar, Croatian physician and scholar (b. 1888)
  • 1964 – Léo Dandurand, American-Canadian businessman (b. 1889)
  • 1967 – Françoise Dorléac, French actress and singer (b. 1942)
  • 1975 – Josemaría Escrivá, Spanish priest and saint (b. 1902)
  • 1979 – Akwasi Afrifa, Ghanaian soldier and politician, 3rd Head of State of Ghana (b. 1936)
  • 1989 – Howard Charles Green, Canadian lawyer and politician, 27th Canadian Minister of Public Works (b. 1895)
  • 1990 – Anni Blomqvist, Finnish author (b. 1909)
  • 1992 – Buddy Rogers, American wrestler (b. 1921)
  • 1993 – Roy Campanella, American baseball player and coach (b. 1921)
  • 1993 – William H. Riker, American political scientist and academic (b. 1920)
  • 1994 – Jahanara Imam, Bangladeshi author and activist (b. 1929)
  • 1996 – Veronica Guerin, Irish journalist (b. 1958)
  • 1996 – Necmettin Hacıeminoğlu, Turkish linguist and academic (b. 1932)
  • 1997 – Don Hutson, American football player and coach (b. 1913)
  • 1998 – Hacı Sabancı, Turkish businessman and philanthropist (b. 1935)
  • 2002 – Jay Berwanger, American football player (b. 1914)
  • 2002 – Arnold Brown, English-Canadian 11th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1913)
  • 2003 – Marc-Vivien Foé, Cameroon footballer (b. 1975)
  • 2003 – Denis Thatcher, English soldier and businessman (b. 1915)
  • 2003 – Strom Thurmond, American general, lawyer, and politician, 103rd Governor of South Carolina (b. 1902)
  • 2004 – Ott Arder, Estonian poet and translator (b. 1950)
  • 2004 – Yash Johar, Indian film producer, founded Dharma Productions (b. 1929)
  • 2004 – Naomi Shemer, Israeli singer-songwriter (b. 1930)
  • 2005 – Tõnno Lepmets, Estonian basketball player (b. 1938)
  • 2005 – Richard Whiteley, English journalist and game show host (b. 1943)
  • 2006 – Tommy Wonder, Dutch magician (b. 1953)
  • 2007 – Liz Claiborne, Belgian-American fashion designer, founded Liz Claiborne (b. 1929)
  • 2007 – Joey Sadler, New Zealand rugby player (b. 1914)
  • 2010 – Algirdas Brazauskas, Lithuanian engineer and politician, 2nd President of Lithuania (b. 1932)
  • 2010 – Harald Keres, Estonian physicist and academic (b. 1912)
  • 2011 – Edith Fellows, American actress (b. 1923)
  • 2011 – Jan van Beveren, Dutch footballer and coach (b. 1948)
  • 2012 – Sverker Åström, Swedish diplomat, Swedish Permanent Representative to the United Nations (b. 1915)
  • 2012 – Pat Cummings, American basketball player (b. 1956)
  • 2012 – Nora Ephron, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1941)
  • 2012 – Mario O’Hara, Filipino director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1944)
  • 2012 – Doris Singleton, American actress (b. 1919)
  • 2012 – Risley C. Triche, American lawyer and politician (b. 1927)
  • 2013 – Henrik Otto Donner, Finnish trumpet player and composer (b. 1939)
  • 2013 – Edward Huggins Johnstone, Brazilian-American sergeant and judge (b. 1922)
  • 2013 – Byron Looper, American politician (b. 1964)
  • 2013 – Justin Miller, American baseball player (b. 1977)
  • 2013 – Marc Rich, Belgian-American businessman (b. 1934)
  • 2014 – Howard Baker, American lawyer, politician, and diplomat, 12th White House Chief of Staff (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Bill Frank, American-Canadian football player (b. 1938)
  • 2014 – Rollin King, American businessman, co-founded Southwest Airlines (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Bob Mischak, American football player and coach (b. 1932)
  • 2014 – Julius Rudel, Austrian-American conductor (b. 1921)
  • 2014 – Mary Rodgers, American composer and author (b. 1931)
  • 2015 – Yevgeny Primakov, Ukrainian-Russian journalist and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Russia (b. 1929)
  • 2015 – Chris Thompson, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1952)

Holidays and observances on June 26

  • Day of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan
  • Christian feast day:
    • Anthelm of Belley
    • David the Dendrite
    • Hermogius
    • Isabel Florence Hapgood (Episcopal Church)
    • Jeremiah (Lutheran)
    • John and Paul
    • José María Robles Hurtado (one of Saints of the Cristero War)
    • Josemaría Escrivá
    • Mar Abhai (Syriac Orthodox Church)
    • Pelagius of Córdoba
    • Vigilius of Trent
    • June 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Flag Day (Romania)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Madagascar from France in 1960. (Madagascar)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of British Somaliland from the British in 1960. (Somalia)
  • International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (International)
  • International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (International)
  • Ratcatcher’s Day (Hamelin, Germany)
  • Sunthorn Phu Day (Thailand)
  • World Refrigeration Day (International)

June 26 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

June 20 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Summer solstice sometimes occurs on this date, while the Winter solstice occurs in the Southern Hemisphere.

  • 451 – Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius’ battles Attila the Hun. After the battle, which was inconclusive, Attila retreats, causing the Romans to interpret it as a victory.
  • 1180 – First Battle of Uji, starting the Genpei War in Japan.
  • 1620 – The Battle of Höchst takes place during the Thirty Years’ War.
  • 1631 – The Sack of Baltimore: The Irish village of Baltimore is attacked by Algerian pirates.
  • 1652 – Tarhoncu Ahmed Pasha is appointed Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire.
  • 1685 – Monmouth Rebellion: James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth declares himself King of England at Bridgwater.
  • 1756 – A British garrison is imprisoned in the Black Hole of Calcutta.
  • 1782 – The U.S. Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States.
  • 1787 – Oliver Ellsworth moves at the Federal Convention to call the government the ‘United States’.
  • 1789 – Deputies of the French Third Estate take the Tennis Court Oath.
  • 1819 – The U.S. vessel SS Savannah arrives at Liverpool, United Kingdom. It is the first steam-propelled vessel to cross the Atlantic, although most of the journey is made under sail.
  • 1837 – Queen Victoria succeeds to the British throne.
  • 1840 – Samuel Morse receives the patent for the telegraph.
  • 1862 – Barbu Catargiu, the Prime Minister of Romania, is assassinated.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: West Virginia is admitted as the 35th U.S. state.
  • 1877 – Alexander Graham Bell installs the world’s first commercial telephone service in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
  • 1893 – Lizzie Borden is acquitted of the murders of her father and stepmother.
  • 1895 – The Kiel Canal, crossing the base of the Jutland peninsula and the busiest artificial waterway in the world, is officially opened.
  • 1900 – Boxer Rebellion: The Imperial Chinese Army begins a 55-day siege of the Legation Quarter in Beijing, China.
  • 1900 – Baron Eduard Toll, leader of the Russian Polar Expedition of 1900, departs Saint Petersburg in Russia on the explorer ship Zarya, never to return.
  • 1921 – Workers of Buckingham and Carnatic Mills in the city of Chennai, India, begin a four-month strike.
  • 1942 – The Holocaust: Kazimierz Piechowski and three others, dressed as members of the SS-Totenkopfverbände, steal an SS staff car and escape from the Auschwitz concentration camp.
  • 1943 – The Detroit race riot breaks out and continues for three more days.
  • 1943 – World War II: The Royal Air Force launches Operation Bellicose, the first shuttle bombing raid of the war. Lancaster bombers damage the V-2 rocket production facilities at the Zeppelin Works while en route to an air base in Algeria.
  • 1944 – World War II: The Battle of the Philippine Sea concludes with a decisive U.S. naval victory. The lopsided naval air battle is also known as the “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot”.
  • 1944 – Continuation War: The Soviet Union demands an unconditional surrender from Finland during the beginning of partially successful Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive. The Finnish government refuses.
  • 1944 – The experimental MW 18014 V-2 rocket reaches an altitude of 176 km, becoming the first man-made object to reach outer space.
  • 1945 – The United States Secretary of State approves the transfer of Wernher von Braun and his team of Nazi rocket scientists to the U.S. under Operation Paperclip.
  • 1948 – The Deutsche Mark is introduced in Western Allied-occupied Germany. The Soviet Military Administration in Germany responded by imposing the Berlin Blockade four days later.
  • 1956 – A Venezuelan Super-Constellation crashes in the Atlantic Ocean off Asbury Park, New Jersey, killing 74 people.
  • 1959 – A rare June hurricane strikes Canada’s Gulf of St. Lawrence killing 35.
  • 1960 – The Mali Federation gains independence from France (it later splits into Mali and Senegal).
  • 1963 – Following the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Soviet Union and the United States sign an agreement to establish the so-called “red telephone” link between Washington and Moscow.
  • 1972 – Watergate scandal: An 18½-minute gap appears in the tape recording of the conversations between U.S. President Richard Nixon and his advisers regarding the recent arrests of his operatives while breaking into the Watergate complex.
  • 1973 – Snipers fire upon left-wing Peronists in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in what is known as the Ezeiza massacre. At least 13 are killed and more than 300 are injured.
  • 1973 – Aeroméxico Flight 229 crashes on approach to Licenciado Gustavo Díaz Ordaz International Airport, killing all 27 people on board.
  • 1975 – The film Jaws is released in the United States, becoming the highest-grossing film of that time and starting the trend of films known as “summer blockbusters”.
  • 1979 – ABC News correspondent Bill Stewart is shot dead by a Nicaraguan soldier under the regime of Anastasio Somoza Debayle. The murder is caught on tape and sparks an international outcry against the regime.
  • 1982 – The Argentine Corbeta Uruguay base on Southern Thule surrenders to Royal Marine commandos in the final action of the Falklands War.
  • 1990 – Asteroid Eureka is discovered.
  • 1990 – The 7.4 Mw  Manjil–Rudbar earthquake affects northern Iran with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing 35,000–50,000, and injuring 60,000–105,000.
  • 1991 – German Bundestag votes to move seat of government from the former West German capital of Bonn to the present capital Berlin.
  • 1994 – The 1994 Imam Reza shrine bomb explosion in Iran leaves at least 25 dead and 70 to 300 injured.
  • 2003 – The Wikimedia Foundation is founded in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Births on June 20

  • 1005 – Ali az-Zahir, Fatimid caliph of Egypt (d. 1036)
  • 1389 – John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, English statesman (d. 1435)
  • 1469 – Gian Galeazzo Sforza, duke of Milan (d. 1494)
  • 1566 – Sigismund III Vasa, Polish and Swedish king (d. 1632)
  • 1583 – Jacob De la Gardie, Swedish soldier and politician, Lord High Constable of Sweden (d. 1652)
  • 1634 – Charles Emmanuel II, duke of Savoy (d. 1675)
  • 1642 – George Hickes, English minister and scholar (d. 1715)
  • 1647 – John George III, Elector of Saxony (d. 1691)
  • 1717 – Jacques Saly, French sculptor and painter (d. 1776)
  • 1723 – Adam Ferguson, Scottish philosopher and historian (d. 1816)
  • 1737 – Tokugawa Ieharu, Japanese shōgun (d. 1786)
  • 1754 – Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt, princess of Baden (d. 1832)
  • 1756 – Joseph Martin Kraus, German-Swedish composer and educator (d. 1792)
  • 1761 – Jacob Hübner, German entomologist and author (d. 1826)
  • 1763 – Wolfe Tone, Irish rebel leader (d. 1798)
  • 1770 – Moses Waddel, American minister and academic (d. 1840)
  • 1771 – Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, Scottish philanthropist, and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Kirkcudbright (d. 1820)
  • 1771 – Hermann von Boyen, Prussian general and politician, Prussian Minister of War (d. 1848)
  • 1777 – Jean-Jacques Lartigue, Canadian bishop (d. 1840)
  • 1778 – Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac, French politician, 7th Prime Minister of France (d. 1832)
  • 1786 – Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, French poet and author (d. 1859)
  • 1796 – Luigi Amat di San Filippo e Sorso, Italian cardinal (d. 1878)
  • 1808 – Samson Raphael Hirsch, German rabbi and scholar (d. 1888)
  • 1809 – Isaak August Dorner, German theologian and academic (d. 1884)
  • 1813 – Joseph Autran, French poet and author (d. 1877)
  • 1819 – Jacques Offenbach, German-French cellist and composer (d. 1880)
  • 1847 – Gina Krog, Norwegian suffragist and women’s rights activist (d. 1916)
  • 1855 – Richard Lodge, English historian and academic (d. 1936)
  • 1858 – Charles W. Chesnutt, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1932)
  • 1860 – Alexander Winton, Scottish-American race car driver and engineer (d. 1932)
  • 1860 – Jack Worrall, Australian cricketer, footballer, and coach (d. 1937)
  • 1861 – Frederick Gowland Hopkins, English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1947)
  • 1865 – George Redmayne Murray, English biologist and physician (d. 1939)
  • 1866 – James Burns, English cricketer (d. 1957)
  • 1869 – Laxmanrao Kirloskar, Indian businessman, founded the Kirloskar Group (d. 1956)
  • 1870 – Georges Dufrénoy, French painter and academic (d. 1943)
  • 1872 – George Carpenter, American 5th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1948)
  • 1875 – Reginald Punnett, English geneticist, statistician, and academic (d. 1967)
  • 1882 – Daniel Sawyer, American golfer (d. 1937)
  • 1884 – Mary R. Calvert, American astronomer and author (d. 1974)
  • 1884 – Johannes Heinrich Schultz, German psychiatrist and psychotherapist (d. 1970)
  • 1885 – Andrzej Gawroński, Polish linguist and academic (d. 1927)
  • 1887 – Kurt Schwitters, German painter and illustrator (d. 1948)
  • 1889 – John S. Paraskevopoulos, Greek-South African astronomer and academic (d. 1951)
  • 1891 – Giannina Arangi-Lombardi, Italian soprano (d. 1951)
  • 1891 – John A. Costello, Irish lawyer and politician, 3rd Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 1976)
  • 1893 – Wilhelm Zaisser, German soldier and politician (d. 1958)
  • 1894 – Lloyd Hall, American chemist and academic (d. 1971)
  • 1896 – Wilfrid Pelletier, Canadian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1982)
  • 1897 – Elisabeth Hauptmann, German author and playwright (d. 1973)
  • 1899 – Jean Moulin, French soldier and engineer (d. 1943)
  • 1903 – Sam Rabin, English wrestler, sculptor, and singer (d. 1991)
  • 1905 – Lillian Hellman, American playwright and screenwriter (d. 1984)
  • 1906 – Bob King, American high jumper and obstetrician (d. 1965)
  • 1907 – Jimmy Driftwood, American singer-songwriter and banjo player (d. 1998)
  • 1908 – Billy Werber, American baseball player (d. 2009)
  • 1908 – Gus Schilling, American actor (d. 1957)
  • 1909 – Errol Flynn, Australian-American actor (d. 1959)
  • 1910 – Josephine Johnson, American author and poet (d. 1990)
  • 1911 – Gail Patrick, American actress (d. 1980)
  • 1912 – Anthony Buckeridge, English author (d. 2004)
  • 1912 – Jack Torrance, American shot putter and football player (d. 1969)
  • 1914 – Gordon Juckes, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1994)
  • 1914 – Muazzez İlmiye Çığ, Turkish archaeologist and academic
  • 1915 – Dick Reynolds, Australian footballer and coach (d. 2002)
  • 1915 – Terence Young, Chinese-English director and screenwriter (d. 1994)
  • 1916 – Jean-Jacques Bertrand, Canadian lawyer and politician, 21st Premier of Quebec (d. 1973)
  • 1916 – T. Texas Tyler, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1972)
  • 1917 – Helena Rasiowa, Austrian-Polish mathematician and academic (d. 1994)
  • 1918 – George Lynch, American race car driver (d. 1997)
  • 1918 – Zoltán Sztáray, Hungarian-American author (d. 2011)
  • 1920 – Geoffrey Baker, English Field Marshal and Chief of the General Staff of the British Army (d. 1980)
  • 1920 – Danny Cedrone, American guitarist and bandleader (d. 1954)
  • 1920 – Thomas Jefferson, American trumpet player (d. 1986)
  • 1921 – Byron Farwell, American historian and author (d. 1999)
  • 1921 – Pancho Segura, Ecuadorian tennis player (d. 2017)
  • 1923 – Peter Gay, German-American historian, author, and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1923 – Jerzy Nowak, Polish actor and educator (d. 2013)
  • 1924 – Chet Atkins, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2001)
  • 1924 – Fritz Koenig, German sculptor and academic, designed The Sphere (d. 2017)
  • 1925 – Doris Hart, American tennis player and educator (d. 2015)
  • 1925 – Audie Murphy, American lieutenant and actor, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1971)
  • 1926 – Rehavam Ze’evi, Israeli general and politician, 9th Israeli Minister of Tourism (d. 2001)
  • 1927 – Simin Behbahani, Iranian poet and activist (d. 2014)
  • 1928 – Eric Dolphy, American saxophonist, flute player, and composer (d. 1964)
  • 1928 – Martin Landau, American actor and producer (d. 2017)
  • 1928 – Jean-Marie Le Pen, French intelligence officer and politician
  • 1928 – Asrat Woldeyes, Ethiopian surgeon and educator (d. 1999)
  • 1929 – Edgar Bronfman, Sr., Canadian-American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
  • 1929 – Anne Weale, English journalist and author (d. 2007)
  • 1929 – Edith Windsor, American lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights activist (d. 2017)
  • 1930 – Magdalena Abakanowicz, Polish sculptor and academic (d. 2017)
  • 1930 – John Waine, English bishop
  • 1931 – Olympia Dukakis, American actress
  • 1931 – James Tolkan, American actor and director
  • 1932 – Robert Rozhdestvensky, Russian poet and author (d. 1994)
  • 1933 – Danny Aiello, American actor (d. 2019)
  • 1933 – Claire Tomalin, English journalist and author
  • 1934 – Wendy Craig, English actress
  • 1935 – Jim Barker, American politician (d. 2005)
  • 1935 – Len Dawson, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1935 – Armando Picchi, Italian footballer and coach (d. 1971)
  • 1936 – Billy Guy, American singer (d. 2002)
  • 1936 – Enn Vetemaa, Estonian author and screenwriter (d. 2017)
  • 1937 – Stafford Dean, English actor and singer
  • 1937 – Jerry Keller, American singer-songwriter
  • 1938 – Joan Kirner, Australian educator and politician, 42nd Premier of Victoria (d. 2015)
  • 1938 – Mickie Most, English music producer (d. 2003)
  • 1939 – Ramakant Desai, Indian cricketer (d. 1998)
  • 1939 – Budge Rogers, English rugby player and manager
  • 1940 – Eugen Drewermann, German priest and theologian
  • 1940 – John Mahoney, English actor (d. 2018)
  • 1941 – Stephen Frears, English actor, director, and producer
  • 1941 – Ulf Merbold, German physicist and astronaut
  • 1942 – Neil Trudinger, Australian mathematician and theorist
  • 1942 – Brian Wilson, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1945 – Anne Murray, Canadian singer and guitarist
  • 1946 – Xanana Gusmão, Timorese soldier and politician, 1st President of East Timor
  • 1946 – David Kazhdan, Russian-Israeli mathematician and academic
  • 1946 – Bob Vila, American television host
  • 1946 – André Watts, American pianist and educator
  • 1947 – Dolores “LaLa” Brooks, American pop singer (The Crystals)
  • 1948 – Cirilo Flores, American bishop (d. 2014)
  • 1948 – Ludwig Scotty, Nauruan politician, 10th President of Nauru
  • 1949 – Alan Longmuir, Scottish bass player and songwriter (d. 2018)
  • 1949 – Lionel Richie, American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor
  • 1949 – Gotabaya Rajapaksa, 8th president of Sri Lanka
  • 1950 – Nouri al-Maliki, Iraqi politician, 76th Prime Minister of Iraq
  • 1951 – Tress MacNeille, American actress and voice artist
  • 1951 – Sheila McLean, Scottish scholar and academic
  • 1951 – Paul Muldoon, Irish poet and academic
  • 1952 – John Goodman, American actor
  • 1952 – Vikram Seth, Indian author and poet
  • 1953 – Robert Crais, American author and screenwriter
  • 1953 – Raúl Ramírez, Mexican tennis player
  • 1953 – Willy Rampf, German engineer
  • 1954 – Allan Lamb, South African-English cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1954 – Ilan Ramon, Israeli colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2003)
  • 1955 – E. Lynn Harris, American author (d. 2009)
  • 1956 – Peter Reid, English footballer and manager
  • 1956 – Sohn Suk-hee, South Korean newscaster
  • 1958 – Kelly Johnson, English hard rock guitarist and songwriter (d. 2007)
  • 1960 – Philip M. Parker, American economist and author
  • 1960 – John Taylor, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor
  • 1963 – Kirk Baptiste, American sprinter
  • 1963 – Mark Ovenden, British author and broadcaster
  • 1964 – Pierfrancesco Chili, Italian motorcycle racer
  • 1964 – Silke Möller, German runner
  • 1966 – Boaz Yakin, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1967 – Nicole Kidman, American-Australian actress
  • 1967 – Dan Tyminski, American singer-songwriter
  • 1968 – Robert Rodriguez, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1969 – Paulo Bento, Portuguese footballer and manager
  • 1969 – Misha Verbitsky, Russian mathematician and academic
  • 1969 – MaliVai Washington, American tennis player and sportscaster
  • 1970 – Andrea Nahles, German politician, German Minister of Labour and Social Affairs
  • 1970 – Athol Williams, South African poet and social philosopher
  • 1971 – Rodney Rogers, American basketball player and coach
  • 1971 – Jeordie White, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and bass player
  • 1972 – Alexis Alexoudis, Greek footballer
  • 1973 – Chino Moreno, American singer-songwriter
  • 1975 – Joan Balcells, Spanish tennis player
  • 1975 – Daniel Zítka, Czech footballer
  • 1976 – Juliano Belletti, Brazilian footballer
  • 1976 – Carlos Lee, Panamanian baseball player
  • 1977 – Gordan Giriček, Croatian basketball player
  • 1977 – Amos Lee, American singer-songwriter
  • 1978 – Frank Lampard, English footballer
  • 1978 – Jan-Paul Saeijs, Dutch footballer
  • 1979 – Charles Howell III, American golfer
  • 1980 – Franco Semioli, Italian footballer
  • 1980 – Tika Sumpter, American actress
  • 1980 – Fabian Wegmann, German cyclist
  • 1981 – Brede Hangeland, Norwegian footballer
  • 1982 – Aleksei Berezutski, Russian footballer
  • 1982 – Vasili Berezutski, Russian footballer
  • 1982 – Example, English singer/rapper
  • 1983 – Josh Childress, American basketball player
  • 1983 – Darren Sproles, American football player
  • 1984 – Hassan Adams, American basketball player
  • 1985 – Saki Aibu, Japanese actress
  • 1985 – Aurélien Chedjou, Cameroonian footballer
  • 1985 – Matt Flynn, American football player
  • 1986 – Dreama Walker, American actress
  • 1987 – A-fu, Taiwanese singer and songwriter
  • 1987 – Carsten Ball, Australian tennis player
  • 1987 – Asmir Begović, Bosnian footballer
  • 1987 – Joseph Ebuya, Kenyan runner
  • 1987 – Kierra Sheard, American gospel singer
  • 1989 – Christopher Mintz-Plasse, American actor
  • 1989 – Javier Pastore, Argentinian footballer
  • 1989 – Terrelle Pryor, American football player
  • 1990 – DeQuan Jones, American basketball player
  • 1991 – Kalidou Koulibaly, Senegalese footballer
  • 1991 – Rick ten Voorde, Dutch footballer
  • 1993 – Sead Kolašinac, Bosnian footballer
  • 1994 – Leonard Williams, American football player
  • 1995 – Caroline Weir, Scottish footballer
  • 1996 – Sam Bennett, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1997 – Bálint Kopasz, Hungarian sprint canoeist

Deaths on June 20

  • 465 – Emperor Wencheng of Northern Wei (b. 440)
  • 656 – Uthman ibn Affan, Rashidun caliph (b. 577)
  • 840 – Louis the Pious, Carolingian emperor (b. 778)
  • 930 – Hucbald, Frankish monk and music theorist
  • 981 – Adalbert, archbishop of Magdeburg
  • 1176 – Mikhail of Vladimir, Russian prince
  • 1351 – Margareta Ebner, German nun and mystic (b. 1291)
  • 1405 – Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan, fourth son of King Robert II of Scotland (b. 1343)
  • 1597 – Willem Barentsz, Dutch cartographer and explorer (b. 1550)
  • 1605 – Feodor II of Russia (b. 1589)
  • 1668 – Heinrich Roth, German missionary and scholar (b. 1620)
  • 1776 – Benjamin Huntsman, English businessman (b. 1704)
  • 1787 – Carl Friedrich Abel, German viol player and composer (b. 1723)
  • 1800 – Abraham Gotthelf Kästner, German mathematician and academic (b. 1719)
  • 1810 – Axel von Fersen the Younger, Swedish general and politician (b. 1755)
  • 1815 – Guillaume Philibert Duhesme, French general (b. 1766)
  • 1820 – Manuel Belgrano, Argentinian general, economist, and politician (b. 1770)
  • 1837 – William IV of the United Kingdom (b. 1765)
  • 1840 – Pierre Claude François Daunou, French historian and politician (b. 1761)
  • 1847 – Juan Larrea, Argentinian captain and politician (b. 1782)
  • 1869 – Hijikata Toshizō, Japanese commander (b. 1835)
  • 1870 – Jules de Goncourt, French historian and author (b. 1830)
  • 1872 – Élie Frédéric Forey, French general (b. 1804)
  • 1875 – Joseph Meek, American police officer and politician (b. 1810)
  • 1888 – Johannes Zukertort, Polish-English chess player (b. 1842)
  • 1906 – John Clayton Adams, English painter (b. 1840)
  • 1909 – Friedrich Martens, Estonian-Russian historian, lawyer, and diplomat (b. 1845)
  • 1925 – Josef Breuer, Austrian physician and psychologist (b. 1842)
  • 1929 – Emmanouil Benakis, Greek merchant and politician, 35th Mayor of Athens (b. 1843)
  • 1945 – Bruno Frank, German author, poet, and playwright (b. 1878)
  • 1947 – Bugsy Siegel, American mobster (b. 1906)
  • 1952 – Luigi Fagioli, Italian race car driver (b. 1898)
  • 1958 – Kurt Alder, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
  • 1963 – Raphaël Salem, Greek-French mathematician and academic (b. 1898)
  • 1965 – Bernard Baruch, American financier and politician (b. 1870)
  • 1966 – Georges Lemaître, Belgian priest, physicist, and astronomer (b. 1894)
  • 1974 – Horace Lindrum, Australian snooker player (b. 1912)
  • 1975 – Suzanne Comhaire-Sylvain, Hatian anthropologist (b. 1898)
  • 1978 – Mark Robson, Canadian-American director and producer (b. 1913)
  • 1984 – Estelle Winwood, English actress (b. 1883)
  • 1995 – Emil Cioran, Romanian-French philosopher and educator (b. 1911)
  • 1997 – Cahit Külebi, Turkish poet and author (b. 1917)
  • 1999 – Clifton Fadiman, American game show host, author, and critic (b. 1902)
  • 2001 – Gina Cigna, French-Italian soprano (b. 1900)
  • 2002 – Erwin Chargaff, Austrian-American biochemist and academic (b. 1905)
  • 2002 – Tinus Osendarp, Dutch runner (b. 1916)
  • 2004 – Jim Bacon, Australian politician, 41st Premier of Tasmania (b. 1950)
  • 2005 – Larry Collins, American journalist, historian, and author (b. 1929)
  • 2005 – Jack Kilby, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1923)
  • 2010 – Roberto Rosato, Italian footballer (b. 1943)
  • 2010 – Harry B. Whittington, English palaeontologist and academic (b. 1916)
  • 2011 – Ryan Dunn, American television personality (b. 1977)
  • 2012 – Judy Agnew, Second Lady of the United States. (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – LeRoy Neiman, American painter (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz (b. 1919)
  • 2012 – Andrew Sarris, American critic (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Ingvar Rydell, Swedish footballer (b. 1922)
  • 2015 – Angelo Niculescu, Romanian footballer and manager (b. 1921)
  • 2015 – Miriam Schapiro, Canadian-American painter and sculptor (b. 1923)
  • 2017 – Prodigy, American music artist (b. 1974)

Holidays and observances on June 20

  • Christian feast day:
    • Adalbert of Magdeburg
    • Florentina
    • John of Matera
    • Blessed Margareta Ebner
    • Methodius of Olympus
    • Pope Silverius
    • June 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Day of the National Flag (Argentina)
  • The earliest date for the summer solstice in the Northern hemisphere and the winter solstice in the Southern hemisphere, and its related observance:
    • Earliest day on which Day of the Finnish Flag can fall, while June 26 is the latest; celebrated on Saturday of Midsummer’s Day (Finland)
    • International Surfing Day (on or near Summer solstice)
    • Litha / Midsummer celebrations in the northern hemisphere, Yule in the southern hemisphere.
  • Gas Sector Day (Azerbaijan)
  • Martyrs’ Day (Eritrea)
  • West Virginia Day (West Virginia)
  • World Refugee Day (International)

June 20 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

June 18 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 618 – Li Yuan becomes Emperor Gaozu of Tang, initiating three centuries of Tang dynasty rule over China.
  • 656 – Ali becomes Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate.
  • 860 – Byzantine–Rus’ War: A fleet of about 200 Rus’ vessels sails into the Bosphorus and starts pillaging the suburbs of the Byzantine capital Constantinople.
  • 1053 – Battle of Civitate: Three thousand horsemen of Norman Count Humphrey rout the troops of Pope Leo IX.
  • 1178 – Five Canterbury monks see what is possibly the Giordano Bruno crater being formed. It is believed that the current oscillations of the Moon’s distance from the Earth (on the order of meters) are a result of this collision.
  • 1264 – The Parliament of Ireland meets at Castledermot in County Kildare, the first definitively known meeting of this Irish legislature.
  • 1265 – A draft Byzantine–Venetian treaty is concluded between Venetian envoys and Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, but is not ratified by Doge Reniero Zeno.
  • 1429 – French forces under the leadership of Joan of Arc defeat the main English army under Sir John Fastolf at the Battle of Patay. This turns the tide of the Hundred Years’ War.
  • 1633 – Charles I is crowned King of Scots at St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh.
  • 1684 – The charter of the Massachusetts Bay Colony is revoked via a scire facias writ issued by an English court.
  • 1757 – Battle of Kolín between Prussian forces under Frederick the Great and an Austrian army under the command of Field Marshal Count Leopold Joseph von Daun in the Seven Years’ War.
  • 1778 – American Revolutionary War: British troops abandon Philadelphia.
  • 1799 – Action of 18 June 1799: A frigate squadron under Rear-admiral Perrée is captured by the British fleet under Lord Keith.
  • 1812 – The United States declaration of war upon the United Kingdom is signed by President James Madison, beginning the War of 1812.
  • 1815 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Waterloo results in the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte by the Duke of Wellington and Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher forcing him to abdicate the throne of France for the second and last time.
  • 1822 – Constantine Kanaris blows up the Ottoman navy’s flagship at Chios, killing the Kapudan Pasha Nasuhzade Ali Pasha.
  • 1858 – Charles Darwin receives a paper from Alfred Russel Wallace that includes nearly identical conclusions about evolution as Darwin’s own, prompting Darwin to publish his theory.
  • 1859 – First ascent of Aletschhorn, second summit of the Bernese Alps.
  • 1873 – Susan B. Anthony is fined $100 for attempting to vote in the 1872 presidential election.
  • 1887 – The Reinsurance Treaty between Germany and Russia is signed.
  • 1900 – Empress Dowager Cixi of China orders all foreigners killed, including foreign diplomats and their families.
  • 1908 – Japanese immigration to Brazil begins when 781 people arrive in Santos aboard the ship Kasato-Maru.
  • 1908 – The University of the Philippines is established.
  • 1923 – Checker Taxi puts its first taxi on the streets.
  • 1928 – Aviator Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly in an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean (she is a passenger; Wilmer Stultz is the pilot and Lou Gordon the mechanic).
  • 1935 – Police in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, clash with striking longshoremen, resulting in a total of 60 injuries and 24 arrests.
  • 1940 – Appeal of 18 June by Charles de Gaulle.
  • 1940 – The “Finest Hour” speech is delivered by Winston Churchill.
  • 1945 – William Joyce (“Lord Haw-Haw”) is charged with treason for his pro-German propaganda broadcasting during World War II.
  • 1946 – Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, a Socialist, calls for a Direct Action Day against the Portuguese in Goa.
  • 1948 – Columbia Records introduces the long-playing record album in a public demonstration at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.
  • 1953 – The Egyptian revolution of 1952 ends with the overthrow of the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the declaration of the Republic of Egypt.
  • 1953 – A United States Air Force C-124 crashes and burns near Tachikawa, Japan, killing 129.
  • 1954 – Carlos Castillo Armas leads an invasion force across the Guatemalan border, setting in motion the 1954 Guatemalan coup d’état.
  • 1965 – Vietnam War: The United States uses B-52 bombers to attack National Liberation Front guerrilla fighters in South Vietnam.
  • 1972 – Staines air disaster: One hundred eighteen people are killed when a BEA H.S. Trident crashes two minutes after take off from London’s Heathrow Airport.
  • 1979 – SALT II is signed by the United States and the Soviet Union.
  • 1981 – The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, the first operational aircraft initially designed around stealth technology, makes its first flight.
  • 1982 – Italian banker Roberto Calvi’s body is discovered hanging beneath Blackfriars Bridge in London, England.
  • 1983 – Space Shuttle program: STS-7, Astronaut Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space.
  • 1983 – Mona Mahmudnizhad, together with nine other Bahá’í women, is sentenced to death and hanged in Shiraz, Iran over her religious beliefs.
  • 1984 – A major clash between about 5,000 police and a similar number of miners takes place at Orgreave, South Yorkshire, during the 1984–85 UK miners’ strike.
  • 1994 – The Troubles: Members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) attack a crowded pub with assault rifles in Loughinisland, Northern Ireland. Six Catholic civilians are killed and five wounded. It was crowded with people watching the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
  • 2006 – The first Kazakh space satellite, KazSat-1 is launched.
  • 2007 – The Charleston Sofa Super Store fire happened in Charleston, South Carolina, killing nine firefighters.
  • 2009 – The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), a NASA robotic spacecraft is launched.
  • 2018 – An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 strikes northern Osaka.

Births on June 18

  • 1269 – Eleanor of England, Countess of Bar (d. 1298)
  • 1318 – Eleanor of Woodstock (d. 1355)
  • 1332 – John V Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor (d. 1391)
  • 1466 – Ottaviano Petrucci, Italian printer (d. 1539)
  • 1511 – Bartolomeo Ammannati, Italian architect and sculptor, designed the Ponte Santa Trinita (d. 1592)
  • 1517 – Emperor Ōgimachi of Japan (d. 1593)
  • 1521 – Maria of Portugal, Duchess of Viseu (d. 1577)
  • 1667 – Ivan Trubetskoy, Russian field marshal (d. 1750)
  • 1673 – Antonio de Literes, Spanish composer (d. 1747)
  • 1677 – Antonio Maria Bononcini, Italian cellist and composer (d. 1726)
  • 1716 – Joseph-Marie Vien, French painter and educator (d. 1809)
  • 1717 – Johann Stamitz, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1757)
  • 1757 – Ignaz Pleyel, Austrian-French pianist and composer (d. 1831)
  • 1757 – Gervasio Antonio de Posadas, Argentinian lawyer and politician 1st Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (d. 1833)
  • 1769 – Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, Irish-English politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (d. 1822)
  • 1799 – William Lassell, English astronomer and merchant (d. 1880)
  • 1812 – Ivan Goncharov, Russian journalist and author (d. 1891)
  • 1815 – Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen, German general (d. 1881)
  • 1816 – Hélène Napoleone Bonaparte, French daughter of Napoleon (d. 1907)
  • 1816 – Jung Bahadur Rana, Nepali ruler (d. 1877)
  • 1833 – Manuel González Flores, Mexican general and President (1880-1884) (d. 1893)
  • 1834 – Auguste-Théodore-Paul de Broglie, French philosopher and academic (d. 1895)
  • 1839 – William H. Seward Jr., American general and banker (d. 1920)
  • 1845 – Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, French physician and parasitologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1922)
  • 1850 – Richard Heuberger, Austrian composer and critic (d. 1914)
  • 1854 – E. W. Scripps, American publisher, founded the E. W. Scripps Company (d. 1926)
  • 1857 – Henry Clay Folger, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Folger Shakespeare Library (d. 1930)
  • 1858 – Andrew Forsyth, Scottish-English mathematician and academic (d. 1942)
  • 1858 – Hector Rason, English-Australian politician, 7th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1927)
  • 1862 – Carolyn Wells, American novelist and poet (d. 1942)
  • 1863 – George Essex Evans, English-Australian poet and author (d. 1909)
  • 1868 – Miklós Horthy, Hungarian admiral and politician, Regent of Hungary (d. 1957)
  • 1870 – Édouard Le Roy, French mathematician and philosopher (d. 1954)
  • 1877 – James Montgomery Flagg, American painter and illustrator (d. 1960)
  • 1881 – Zoltán Halmay, Hungarian swimmer (d. 1956)
  • 1882 – Georgi Dimitrov, Bulgarian compositor and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Bulgaria (d. 1949)
  • 1884 – Édouard Daladier, French captain and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1970)
  • 1886 – George Mallory, English lieutenant and mountaineer (d. 1924)
  • 1886 – Alexander Wetmore, American ornithologist and paleontologist (d. 1978)
  • 1887 – Tancrède Labbé, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1956)
  • 1896 – Blanche Sweet, American actress (d. 1986)
  • 1897 – Martti Marttelin, Finnish runner (d. 1940)
  • 1900 – Vlasta Vraz, Czech-American relief worker, editor, and fundraiser (d. 1989)
  • 1901 – Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia (d. 1918)
  • 1901 – Llewellyn Rees, English actor (d. 1994)
  • 1902 – Louis Alter, American musician (d. 1980)
  • 1902 – Paavo Yrjölä, Finnish decathlete (d. 1980)
  • 1903 – Jeanette MacDonald, American actress and singer (d. 1965)
  • 1903 – Raymond Radiguet, French author and poet (d. 1923)
  • 1904 – Keye Luke, Chinese-American actor (d. 1991)
  • 1904 – Manuel Rosenthal, French conductor and composer (d. 2003)
  • 1905 – Eduard Tubin, Estonian composer and conductor (d. 1982)
  • 1907 – Frithjof Schuon, Swiss-American metaphysicist, philosopher, and author (d. 1998)
  • 1908 – Bud Collyer, American actor and game show host (d. 1969)
  • 1908 – Stanley Knowles, American-Canadian academic and politician (d. 1997)
  • 1908 – Nedra Volz, American actress (d. 2003)
  • 1910 – Dick Foran, American actor and singer (d. 1979)
  • 1910 – Avon Long, American actor and singer (d. 1984)
  • 1910 – Ray McKinley, American singer, drummer, and bandleader (d. 1995)
  • 1912 – Glenn Morris, American decathlete (d. 1974)
  • 1913 – Wilfred Gordon Bigelow, Canadian soldier and surgeon (d. 2005)
  • 1913 – Sammy Cahn, American pianist and composer (d. 1993)
  • 1913 – Sylvia Porter, American economist and journalist (d. 1991)
  • 1913 – Françoise Loranger, Canadian playwright and producer (d. 1995)
  • 1913 – Robert Mondavi, American winemaker and philanthropist (d. 2008)
  • 1913 – Oswald Teichmüller, German mathematician (d. 1943)
  • 1914 – E. G. Marshall, American actor (d. 1998)
  • 1914 – Efraín Huerta, Mexican poet (d.1982)
  • 1915 – Red Adair, American firefighter (d. 2004)
  • 1915 – Robert Kanigher, American author (d. 2002)
  • 1915 – Alice T. Schafer, American mathematician (d. 2009)
  • 1916 – Julio César Turbay Ayala, Colombian lawyer and politician, 25th President of Colombia (d. 2005)
  • 1917 – Richard Boone, American actor, singer, and director (d. 1981)
  • 1917 – Jack Karnehm, English snooker player and sportscaster (d. 2002)
  • 1917 – Erik Ortvad, Danish painter and illustrator (d. 2008)
  • 1918 – Alf Francis, West Prussia-born, English motor racing mechanic and race car constructor (d. 1983)
  • 1918 – Jerome Karle, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
  • 1918 – Franco Modigliani, Italian-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2003)
  • 1919 – Jüri Järvet, Estonian actor and screenwriter (d. 1995)
  • 1920 – Ian Carmichael, English actor and singer (d. 2010)
  • 1920 – Lode Van Den Bergh, Belgian author and academic
  • 1922 – Claude Helffer, French pianist and educator (d. 2004)
  • 1924 – George Mikan, American basketball player and coach (d. 2005)
  • 1925 – Robert Beadell, American composer and educator (d. 1994)
  • 1926 – Philip B. Crosby, American businessman and author (d. 2001)
  • 1926 – Allan Sandage, American astronomer and cosmologist (d. 2010)
  • 1926 – Tom Wicker, American journalist and author (d. 2011)
  • 1927 – Eva Bartok, Hungarian-English actress (d. 1998)
  • 1927 – Paul Eddington, English actor (d. 1995)
  • 1928 – Michael Blakemore, Australian actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1928 – David T. Lykken, American geneticist and academic (d. 2006)
  • 1929 – Jürgen Habermas, German sociologist and philosopher
  • 1929 – Tibor Rubin, Hungarian-American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2015)
  • 1931 – Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Brazilian sociologist, academic, and politician, 34th President of Brazil
  • 1932 – Dudley R. Herschbach, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1932 – Geoffrey Hill, English poet and academic (d. 2016)
  • 1933 – Colin Brumby, Australian composer and conductor (d. 2018)
  • 1933 – Tommy Hunt, American singer
  • 1934 – Brian Kenny, English general (d. 2017)
  • 1934 – Mitsuteru Yokoyama, Japanese author and illustrator (d. 2004)
  • 1936 – Denny Hulme, New Zealand race car driver (d. 1992)
  • 1936 – Barack Obama Sr., Kenyan economist (d. 1982)
  • 1936 – Ronald Venetiaan, Surinamese politician, 6th President of Suriname
  • 1937 – Del Harris, American basketball player and coach
  • 1937 – Jay Rockefeller, American lawyer and politician, 29th Governor of West Virginia
  • 1937 – Bruce Trigger, Canadian archaeologist, anthropologist and historian (d. 2006)
  • 1937 – Vitaly Zholobov, Ukrainian colonel, engineer, and astronaut
  • 1938 – Kevin Murray, Australian footballer and coach
  • 1939 – Lou Brock, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1939 – Jean-Claude Germain, Canadian historian, author, and journalist
  • 1939 – Brooks Firestone, American businessman and politician
  • 1941 – Roger Lemerre, French footballer and manager
  • 1941 – Paul Mayersberg, English director and screenwriter
  • 1941 – Delia Smith, English chef and author
  • 1942 – John Bellany, Scottish painter and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1942 – Roger Ebert, American journalist, critic, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1942 – Pat Hutchins, English author and illustrator
  • 1942 – Thabo Mbeki, South African politician, 23rd President of South Africa
  • 1942 – Paul McCartney, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1942 – Richard Perry, American record producer
  • 1942 – Carl Radle, American bass player and producer (d. 1980)
  • 1942 – Nick Tate, Australian actor and director
  • 1942 – Hans Vonk, Dutch conductor (d. 2004)
  • 1943 – Barry Evans, English actor (d. 1997)
  • 1943 – Raffaella Carrà, Italian singer, dancer, and actress
  • 1944 – Bruce DuMont, American broadcaster and political analyst
  • 1944 – Sandy Posey, American pop/country singer
  • 1946 – Russell Ash, English journalist and author (d. 2010)
  • 1946 – Bruiser Brody, American wrestler (d. 1988)
  • 1946 – Fabio Capello, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1946 – Maria Bethânia, Brazilian singer
  • 1947 – Ivonne Coll, Puerto Rican-American model and actress, Miss Puerto Rico 1967
  • 1947 – Bernard Giraudeau, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
  • 1947 – Linda Thorson, Canadian actress
  • 1948 – Philip Jackson, English actor
  • 1948 – Éva Marton, Hungarian soprano and actress
  • 1948 – Sherry Turkle, American academic, psychologist, and sociologist
  • 1949 – Chris Van Allsburg, American author and illustrator
  • 1949 – Jarosław Kaczyński, Polish lawyer and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Poland
  • 1949 – Lech Kaczyński, Polish lawyer and politician, 4th President of Poland (d. 2010)
  • 1949 – Lincoln Thompson, Jamaican singer-songwriter (d. 1999)
  • 1950 – Rod de’Ath, Welsh drummer and producer (d. 2014)
  • 1950 – Annelie Ehrhardt, German hurdler
  • 1950 – Mike Johanns, American lawyer and politician, 28th United States Secretary of Agriculture
  • 1950 – Jackie Leven, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2011)
  • 1951 – Mohammed Al-Sager, Kuwaiti journalist and politician
  • 1951 – Miriam Flynn, American actress and comedian
  • 1951 – Ian Hargreaves, English-Welsh journalist and academic
  • 1951 – Stephen Hopper, Australian botanist and academic
  • 1951 – Gyula Sax, Hungarian chess player (d. 2014)
  • 1952 – Tiiu Aro, Estonian physician and politician, Estonian Minister of Social Affairs
  • 1952 – Denis Herron, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1952 – Carol Kane, American actress
  • 1952 – Isabella Rossellini, Italian actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1952 – Lee Soo-man, South Korean singer and businessman, founded S.M. Entertainment
  • 1953 – Peter Donohoe, English pianist and educator
  • 1955 – Ed Fast, Canadian lawyer and politician
  • 1956 – Brian Benben, American actor and producer
  • 1956 – John Scott, English organist and conductor (d. 2015)
  • 1957 – Miguel Ángel Lotina, Spanish footballer and manager
  • 1957 – Richard Powers, American novelist
  • 1958 – Peter Altmaier, German jurist and politician, Federal Minister for Special Affairs of Germany
  • 1958 – Gary Martin, British voice actor and actor
  • 1959 – Joe Ansolabehere, American animation screenwriter and producer
  • 1960 – Barbara Broccoli, American director and producer
  • 1960 – Steve Murphy, Canadian journalist
  • 1961 – Oz Fox, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1961 – Andrés Galarraga, Venezuelan-American baseball player
  • 1961 – Angela Johnson, American novelist and poet
  • 1961 – Alison Moyet, English singer-songwriter
  • 1962 – Lisa Randall, American physicist and academic
  • 1963 – Dizzy Reed, American keyboard player and songwriter
  • 1963 – Bruce Smith, American football player
  • 1964 – Uday Hussein, Iraqi commander (d. 2003)
  • 1964 – Patti Webster, American publicist and author (d. 2013)
  • 1966 – Kurt Browning, Canadian figure skater, choreographer, and sportscaster
  • 1966 – Troy Kemp, Bahamian high jumper
  • 1968 – Frank Müller, German decathlete
  • 1969 – Haki Doku, Albanian cyclist
  • 1969 – Christopher Largen, American journalist and author (d. 2012)
  • 1970 – Katie Derham, English journalist
  • 1970 – Ivan Kozák, Slovak footballer
  • 1970 – Greg Yaitanes, American director and producer
  • 1971 – Kerry Butler, American actress and singer
  • 1971 – Jason McAteer, English-Irish footballer and manager
  • 1971 – Nathan Morris, American soul singer
  • 1972 – Anu Tali, Estonian pianist and conductor
  • 1972 – Wikus du Toit, South African actor, director, and composer
  • 1973 – Julie Depardieu, French actress
  • 1973 – Stephen Thomas Erlewine, American author and music critic
  • 1973 – Ray LaMontagne, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1973 – Alexandra Meissnitzer, Austrian skier
  • 1973 – Matt Parsons, Australian rugby league player
  • 1973 – Gavin Wanganeen Australian footballer and coach
  • 1974 – Vincenzo Montella, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Sergey Sharikov, Russian fencer and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1975 – Marie Gillain, Belgian actress
  • 1975 – Aleksandrs Koļinko, Latvian footballer
  • 1975 – Martin St. Louis, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1976 – Blake Shelton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1978 – Wang Liqin, Chinese table tennis player
  • 1979 – Yumiko Kobayashi, Japanese voice actress and singer
  • 1979 – Ivana Wong, Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1980 – Antonio Gates, American football player
  • 1980 – Sergey Kirdyapkin, Russian race walker
  • 1980 – Craig Mottram, Australian runner
  • 1980 – Antero Niittymäki, Finnish ice hockey player
  • 1980 – Tara Platt, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1981 – Clint Newton, American-Australian rugby league player
  • 1981 – Marco Streller, Swiss footballer
  • 1982 – Nadir Belhadj, French-Algerian footballer
  • 1982 – Marco Borriello, Italian footballer
  • 1982 – Nathan Cavaleri, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1983 – Billy Slater, Australian rugby league player
  • 1983 – Cameron Smith, Australian rugby league player
  • 1984 – Nanyak Dala, Canadian rugby player
  • 1985 – Chris Coghlan, American baseball player
  • 1985 – Alex Hirsch, American animator and television producer
  • 1986 – Edgars Eriņš, Latvian decathlete
  • 1986 – Richard Gasquet, French tennis player
  • 1987 – Omar Arellano, Mexican footballer
  • 1987 – Moeen Ali, English cricketer
  • 1988 – Elini Dimoutsos, Greek footballer
  • 1988 – Josh Dun, American musician
  • 1989 – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, French-born Gabonese footballer
  • 1989 – Chris Harris Jr., American football player
  • 1990 – Luke Adam, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1990 – Sandra Izbașa, Romanian gymnast
  • 1990 – Derek Stepan, American ice hockey player
  • 1990 – Christian Taylor, American triple jumper
  • 1993 – Dennis Lloyd, Israeli musician, producer, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist
  • 1994 – Sean McMahon, Australian rugby player
  • 1994 – Takeoff, American rapper
  • 1995 – Maxim Kovtun, Russian figure skater
  • 1996 – Alen Halilović, Croatian footballer
  • 1996 – Niki Wories, Dutch figure skater
  • 1997 – Katharina Hobgarski, German tennis player
  • 1997 – Latrell Mitchell, Australian rugby league player
  • 1999 – Trippie Redd, American rapper

Deaths on June 18

  • 741 – Leo III the Isaurian, Byzantine emperor (b. 685)
  • 908 – Zhang Hao, general of Yang Wu
  • 1095 – Sophia of Hungary (b. c. 1050)
  • 1164 – Elisabeth of Schönau, German Benedictine visionary (b. c. 1129)
  • 1234 – Emperor Chūkyō of Japan (b. 1218)
  • 1250 – Theresa of Portugal, Queen of León
  • 1291 – Alfonso III of Aragon (b. 1265)
  • 1333 – Henry XV, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1312)
  • 1464 – Rogier van der Weyden, Flemish painter (b. 1400)
  • 1588 – Robert Crowley, English minister and poet (b. 1517)
  • 1629 – Piet Pieterszoon Hein, Dutch admiral (b. 1577)
  • 1650 – Christoph Scheiner, German priest, physicist, and astronomer (b. 1575)
  • 1673 – Jeanne Mance, French-Canadian nurse, founded the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal (b. 1606)
  • 1704 – Tom Brown, English author and translator (b. 1662)
  • 1726 – Michel Richard Delalande, French organist and composer (b. 1657)
  • 1742 – John Aislabie, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1670)
  • 1749 – Ambrose Philips, English poet and politician (b. 1674)
  • 1772 – Johann Ulrich von Cramer, German jurist and scholar (b. 1706)
  • 1772 – Gerard van Swieten, Dutch-Austrian physician and reformer (b. 1700)
  • 1788 – Adam Gib, Scottish religious leader (b. 1714)
  • 1794 – François Buzot, French lawyer and politician (b. 1760)
  • 1794 – James Murray, Scottish-English general and politician, 20th Governor of the Province of Quebec (b. 1721)
  • 1815 – Thomas Picton, Welsh-English general and politician (b. 1758)
  • 1833 – Robert Hett Chapman, American minister, missionary, and academic (b. 1771)
  • 1835 – William Cobbett, English farmer and journalist (b. 1763)
  • 1860 – Friedrich Wilhelm von Bismarck, German army officer and writer (b. 1783)
  • 1866 – Prince Sigismund of Prussia (b. 1864)
  • 1902 – Samuel Butler, English novelist, satirist, and critic (b. 1835)
  • 1905 – Carmine Crocco, Italian soldier (b. 1830)
  • 1916 – Max Immelmann, German lieutenant and pilot (b. 1890)
  • 1917 – Titu Maiorescu, Romanian critic and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1840)
  • 1922 – Jacobus Kapteyn, Dutch astronomer and academic (b. 1851)
  • 1928 – Roald Amundsen, Norwegian pilot and explorer (b. 1872)
  • 1936 – Maxim Gorky, Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright (b. 1868)
  • 1937 – Gaston Doumergue, French politician, 13th President of France (b. 1863)
  • 1942 – Arthur Pryor, American trombonist, bandleader, and politician (b. 1870)
  • 1943 – Elias Degiannis, Greek commander (b. 1912)
  • 1945 – Florence Bascom, American geologist and educator (b. 1862)[10]
  • 1945 – Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., American general (b. 1886)
  • 1947 – Shigematsu Sakaibara, Japanese admiral (b. 1898)
  • 1948 – Edward Brooker, English-Australian politician, 31st Premier of Tasmania (b. 1891)
  • 1959 – Ethel Barrymore, American actress (b. 1879)
  • 1963 – Pedro Armendáriz, Mexican-American actor (b. 1912)
  • 1964 – Giorgio Morandi, Italian painter (b. 1890)
  • 1967 – Geki, Italian race car driver (b. 1937)
  • 1967 – Beat Fehr, Swiss race car driver (b. 1942)
  • 1971 – Thomas Gomez, American actor (b. 1905)
  • 1971 – Paul Karrer, Russian-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1889)
  • 1974 – Júlio César de Mello e Souza, Brazilian mathematician and academic (b. 1896)
  • 1974 – Georgy Zhukov, Russian marshal and politician, Minister of Defence for the Soviet Union (b. 1896)
  • 1975 – Hugo Bergmann, German-Israeli philosopher and author (b. 1883)
  • 1978 – Walter C. Alvarez, American physician and author (b. 1884)
  • 1980 – Terence Fisher, English director and screenwriter (b. 1904)
  • 1980 – André Leducq, French cyclist (b. 1904)
  • 1982 – Djuna Barnes, American novelist, journalist, and playwright (b. 1892)
  • 1982 – John Cheever, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1912)
  • 1982 – Curd Jürgens, German-Austrian actor and director (b. 1915)
  • 1984 – Alan Berg, American lawyer and radio host (b. 1934)
  • 1985 – Paul Colin, French illustrator (b. 1892)
  • 1986 – Frances Scott Fitzgerald, American journalist (b. 1921)
  • 1989 – I. F. Stone, American journalist and author (b. 1907)
  • 1992 – Kofoworola Abeni Pratt, the first black Chief Nursing Officer of Nigeria  (b. 1910)
  • 1992 – Peter Allen, Australian singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1944)
  • 1992 – Mordecai Ardon, Polish-Israeli painter and educator (b. 1896)
  • 1993 – Craig Rodwell, American activist, founded the Oscar Wilde Bookshop (b. 1940)
  • 1996 – Endel Puusepp, Estonian-Soviet military pilot and politician (b. 1909)
  • 1997 – Lev Kopelev, Ukrainian-German author and academic (b. 1912)
  • 1998 – Felix Knight, American actor and tenor (b. 1908)
  • 2000 – Nancy Marchand, American actress (b. 1928)
  • 2003 – Larry Doby, American baseball player and manager (b. 1923)
  • 2005 – Mushtaq Ali, Indian cricketer (b. 1914)
  • 2005 – Manuel Sadosky, Argentinian mathematician and academic (b. 1914)
  • 2006 – Vincent Sherman, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1906)
  • 2006 – Joseph Zobel, Martinique-French author (b. 1915)
  • 2007 – Bernard Manning, English comedian and actor (b. 1930)
  • 2007 – Hank Medress, American singer and producer (b. 1938)
  • 2007 – Georges Thurston, Canadian singer-songwriter (b. 1951)
  • 2008 – Jean Delannoy, French actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
  • 2008 – Tasha Tudor, American author and illustrator (b. 1915)
  • 2008 – Hans Steinbrenner, German sculptor (b. 1928)
  • 2010 – Trent Acid, American wrestler (b. 1980)
  • 2010 – José Saramago, Portuguese novelist Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1922)
  • 2010 – Okan Demiriş, Turkish composer (b. 1942)
  • 2011 – Yelena Bonner, Russian activist (b. 1923)
  • 2011 – Frederick Chiluba, Zambian politician, 2nd President of Zambia (b. 1943)
  • 2011 – Clarence Clemons, American saxophonist (b. 1942)
  • 2012 – Horacio Coppola, Argentinian photographer and director (b. 1906)
  • 2012 – Lina Haag, German author and activist (b. 1907)
  • 2012 – Tom Maynard, Welsh cricketer (b. 1989)
  • 2012 – Luis Edgardo Mercado Jarrín, Peruvian general and politician, 109th Prime Minister of Peru (b. 1919)
  • 2012 – Alketas Panagoulias, Greek footballer and manager (b. 1934)
  • 2012 – William Van Regenmorter, American businessman and politician (b. 1939)
  • 2013 – Brent F. Anderson, American engineer and politician (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – Alastair Donaldson, Scottish bass player (b. 1955)
  • 2013 – Garde Gardom, Canadian lawyer and politician, 26th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Michael Hastings, American journalist and author (b. 1980)
  • 2013 – David Wall, English ballet dancer (b. 1946)
  • 2014 – Stephanie Kwolek, American chemist and engineer (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Johnny Mann, American singer-songwriter and conductor (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – Claire Martin, Canadian author (b. 1914)
  • 2014 – Vladimir Popovkin, Russian general (b. 1957)
  • 2014 – Horace Silver, American pianist and composer (b. 1928)
  • 2015 – Phil Austin, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1941)
  • 2015 – Ralph J. Roberts, American businessman, co-founded Comcast (b. 1920)
  • 2015 – Danny Villanueva, American football player and broadcaster, co-founded Univision (b. 1937)
  • 2015 – Allen Weinstein, American historian and academic (b. 1937)
  • 2016 – Jeppiaar, Indian educationist, founder and chancellor of Sathyabama University (b. 1931)
  • 2018 – XXXTentacion, American rapper (b. 1998)
  • 2018 – Big Van Vader (also known as Vader) American professional wrestler (b. 1955)
  • 2018 – Jimmy Wopo, American rapper (b. 1997)
  • 2020 – Vera Lynn, English singer who was the “Forces’ Sweetheart” in World War II (b. 1917)

Holidays and observances on June 18

  • Autistic Pride Day (International)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Bernard Mizeki (Anglican and Episcopal Church)
    • Elisabeth of Schönau
    • Gregorio Barbarigo
    • Leontius, Hypatius and Theodulus
    • Marina the Monk (Maronite Church, Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria)
    • Mark and Marcellian
    • June 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Foundation Day (Benguet)
  • Human Rights Day (Azerbaijan)
  • National Day (Seychelles)
  • Queen Mother’s Birthday (Cambodia)
  • Waterloo Day (United Kingdom)

June 18 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

June 14 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 1158 – Munich is founded by Henry the Lion on the banks of the river Isar.
  • 1216 – First Barons’ War: Prince Louis of France captures the city of Winchester and soon conquers over half of the Kingdom of England.
  • 1276 – While taking exile in Fuzhou, away from the advancing Mongol invaders, the remnants of the Song dynasty court hold the coronation ceremony for Emperor Duanzong.
  • 1285 – Second Mongol invasion of Vietnam: Forces led by Prince Trần Quang Khải of the Trần dynasty destroy most of the invading Mongol naval fleet in a battle at Chuong Duong.
  • 1287 – Kublai Khan defeats the force of Nayan and other traditionalist Borjigin princes in East Mongolia and Manchuria.
  • 1381 – Richard II of England meets leaders of Peasants’ Revolt at Mile End. The Tower of London is stormed by rebels who enter without resistance.
  • 1404 – Welsh rebel leader Owain Glyndŵr, having declared himself Prince of Wales, allies himself with the French against King Henry IV of England.
  • 1618 – Joris Veseler prints the first Dutch newspaper Courante uyt Italien, Duytslandt, &c. in Amsterdam (approximate date).
  • 1645 – English Civil War: Battle of Naseby: Twelve thousand Royalist forces are beaten by 15,000 Parliamentarian soldiers.
  • 1667 – The Raid on the Medway by the Dutch fleet in the Second Anglo-Dutch War ends. It had lasted for five days and resulted in the worst ever defeat of the Royal Navy.
  • 1690 – King William III of England (William of Orange) lands in Ireland to confront the former King James II.
  • 1775 – American Revolutionary War: the Continental Army is established by the Continental Congress, marking the birth of the United States Army.
  • 1777 – The Second Continental Congress passes the Flag Act of 1777 adopting the Stars and Stripes as the Flag of the United States.
  • 1789 – Mutiny on the Bounty: HMS Bounty mutiny survivors including Captain William Bligh and 18 others reach Timor after a nearly 7,400 km (4,600 mi) journey in an open boat.
  • 1800 – The French Army of First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte defeats the Austrians at the Battle of Marengo in Northern Italy and re-conquers Italy.
  • 1807 – Emperor Napoleon’s French Grande Armée defeats the Russian Army at the Battle of Friedland in Poland (modern Russian Kaliningrad Oblast) ending the War of the Fourth Coalition.
  • 1821 – Badi VII, king of Sennar, surrenders his throne and realm to Ismail Pasha, general of the Ottoman Empire, bringing the 300 year old Sudanese kingdom to an end.
  • 1822 – Charles Babbage proposes a difference engine in a paper to the Royal Astronomical Society.
  • 1830 – Beginning of the French colonization of Algeria: Thirty-four thousand French soldiers begin their invasion of Algiers, landing 27 kilometers west at Sidi Fredj.
  • 1839 – Henley Royal Regatta: the village of Henley-on-Thames, on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, stages its first regatta.
  • 1846 – Bear Flag Revolt begins: Anglo settlers in Sonoma, California, start a rebellion against Mexico and proclaim the California Republic.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: Second Battle of Winchester: A Union garrison is defeated by the Army of Northern Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley town of Winchester, Virginia.
  • 1863 – Second Assault on the Confederate works at the Siege of Port Hudson during the American Civil War.
  • 1872 – Trade unions are legalized in Canada.
  • 1881 – The White Rajahs territories become the British protectorate of Sarawak.
  • 1900 – Hawaii becomes a United States territory.
  • 1900 – The second German Naval Law calls for the Imperial German Navy to be doubled in size.
  • 1907 – The National Association for Women’s Suffrage succeeds in getting Norwegian women the right to vote in parliamentary elections.
  • 1919 – John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown depart from St. John’s, Newfoundland on the first nonstop transatlantic flight.
  • 1926 – Brazil leaves the League of Nations.
  • 1937 – Pennsylvania becomes the first (and only) state of the United States to celebrate Flag Day officially as a state holiday.
  • 1937 – U.S. House of Representatives passes the Marihuana Tax Act.
  • 1940 – World War II: The German occupation of Paris begins.
  • 1940 – The Soviet Union presents an ultimatum to Lithuania resulting in Lithuanian loss of independence.
  • 1940 – Seven hundred twenty-eight Polish political prisoners from Tarnów become the first inmates of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
  • 1941 – June deportation: the first major wave of Soviet mass deportations and murder of Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians, begins.
  • 1944 – World War II: After several failed attempts, the British Army abandons Operation Perch, its plan to capture the German-occupied town of Caen.
  • 1945 – World War II: Filipino troops of the Philippine Commonwealth Army liberate the captured in Ilocos Sur and start the Battle of Bessang Pass in Northern Luzon.
  • 1949 – Albert II, a rhesus monkey, rides a V-2 rocket to an altitude of 134 km (83 mi), thereby becoming the first monkey in space.
  • 1951 – UNIVAC I is dedicated by the U.S. Census Bureau.
  • 1954 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a bill into law that places the words “under God” into the United States Pledge of Allegiance.
  • 1955 – Chile becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
  • 1959 – Disneyland Monorail System, the first daily operating monorail system in the Western Hemisphere, opens to the public in Anaheim, California.
  • 1959 – Dominican exiles depart from Cuba and land in the Dominican Republic to overthrow the totalitarian government of Rafael Trujillo. All but four are killed or executed.
  • 1962 – The European Space Research Organisation is established in Paris – later becoming the European Space Agency.
  • 1966 – The Vatican announces the abolition of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (“index of prohibited books”), which was originally instituted in 1557.
  • 1967 – Mariner program: Mariner 5 is launched towards Venus.
  • 1982 – Falklands War: Argentine forces in the capital Stanley conditionally surrender to British forces.
  • 1986 – The Mindbender derails and kills three riders at the Fantasyland (known today as Galaxyland) indoor amusement park in Edmonton, Alberta.
  • 1994 – The 1994 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot occurs after the New York Rangers win the Stanley Cup from Vancouver, causing an estimated C$1.1 million, leading to 200 arrests and injuries.
  • 2002 – Near-Earth asteroid 2002 MN misses the Earth by 75,000 miles (121,000 km), about one-third of the distance between the Earth and the Moon.
  • 2014 – A Ukraine military Ilyushin Il-76 airlifter is shot down, killing all 49 people on board.
  • 2017 – London: A fire in a high-rise apartment building in North Kensington leaves 72 people dead and another 74 injured.
  • 2017 – In Alexandria, Virginia, Republican member of Congress and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana is shot while practicing for charity baseball.

Births on June 14

  • 1444 – Nilakantha Somayaji, Indian astronomer and mathematician (d. 1544)
  • 1463 – Henry IV, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1514)
  • 1479 – Giglio Gregorio Giraldi, Italian poet and scholar (d. 1552)
  • 1529 – Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria (d. 1595)
  • 1627 – Johann Abraham Ihle, German astronomer (d. 1699)
  • 1691 – Jan Francisci, Slovak organist and composer (d. 1758)
  • 1726 – Thomas Pennant, Welsh ornithologist and historian (d. 1798)
  • 1730 – Antonio Sacchini, Italian composer and educator (d. 1786)
  • 1736 – Charles-Augustin de Coulomb, French physicist and engineer (d. 1806)
  • 1763 – Simon Mayr, German composer and educator (d. 1845)
  • 1780 – Henry Salt, English historian and diplomat, British Consul-General in Egypt (d. 1827)
  • 1796 – Nikolai Brashman, Czech-Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1866)
  • 1798 – František Palacký, Czech historian and politician (d. 1876)
  • 1801 – Heber C. Kimball, American religious leader (d. 1868)
  • 1811 – Harriet Beecher Stowe, American author and activist (d. 1896)
  • 1812 – Fernando Wood, American merchant and politician, 73rd Mayor of New York City (d. 1881)
  • 1819 – Henry Gardner, American merchant and politician, 23rd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1892)
  • 1820 – John Bartlett, American author and publisher (d. 1905)
  • 1829 – Bernard Petitjean, French Roman Catholic missionary to Japan (d. 1884)
  • 1838 – Yamagata Aritomo, Japanese Field Marshal and politician, 3rd and 9th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1922)
  • 1840 – William F. Nast, American businessman (d. 1893)
  • 1848 – Bernard Bosanquet, English philosopher and theorist (d. 1923)
  • 1848 – Max Erdmannsdörfer, German conductor and composer (d. 1905)
  • 1855 – Robert M. La Follette, American lawyer and politician, 20th Governor of Wisconsin (d. 1925)
  • 1856 – Andrey Markov, Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 1922)
  • 1862 – John Ulric Nef, Swiss-American chemist and academic (d. 1915)
  • 1864 – Alois Alzheimer, German psychiatrist and neuropathologist (d. 1915)
  • 1868 – Karl Landsteiner, Austrian biologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1943)
  • 1868 – Anna B. Eckstein, German peace activist (d. 1947)
  • 1870 – Sophia of Prussia (d. 1932)
  • 1871 – Hermanus Brockmann, Dutch rower (d. 1936)
  • 1871 – Jacob Ellehammer, Danish mechanic and engineer (d. 1946)
  • 1872 – János Szlepecz, Slovene priest and author (d. 1936)
  • 1877 – Jane Bathori, French soprano (d. 1970)
  • 1877 – Ida MacLean, British biochemist, the first woman admitted to the London Chemical Society (d. 1944)
  • 1878 – Léon Thiébaut, French fencer (d. 1943)
  • 1879 – Arthur Duffey, American sprinter and coach (d. 1955)
  • 1884 – John McCormack, Irish tenor and actor (d. 1945)
  • 1884 – Georg Zacharias, German swimmer (d. 1953)
  • 1890 – May Allison, American actress (d. 1989)
  • 1894 – Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (d. 1924)
  • 1894 – José Carlos Mariátegui (d. 1930)
  • 1894 – W. W. E. Ross, Canadian geophysicist and poet (d. 1966)
  • 1895 – Jack Adams, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager (d. 1968)
  • 1900 – Ruth Nanda Anshen, American writer, editor, and philosopher (d. 2003)
  • 1900 – June Walker, American stage and film actress (d. 1966)
  • 1903 – Alonzo Church, American mathematician and logician (d. 1995)
  • 1903 – Rose Rand, Austrian-American logician and philosopher from the Vienna Circle (d. 1980)
  • 1904 – Margaret Bourke-White, American photographer and journalist (d. 1971)
  • 1905 – Steve Broidy, American businessman (d. 1991)
  • 1905 – Arthur Davis, American animator and director (d. 2000)
  • 1907 – Nicolas Bentley, English author and illustrator (d. 1978)
  • 1907 – René Char, French poet and author (d. 1988)
  • 1909 – Burl Ives, American actor and singer (d. 1995)
  • 1910 – Rudolf Kempe, German pianist and conductor (d. 1976)
  • 1913 – Joe Morris, English-Canadian lieutenant and trade union leader (d. 1996)
  • 1916 – Dorothy McGuire, American actress (d. 2001)
  • 1917 – Lise Nørgaard, Danish journalist, author, and screenwriter
  • 1917 – Gilbert Prouteau, French poet and director (d. 2012)
  • 1917 – Atle Selberg, Norwegian-American mathematician and academic (d. 2007)
  • 1918 – Fred Baur, American chemist and founder of Pringles (d. 2008)
  • 1919 – Gene Barry, American actor (d. 2009)
  • 1919 – Sam Wanamaker, American actor and director (d. 1993)
  • 1921 – Martha Greenhouse, American actress (d. 2013)
  • 1923 – Judith Kerr, German-English author and illustrator (d. 2019)
  • 1923 – Green Wix Unthank, American soldier, lawyer, and judge (d. 2013)
  • 1924 – James Black, Scottish pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2010)
  • 1925 – Pierre Salinger, American journalist and politician, 11th White House Press Secretary (d. 2004)
  • 1926 – Don Newcombe, American baseball player (d. 2019)
  • 1928 – Ernesto “Che” Guevara, Argentinian-Cuban physician, author, guerrilla leader and politician (d. 1967)
  • 1929 – Cy Coleman, American pianist and composer (d. 2004)
  • 1929 – Alan Davidson, Australian cricketer
  • 1929 – Johnny Wilson, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2011)
  • 1931 – Marla Gibbs, American actress and comedian
  • 1931 – Ross Higgins, Australian actor (d. 2016)
  • 1931 – Junior Walker, American saxophonist (d. 1995)
  • 1933 – Jerzy Kosiński, Polish-American novelist and screenwriter (d. 1991)
  • 1933 – Vladislav Rastorotsky, Russian gymnast and coach
  • 1936 – Renaldo Benson, American singer-songwriter (d. 2005)
  • 1936 – Irmelin Sandman Lilius, Finnish author, poet, and translator
  • 1938 – Julie Felix, American-English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2020)
  • 1939 – Steny Hoyer, American lawyer and politician
  • 1939 – Peter Mayle, English author and screenwriter (d. 2018)
  • 1939 – Colin Thubron, English journalist and author
  • 1942 – Jonathan Raban, English author and academic
  • 1942 – Roberto García-Calvo Montiel, Spanish judge (d. 2008)
  • 1943 – Barry Burman, English painter and academic (d. 2001)
  • 1943 – Jennifer Gretton, Baroness Gretton, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire
  • 1943 – John Miles, English racing driver and journalist
  • 1943 – Harold Wheeler, American composer, conductor, and producer
  • 1944 – Laurie Colwin, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1992)
  • 1945 – Rod Argent, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1945 – Carlos Reichenbach, Brazilian director and producer (d. 2012)
  • 1945 – Richard Stebbins, American sprinter and educator
  • 1946 – Robert Louis-Dreyfus, French-Swiss businessman (d. 2009)
  • 1946 – Tõnu Sepp, Estonian instrument maker and educator
  • 1946 – Donald Trump, American businessman, television personality and 45th President of the United States
  • 1947 – Roger Liddle, Baron Liddle, English politician
  • 1947 – Barry Melton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1947 – Paul Rudolph, Canadian singer, guitarist, and cyclist
  • 1948 – Laurence Yep, American author and playwright
  • 1949 – Jim Lea, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
  • 1949 – Roger Powell, English-Australian scientist and academic
  • 1949 – Antony Sher, South African-British actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1949 – Harry Turtledove, American historian and author
  • 1949 – Alan White, English drummer and songwriter
  • 1950 – Rowan Williams, Welsh archbishop and theologian
  • 1951 – Paul Boateng, English lawyer and politician, British High Commissioner to South Africa
  • 1951 – Danny Edwards, American golfer
  • 1952 – Robert Lepikson, Estonian racing driver and politician, Estonian Minister of the Interior (d. 2006)
  • 1952 – Pat Summitt, American basketball player and coach (d. 2016)
  • 1952 – Leon Wieseltier, American philosopher, journalist, and critic
  • 1953 – Janet Mackey, New Zealand lawyer and politician
  • 1954 – Will Patton, American actor
  • 1955 – Michael D. Duvall, American businessman and politician
  • 1955 – Paul O’Grady, English television host, producer, and drag performer
  • 1955 – Kirron Kher, Indian theatre, film & television actress, TV talk show host, politician and Member of Parliament
  • 1956 – Fred Funk, American golfer and coach
  • 1956 – King Diamond (Kim Bendix Petersen), heavy metal musician
  • 1957 – Suzanne Nora Johnson, American lawyer and businesswoman
  • 1957 – Mona Simpson, American novelist
  • 1958 – Pamela Geller, American activist and blogger
  • 1959 – Marcus Miller, American bass player, composer, and producer
  • 1960 – Tonie Campbell, American hurdler
  • 1960 – Mike Laga, American baseball player
  • 1961 – Boy George, English singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1961 – Dušan Kojić, Serbian singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1961 – Sam Perkins, American basketball player
  • 1963 – Grant Kenny, Australian iron man and canoeist
  • 1964 – Peter Gilliver, English lexicographer and academic
  • 1967 – Dedrick Dodge, American football player and coach
  • 1968 – Campbell Brown, American journalist
  • 1968 – Faizon Love, Cuban-American actor and screenwriter
  • 1969 – Éric Desjardins, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1969 – Steffi Graf, German tennis player
  • 1970 – Heather McDonald, American comedian, actress, and author
  • 1971 – Bruce Bowen, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1971 – Ramon Vega, Swiss footballer
  • 1972 – Rick Brunson, American basketball player and coach
  • 1972 – Matthias Ettrich, German computer scientist and engineer, founded KDE
  • 1972 – Dominic Brown, English guitarist and songwriter
  • 1972 – Claude Henderson, South African cricketer
  • 1972 – Danny McFarlane, Jamaican hurdler and sprinter
  • 1973 – Sami Kapanen, Finnish-American ice hockey player and manager
  • 1976 – Alan Carr, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter
  • 1976 – Massimo Oddo, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1977 – Boeta Dippenaar, South African cricketer
  • 1977 – Chris McAlister, American football player
  • 1977 – Joe Worsley, English rugby player and coach
  • 1978 – Steve Bégin, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1978 – Diablo Cody, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1978 – Annia Hatch, Cuban-American gymnast and coach
  • 1978 – Nikola Vujčić, Croatian former professional basketball player
  • 1979 – Shannon Hegarty, Australian rugby league player
  • 1981 – Elano, Brazilian footballer and manager
  • 1982 – Jamie Green, English racing driver
  • 1982 – Nicole Irving, Australian swimmer
  • 1982 – Lang Lang, Chinese pianist
  • 1983 – Trevor Barry, Bahamian high jumper
  • 1983 – Louis Garrel, French actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1984 – Lorenzo Booker, American football player
  • 1984 – Mark Cosgrove, Australian cricketer
  • 1984 – Siobhán Donaghy, English singer-songwriter
  • 1984 – Yury Prilukov, Russian swimmer
  • 1985 – Oleg Medvedev. Russian luger
  • 1985 – Andy Soucek, Spanish racing driver
  • 1986 – Matt Read, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1987 – Andrew Cogliano, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1987 – Mohamed Diamé, Senegalese footballer
  • 1988 – Adrián Aldrete, Mexican footballer
  • 1988 – Kevin McHale, American actor, singer, dancer and radio personality
  • 1989 – Lucy Hale, American actress and singer-songwriter
  • 1989 – Brad Takairangi, Australian-Cook Islands rugby league player
  • 1990 – Patrice Cormier, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1990 – Stephen McLaughlin, Irish footballer
  • 1991 – Kostas Manolas, Greek footballer
  • 1991 – Jesy Nelson, English singer
  • 1992 – Devante Smith-Pelly, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1993 – Gunna, American rapper
  • 1993 – Ryan McCartan, American actor and singer
  • 1999 – Tzuyu, Taiwanese singer

Deaths on June 14

  • 809 – Ōtomo no Otomaro, Japanese general (b. 731)
  • 847 – Methodius I, patriarch of Constantinople
  • 957 – Guadamir, bishop of Vic (Spain)
  • 976 – Aron, Bulgarian nobleman
  • 1161 – Emperor Qinzong of the Song dynasty (b. 1100)
  • 1205 – Walter III, Count of Brienne
  • 1349 – Günther von Schwarzburg, German king (b. 1304)
  • 1381 – Simon Sudbury, English archbishop (b. 1316)
  • 1497 – Giovanni Borgia, 2nd Duke of Gandía, Italian son of Pope Alexander VI (b. 1474)
  • 1516 – John III of Navarre (b. 1469)
  • 1544 – Antoine, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1489)
  • 1548 – Carpentras, French composer (b. 1470)
  • 1583 – Shibata Katsuie, Japanese samurai (b. 1522)
  • 1594 – Jacob Kroger, German goldsmith, hanged in Edinburgh for stealing the jewels of Anne of Denmark.
  • 1594 – Orlande de Lassus, Flemish composer and educator (b. 1532)
  • 1662 – Henry Vane the Younger, English-American politician, Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1613)
  • 1674 – Marin le Roy de Gomberville, French author and poet (b. 1600)
  • 1679 – Guillaume Courtois, French painter and illustrator (b. 1628)
  • 1746 – Colin Maclaurin, Scottish mathematician (b. 1698)
  • 1794 – Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, English courtier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1718)
  • 1800 – Louis Desaix, French general (b. 1768)
  • 1800 – Jean-Baptiste Kléber, French general (b. 1753)
  • 1801 – Benedict Arnold, American general during the American Revolution later turned British spy (b. 1741)
  • 1825 – Pierre Charles L’Enfant, French-American architect and engineer, designed Washington, D.C. (b. 1754)
  • 1837 – Giacomo Leopardi, Italian poet and philosopher (b. 1798)
  • 1864 – Leonidas Polk, American general and bishop (b. 1806)
  • 1887 – Mary Carpenter, English educational and social reformer (b. 1807)
  • 1883 – Edward FitzGerald, English poet and author (b. 1809)
  • 1886 – Alexander Ostrovsky, Russian director and playwright (b. 1823)
  • 1907 – William Le Baron Jenney, American architect and engineer, designed the Home Insurance Building (b. 1832)
  • 1907 – Bartolomé Masó, Cuban soldier and politician (b. 1830)
  • 1908 – Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, English captain and politician, 6th Governor General of Canada (b. 1841)
  • 1914 – Adlai Stevenson I, American lawyer and politician, 23rd Vice President of the United States (b. 1835)
  • 1916 – João Simões Lopes Neto, Brazilian author (b. 1865)
  • 1920 – Max Weber, German sociologist and economist (b. 1864)
  • 1923 – Isabelle Bogelot, French philanthropist (b. 1838)
  • 1926 – Mary Cassatt, American-French painter (b. 1843)
  • 1927 – Ottavio Bottecchia, Italian cyclist (b. 1894)
  • 1927 – Jerome K. Jerome, English author (b. 1859)
  • 1928 – Emmeline Pankhurst, English activist and academic (b. 1857)
  • 1932 – Dorimène Roy Desjardins, Canadian businesswoman, co-founded Desjardins Group (b. 1858)
  • 1933 – Justinien de Clary, French target shooter (b. 1860)
  • 1936 – G. K. Chesterton, English essayist, poet, playwright, and novelist (b. 1874)
  • 1936 – Hans Poelzig, German architect, painter, and designer, designed the IG Farben Building (b. 1869)
  • 1946 – John Logie Baird, Scottish-English physicist and engineer (b. 1888)
  • 1946 – Jorge Ubico, 21st President of Guatemala (b. 1878)
  • 1953 – Tom Cole, Welsh-American racing driver (b. 1922)
  • 1968 – Salvatore Quasimodo, Italian novelist and poet, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1901)
  • 1972 – Dündar Taşer, Turkish soldier and politician (b. 1925)
  • 1977 – Robert Middleton, American actor (b. 1911)
  • 1977 – Alan Reed, American actor, original voice of Fred Flintstone (b.1907)
  • 1979 – Ahmad Zahir, Afghan singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
  • 1980 – Charles Miller, American saxophonist and flute player (b. 1939)
  • 1986 – Jorge Luis Borges, Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator (b. 1899)
  • 1986 – Alan Jay Lerner, American composer and songwriter (b. 1918)
  • 1987 – Stanisław Bareja, Polish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
  • 1990 – Erna Berger, German soprano and actress (b. 1900)
  • 1991 – Peggy Ashcroft, English actress (b. 1907)
  • 1994 – Lionel Grigson, English pianist, composer, and educator (b. 1942)
  • 1994 – Henry Mancini, American composer and conductor (b. 1924)
  • 1994 – Marcel Mouloudji, French singer and actor (b. 1922)
  • 1995 – Els Aarne, Ukrainian-Estonian pianist, composer, and educator (b. 1917)
  • 1995 – Rory Gallagher, Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1949)
  • 1995 – Roger Zelazny, American author and poet (b. 1937)
  • 1996 – Noemí Gerstein, Argentinian sculptor and illustrator (b. 1908)
  • 1997 – Richard Jaeckel, American actor (b. 1926)
  • 1999 – Bernie Faloney, American-Canadian football player and sportscaster (b. 1932)
  • 2000 – Attilio Bertolucci, Italian poet and author (b. 1911)
  • 2002 – June Jordan, American author and activist (b. 1936)
  • 2003 – Dale Whittington, American race car driver (b. 1959)
  • 2004 – Ulrich Inderbinen, Swiss mountaineer and guide (b. 1900)
  • 2005 – Carlo Maria Giulini, Italian conductor and director (b. 1914)
  • 2005 – Mimi Parent, Canadian-Swiss painter (b. 1924)
  • 2006 – Monty Berman, English director, producer, and cinematographer (b. 1905)
  • 2006 – Jean Roba, Belgian author and illustrator (b. 1930)
  • 2007 – Ruth Graham, Chinese-American author, poet, and painter (b. 1920)
  • 2007 – Robin Olds, American general and pilot (b. 1922)
  • 2007 – Kurt Waldheim, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Austrian politician, 9th President of Austria (b. 1918)
  • 2009 – Bob Bogle, American musician (The Ventures) (b. 1934)
  • 2009 – William McIntyre, Canadian soldier, lawyer, and judge (b. 1918)
  • 2012 – Peter Archer, Baron Archer of Sandwell, English lawyer and politician, Solicitor General for England and Wales (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Bob Chappuis, American football player and soldier (b. 1923)
  • 2012 – Margie Hyams, American pianist and vibraphone player (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, German pianist and academic (b. 1930)
  • 2012 – Carlos Reichenbach, Brazilian director and producer (b. 1945)
  • 2012 – Gitta Sereny, Austrian-English historian, journalist, and author (b. 1921)
  • 2013 – Elroy Schwartz, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Alberto Cañas Escalante, Costa Rican journalist and politician (b. 1920)
  • 2014 – Isabelle Collin Dufresne, French actress (b. 1935)
  • 2014 – Robert Lebeck, German photographer and journalist (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – James E. Rogers, American lawyer, businessman, and academic (b. 1938)
  • 2015 – Richard Cotton, Australian geneticist and academic (b. 1940)
  • 2015 – Anne Nicol Gaylor, American activist, co-founded the Freedom From Religion Foundation (b. 1926)
  • 2015 – Qiao Shi, Chinese politician (b. 1924)
  • 2016 – Ann Morgan Guilbert, American actress and singer (b. 1928)
  • 2016 – Gilles Lamontagne, Canadian politician, Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1919)
  • 2020 – Sushant Singh Rajput, Indian film actor (b. 1986)

Holidays and observances on June 14

  • Christian feast day:
    • Burchard of Meissen
    • Caomhán of Inisheer
    • Elisha (Roman Catholic and Lutheran)
    • Fortunatus of Naples (Roman Catholic)
    • Blessed Francisca de Paula de Jesus (Nhá Chica)
    • Joseph the Hymnographer (Roman Catholic: Orthodox April 3)
    • Methodios I of Constantinople
    • Quintian of Rodez (Rodez)
    • Richard Baxter (Church of England)
    • Valerius and Rufinus
    • June 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Commemoration of the Soviet Deportation related observances:
    • Baltic Freedom Day (United States)
    • Mourning and Commemoration Day or Leinapäev (Estonia)
    • Mourning and Hope Day (Lithuania)
  • Day of Memory for Repressed People (Armenia)
  • Flag Day (United States)
  • Freedom Day (Malawi)
  • Liberation Day (Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands)
  • World Blood Donor Day

June 14 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

June 12 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 910 – Battle of Augsburg: The Hungarians defeat the East Frankish army under King Louis the Child, using the famous feigned retreat tactic of the nomadic warriors.
  • 1240 – At the instigation of Louis IX of France, an inter-faith debate, known as the Disputation of Paris, starts between a Christian monk and four rabbis.
  • 1381 – Peasants’ Revolt: In England, rebels assemble at Blackheath, just outside London.
  • 1418 – Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War: Parisians slaughter Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac and his suspected sympathizers, along with all prisoners, foreign bankers, and students and faculty of the College of Navarre.
  • 1429 – Hundred Years’ War: On the second day of the Battle of Jargeau, Joan of Arc leads the French army in their capture of the city and the English commander, William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk.
  • 1550 – The city of Helsinki, Finland (belonging to Sweden at the time) is founded by King Gustav I of Sweden.
  • 1653 – First Anglo-Dutch War: The Battle of the Gabbard begins, lasting until the following day.
  • 1665 – Thomas Willett is appointed the first mayor of New York City.
  • 1758 – French and Indian War: Siege of Louisbourg: James Wolfe’s attack at Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, commences
  • 1772 – French explorer Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne and 25 of his men killed by Māori in New Zealand.
  • 1775 – American Revolution: British general Thomas Gage declares martial law in Massachusetts. The British offer a pardon to all colonists who lay down their arms. There would be only two exceptions to the amnesty: Samuel Adams and John Hancock, if captured, were to be hanged.
  • 1776 – The Virginia Declaration of Rights is adopted.
  • 1798 – Irish Rebellion of 1798: Battle of Ballynahinch.
  • 1817 – The earliest form of bicycle, the dandy horse, is driven by Karl von Drais.
  • 1821 – Badi VII, king of Sennar, surrenders his throne and realm to Isma’il Pasha, general of the Ottoman Empire, ending the existence of that Sudanese kingdom.
  • 1830 – Beginning of the Invasion of Algiers: Thiry-four thousand French soldiers land 27 kilometers west of Algiers, at Sidi Ferruch.
  • 1864 – American Civil War, Overland Campaign: Battle of Cold Harbor: Ulysses S. Grant gives the Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee a victory when he pulls his Union troops from their position at Cold Harbor, Virginia and moves south.
  • 1898 – Philippine Declaration of Independence: General Emilio Aguinaldo declares the Philippines’ independence from Spain.
  • 1899 – New Richmond tornado: The eighth deadliest tornado in U.S. history kills 117 people and injures around 200.
  • 1914 – Massacre of Phocaea: Turkish irregulars slaughter 50 to 100 Greeks and expel thousands of others in an ethnic cleansing operation in the Ottoman Empire.
  • 1921 – Mikhail Tukhachevsky orders the use of chemical weapons against the Tambov Rebellion, bringing an end to the peasant uprising.
  • 1935 – A ceasefire is negotiated between Bolivia and Paraguay, ending the Chaco War.
  • 1939 – Shooting begins on Paramount Pictures’ Dr. Cyclops, the first horror film photographed in three-strip Technicolor.
  • 1939 – The Baseball Hall of Fame opens in Cooperstown, New York.
  • 1940 – World War II: Thirteen thousand British and French troops surrender to Major General Erwin Rommel at Saint-Valery-en-Caux.
  • 1942 – Anne Frank receives a diary for her thirteenth birthday.
  • 1943 – The Holocaust: Germany liquidates the Jewish Ghetto in Brzeżany, Poland (now Berezhany, Ukraine). Around 1,180 Jews are led to the city’s old Jewish graveyard and shot.
  • 1944 – World War II: Operation Overlord: American paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division secure the town of Carentan, Normandy, France.
  • 1954 – Pope Pius XII canonises Dominic Savio, who was 14 years old at the time of his death, as a saint, making him at the time the youngest unmartyred saint in the Roman Catholic Church. In 2017, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, aged ten and nine at the time of their deaths, are declared saints.
  • 1963 – NAACP field secretary Medgar Evers is murdered in front of his home in Jackson, Mississippi by Ku Klux Klan member Byron De La Beckwith during the civil rights movement.
  • 1964 – Anti-apartheid activist and ANC leader Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life in prison for sabotage in South Africa.
  • 1967 – The United States Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia declares all U.S. state laws which prohibit interracial marriage to be unconstitutional.
  • 1975 – India, Judge Jagmohanlal Sinha of the city of Allahabad ruled that India’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had used corrupt practices to win her seat in the Indian Parliament, and that she should be banned from holding any public office. Mrs. Gandhi sent word that she refused to resign.
  • 1979 – Bryan Allen wins the second Kremer prize for a man powered flight across the English Channel in the Gossamer Albatross.
  • 1987 – The Central African Republic’s former emperor Jean-Bédel Bokassa is sentenced to death for crimes he had committed during his 13-year rule.
  • 1987 – Cold War: At the Brandenburg Gate, U.S. President Ronald Reagan publicly challenges Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.
  • 1988 – Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 46, a McDonnell Douglas MD-81, crashes short of the runway at Libertador General José de San Martín Airport, killing all 22 people on board.
  • 1990 – Russia Day: The parliament of the Russian Federation formally declares its sovereignty.
  • 1991 – Russians first democratically elected Boris Yeltsin as the President of Russia.
  • 1991 – Kokkadichcholai massacre: The Sri Lankan Army massacres 152 minority Tamil civilians in the village of Kokkadichcholai near the eastern province town of Batticaloa.
  • 1993 – An election takes place in Nigeria and is won by Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola. Its results are later annulled by the military Government of Ibrahim Babangida.
  • 1994 – Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman are murdered outside Simpson’s home in Los Angeles. Her estranged husband, O.J. Simpson is later charged with the murders, but is acquitted by a jury.
  • 1997 – Queen Elizabeth II reopens the Globe Theatre in London.
  • 1999 – Kosovo War: Operation Joint Guardian begins when a NATO-led United Nations peacekeeping force (KFor) enters the province of Kosovo in Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
  • 2009 – Analog television stations (excluding low-powered stations) switch to digital television following the DTV Delay Act.
  • 2009 – A disputed presidential election in Iran leads to wide-ranging local and international protests.
  • 2016 – Forty-nine civilians are killed and 58 others injured in an attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida; the gunman, Omar Mateen, is killed in a gunfight with police.
  • 2017 – American student Otto Warmbier returns home in a coma after spending 17 months in a North Korean prison and dies a week later.
  • 2018 – United States President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un of North Korea held the first meeting between leaders of their two countries in Singapore.

Births on June 12

  • 950 – Reizei, Japanese emperor (d. 1011)
  • 1107 – Gao Zong, Chinese emperor (d. 1187)
  • 1161 – Constance, Duchess of Brittany (d. 1201)
  • 1519 – Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1574)
  • 1561 – Anna of Württemberg, German princess (d. 1616)
  • 1564 – John Casimir, Duke of Saxe-Coburg (d. 1633)
  • 1573 – Robert Radclyffe, 5th Earl of Sussex, soldier (d. 1629)
  • 1577 – Paul Guldin, Swiss astronomer and mathematician (d. 1643)
  • 1580 – Adriaen van Stalbemt, Flemish painter (d. 1662)
  • 1653 – Maria Amalia of Courland, Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel (d. 1711)
  • 1686 – Marie-Catherine Homassel Hecquet, French writer (d. 1764)
  • 1711 – Louis Legrand, French priest and theologian (d. 1780)
  • 1760 – Jean-Baptiste Louvet de Couvrai, French author, playwright, journalist, and politician (d. 1797)
  • 1771 – Patrick Gass, American sergeant (Lewis and Clark Expedition) and author (d. 1870)
  • 1775 – Karl Freiherr von Müffling, Prussian field marshal (d. 1851)
  • 1777 – Robert Clark, American physician and politician (d. 1837)
  • 1795 – John Marston, American sailor (d. 1885)
  • 1798 – Samuel Cooper, American general (d. 1876)
  • 1800 – Samuel Wright Mardis, American politician (d. 1836)
  • 1802 – Harriet Martineau, English sociologist and author (d. 1876)
  • 1806 – John A. Roebling, German-American engineer, designed the Brooklyn Bridge (d. 1869)
  • 1807 – Ante Kuzmanić, Croatian physician and journalist (d. 1879)
  • 1812 – Edmond Hébert, French geologist and academic (d. 1890)
  • 1819 – Charles Kingsley, English priest, historian, and author (d. 1875)
  • 1827 – Johanna Spyri, Swiss author, best known for Heidi (d. 1901)
  • 1831 – Robert Herbert, English-Australian politician, 1st Premier of Queensland (d. 1905)
  • 1841 – Watson Fothergill, English architect, designed the Woodborough Road Baptist Church (d. 1928)
  • 1843 – David Gill, Scottish-English astronomer and author (d. 1914)
  • 1851 – Oliver Lodge, English physicist and academic (d. 1940)
  • 1857 – Maurice Perrault, Canadian architect, engineer, and politician, 15th Mayor of Longueuil (d. 1909)
  • 1858 – Harry Johnston, English botanist and explorer (d. 1927)
  • 1858 – Henry Scott Tuke, English painter and photographer (d. 1929)
  • 1861 – William Attewell, English cricketer and umpire (d. 1927)
  • 1864 – Frank Chapman, American ornithologist, photographer, and author (d. 1945)
  • 1877 – Thomas C. Hart, American admiral and politician (d. 1971)
  • 1883 – Fernand Gonder, French pole vaulter (d. 1969)
  • 1883 – Robert Lowie, Austrian-American anthropologist and academic (d. 1957)
  • 1888 – Zygmunt Janiszewski, Polish mathematician and academic (d. 1920)
  • 1890 – Egon Schiele, Austrian soldier and painter (d. 1918)
  • 1892 – Djuna Barnes, American novelist, journalist, and playwright (d. 1982)
  • 1895 – Eugénie Brazier, French chef (d. 1977)
  • 1897 – Anthony Eden, English soldier and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1977)
  • 1899 – Fritz Albert Lipmann, German-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
  • 1899 – Weegee, Ukrainian-American photographer and journalist (d. 1968)
  • 1902 – Hendrik Elias, Belgian lawyer and politician, Mayor of Ghent (d. 1973)
  • 1905 – Ray Barbuti, American sprinter and football player (d. 1988)
  • 1906 – Sandro Penna, Italian poet (d. 1977)
  • 1908 – Alphonse Ouimet, Canadian broadcaster (d. 1988)
  • 1908 – Marina Semyonova, Russian ballerina and educator (d. 2010)
  • 1908 – Otto Skorzeny, German SS officer (d. 1975)
  • 1910 – Bill Naughton, Irish-English playwright and author (d. 1992)
  • 1912 – Bill Cowley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1993)
  • 1912 – Carl Hovland, American psychologist and academic (d. 1961)
  • 1913 – Jean Victor Allard, Canadian general (d. 1996)
  • 1913 – Desmond Piers, Canadian admiral (d. 2005)
  • 1914 – William Lundigan, American actor (d. 1975)
  • 1914 – Go Seigen, Chinese-Japanese Go player (d. 2014)
  • 1915 – Priscilla Lane, American actress (d. 1995)
  • 1915 – Christopher Mayhew, English soldier and politician (d. 1997)
  • 1915 – David Rockefeller, American banker and businessman (d. 2017)
  • 1916 – Irwin Allen, American director and producer (d. 1991)
  • 1916 – Raúl Héctor Castro, Mexican-American politician and diplomat, 14th Governor of Arizona (d. 2015)
  • 1918 – Samuel Z. Arkoff, American film producer (d. 2001)
  • 1918 – Georgia Louise Harris Brown, American architect (d. 1999)
  • 1918 – Christie Jayaratnam Eliezer, Sri Lankan-Australian mathematician and academic (d. 2001)
  • 1919 – Uta Hagen, German-American actress and educator (d. 2004)
  • 1920 – Dave Berg, American soldier and cartoonist (d. 2002)
  • 1920 – Peter Jones, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2000)
  • 1921 – Luis García Berlanga, Spanish director and screenwriter (d. 2010)
  • 1921 – Christopher Derrick, English author, critic, and academic (d. 2007)
  • 1921 – James Archibald Houston, Canadian author and illustrator (d. 2005)
  • 1922 – Margherita Hack, Italian astrophysicist and author (d. 2013)
  • 1924 – George H. W. Bush, American lieutenant and politician, 41st President of the United States (d. 2018)
  • 1924 – Grete Dollitz, German-American guitarist and radio host (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Vic Damone, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2018)
  • 1928 – Petros Molyviatis, Greek politician and diplomat, Greek Minister for Foreign Affairs
  • 1928 – Richard M. Sherman, American composer and director
  • 1929 – Brigid Brophy, English author and critic (d. 1995)
  • 1929 – Anne Frank, German-Dutch diarist; victim of the Holocaust (d. 1945)
  • 1929 – Jameel Jalibi, Pakistani linguist and academic
  • 1929 – John McCluskey, Baron McCluskey, Scottish lawyer, judge, and politician, Solicitor General for Scotland (d. 2017)
  • 1930 – Jim Burke, Australian cricketer (d. 1979)
  • 1930 – Donald Byrne, American chess player (d. 1976)
  • 1930 – Innes Ireland, Scottish race car driver and engineer (d. 1993)
  • 1930 – Jim Nabors, American actor and singer (d. 2017)
  • 1931 – Trevanian, American author and scholar (d. 2005)
  • 1931 – Rona Jaffe, American novelist (d. 2005)
  • 1932 – Mimi Coertse, South African soprano and producer
  • 1932 – Mamo Wolde, Ethiopian runner (d. 2002)
  • 1933 – Eddie Adams, American photographer and journalist (d. 2004)
  • 1934 – John A. Alonzo, American actor and cinematographer (d. 2001)
  • 1934 – Kevin Billington, English director and producer
  • 1935 – Ian Craig, Australian cricketer (d. 2014)
  • 1935 – Paul Kennedy, English lawyer and judge
  • 1937 – Vladimir Arnold, Russian-French mathematician and academic (d. 2010)
  • 1937 – Klaus Basikow, German footballer and manager (d. 2015)
  • 1937 – Antal Festetics, Hungarian-Austrian biologist and zoologist
  • 1937 – Chips Moman, American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter (d. 2016)
  • 1938 – Jean-Marie Doré, Guinean lawyer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Guinea (d. 2016)
  • 1938 – Tom Oliver, English-Australian actor
  • 1939 – Ron Lynch, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1939 – Frank McCloskey, American sergeant and politician (d. 2003)
  • 1940 – Jacques Brassard, Canadian educator and politician
  • 1941 – Marv Albert, American sportscaster
  • 1941 – Chick Corea, American pianist and composer
  • 1941 – Roy Harper, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1941 – Reg Presley, English singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1941 – Lucille Roybal-Allard, American politician
  • 1942 – Len Barry, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1942 – Bert Sakmann, German physiologist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1945 – Pat Jennings, Irish footballer and coach
  • 1946 – Michel Bergeron, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1946 – Bobby Gould, English footballer and manager
  • 1946 – Catherine Bréchignac, French physicist and academic
  • 1948 – Hans Binder, Austrian race car driver
  • 1948 – Herbert Meyer, German footballer
  • 1948 – Len Wein, American comic book writer and editor (d. 2017)
  • 1949 – Jens Böhrnsen, German judge and politician
  • 1949 – Marc Tardif, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1949 – John Wetton, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (d. 2017)
  • 1950 – Oğuz Abadan, Turkish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1950 – Michael Fabricant, English politician
  • 1950 – Sonia Manzano, American actress of Puerto Rican descent, noted for playing Maria on Sesame Street
  • 1950 – Bun E. Carlos, American drummer
  • 1951 – Brad Delp, American musician and singer (d. 2007)
  • 1951 – Andranik Margaryan, Armenian engineer and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Armenia (d. 2007)
  • 1952 – Spencer Abraham, American academic and politician, 10th United States Secretary of Energy
  • 1952 – Junior Brown, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1952 – Pete Farndon, English bass player and songwriter (d. 1983)
  • 1953 – Rocky Burnette, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1954 – Tim Razzall, Baron Razzall, English lawyer and politician
  • 1956 – Terry Alderman, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1957 – Timothy Busfield, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1957 – Javed Miandad, Pakistani cricketer and coach
  • 1958 – Meredith Brooks, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1959 – John Linnell, American singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1959 – Scott Thompson, Canadian actor and comedian
  • 1960 – Joe Kopicki, American basketball player and coach
  • 1962 – Jordan Peterson, Canadian psychologist, professor and cultural critic
  • 1963 – Philippe Bugalski, French race car driver (d. 2012)
  • 1963 – Warwick Capper, Australian footballer, coach, and actor
  • 1963 – Tim DeKay, American actor
  • 1963 – Jerry Lynn, American wrestler
  • 1964 – Derek Higgins, Irish race car driver
  • 1964 – Kent Jones, American journalist
  • 1964 – Paula Marshall, American actress
  • 1964 – Peter Such, Scottish-born, English cricketer
  • 1965 – Adrian Toole, Australian rugby league player
  • 1965 – Gwen Torrence, American sprinter
  • 1965 – Cathy Tyson, English actress
  • 1966 – Marc Glanville, Australian rugby league player
  • 1966 – Tom Misteli, Swiss cell biologist
  • 1967 – Aivar Kuusmaa, Estonian basketball player and coach
  • 1967 – Frances O’Connor, English-Australian actress
  • 1968 – Scott Aldred, American baseball player and coach
  • 1968 – Htay Kywe, Burmese activist
  • 1968 – Bobby Sheehan, American bass player and songwriter (d. 1999)
  • 1969 – Zsolt Daczi, Hungarian guitarist (d. 2007)
  • 1969 – Héctor Garza, Mexican wrestler (d. 2013)
  • 1969 – Mathieu Schneider, American ice hockey player
  • 1969 – Heinz-Christian Strache, Austrian politician
  • 1971 – Mark Henry, American weightlifter and wrestler
  • 1971 – Ryan Klesko, American baseball player
  • 1971 – Jérôme Romain, Caribbean-Dominican triple jumper and coach
  • 1973 – Jason Caffey, American basketball player and coach
  • 1973 – Darryl White, Australian footballer
  • 1974 – Flávio Conceição, Brazilian footballer
  • 1974 – Hideki Matsui, Japanese baseball player
  • 1974 – Jason Mewes, American actor and producer
  • 1974 – Kerry Kittles, American basketball player
  • 1975 – Bryan Alvarez, American wrestler and journalist
  • 1975 – Stéphanie Szostak, French-American actress
  • 1976 – Antawn Jamison, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1976 – Ray Price, Zimbabwean cricketer
  • 1976 – Thomas Sørensen, Danish footballer
  • 1977 – Wade Redden, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1977 – Kenny Wayne Shepherd, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1978 – Lewis Moody, English rugby player
  • 1979 – Dallas Clark, American football player
  • 1979 – Martine Dugrenier, Canadian wrestler
  • 1979 – Diego Milito, Argentine footballer
  • 1979 – Robyn, Swedish singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer
  • 1979 – Earl Watson, American basketball player and coach
  • 1980 – Marco Bortolami, Italian rugby player
  • 1980 – Larry Foote, American football player
  • 1980 – Ifet Taljević, German footballer
  • 1981 – Raitis Grafs, Latvian basketball player
  • 1981 – Paul Hasleby, Australian footballer
  • 1981 – Adriana Lima, Brazilian model and actress
  • 1982 – Ben Blackwell, American drummer
  • 1982 – Diem Brown, German-American journalist and activist (d. 2014)
  • 1982 – Jason David, American football player
  • 1982 – Shailaja Pujari, Indian weightlifter
  • 1982 – James Tomlinson, English cricketer
  • 1983 – Bryan Habana, South African rugby player
  • 1983 – Alexander Pipa, German rugby player
  • 1983 – Christine Sinclair, Canadian soccer player
  • 1984 – James Kwalia, Kenyan-Qatari runner
  • 1984 – Bruno Soriano, Spanish footballer
  • 1985 – Blake Ross, American computer programmer, co-created Mozilla Firefox
  • 1985 – Sam Thaiday, Australian rugby league player
  • 1985 – Kendra Wilkinson, American model, actress, and author
  • 1985 – Chris Young, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1986 – Salim Mehajer, Australian politician
  • 1986 – Harry Taylor, Australian footballer
  • 1987 – Seyi Ajirotutu, American football player
  • 1987 – Antonio Barragán, Spanish footballer
  • 1988 – Artūrs Bērziņš, Latvian basketball player
  • 1988 – Eren Derdiyok, Swiss footballer
  • 1988 – Mauricio Isla, Chilean footballer
  • 1988 – Dave Melillo, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1988 – Dakota Morton, Canadian actor and radio host
  • 1989 – Emma Eliasson, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1989 – Ibrahim Jeilan, Ethiopian runner
  • 1990 – Jrue Holiday, American basketball player
  • 1990 – Kevin López, Spanish runner
  • 1990 – David Worrall, English footballer
  • 1991 – Avisail García, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1992 – Philippe Coutinho, Brazilian footballer

Deaths on June 12

  • 796 – Hisham I, Muslim emir (b. 757)
  • 816 – Pope Leo III (b. 750)
  • 918 – Æthelflæd, Mercian daughter of Alfred the Great (b. 870)
  • 1020 – Lyfing, English archbishop (b. 999)
  • 1036 – Tedald, Italian bishop (b. 990)
  • 1144 – Al-Zamakhshari, Persian theologian (b. 1075)
  • 1152 – Henry of Scotland, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon (b. 1114)
  • 1266 – Henry II, Prince of Anhalt-Aschersleben (b. 1215)
  • 1294 – John I of Brienne, Count of Eu
  • 1418 – Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac (b. 1360)
  • 1435 – John FitzAlan, 14th Earl of Arundel, English commander (b. 1408)
  • 1478 – Ludovico III Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua (b. 1412)
  • 1524 – Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, Spanish conquistador (b. 1465)
  • 1560 – Ii Naomori, Japanese warrior (b. 1506)
  • 1560 – Imagawa Yoshimoto, Japanese daimyō (b. 1519)
  • 1565 – Adrianus Turnebus, French philologist and scholar (b. 1512)
  • 1567 – Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich, English politician, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1490)
  • 1647 – Thomas Farnaby, English scholar and educator (b. 1575)
  • 1668 – Charles Berkeley, 2nd Viscount Fitzhardinge, English politician (b. 1599)
  • 1675 – Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy (b. 1634)
  • 1734 – James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, French-English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire (b. 1670)
  • 1758 – Prince Augustus William of Prussia (b. 1722)
  • 1772 – Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, French explorer (b. 1724)
  • 1778 – Philip Livingston, American merchant and politician (b. 1716)
  • 1816 – Pierre Augereau, French general (b. 1757)
  • 1818 – Egwale Seyon, Ethiopian emperor
  • 1841 – Konstantinos Nikolopoulos, Greek composer, archaeologist, and philologist (b. 1786)
  • 1900 – Lucretia Peabody Hale, American journalist and author (b. 1820)
  • 1904 – Camille of Renesse-Breidbach (b. 1836)
  • 1912 – Frédéric Passy, French economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1822)
  • 1917 – Teresa Carreño, Venezuelan-American singer-songwriter, pianist, and conductor (b. 1853)
  • 1932 – Theo Heemskerk, Dutch lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1852)
  • 1937 – Mikhail Tukhachevsky, Russian general (b. 1893)
  • 1944 – Erich Marcks, German general (b. 1891)
  • 1946 – Médéric Martin, Canadian politician, mayor of Montreal (b. 1869)
  • 1952 – Harry Lawson, Australian politician, 27th Premier of Victoria (b. 1875)
  • 1957 – Jimmy Dorsey, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (The Dorsey Brothers and The California Ramblers) (b. 1904)
  • 1962 – John Ireland, English composer and educator (b. 1879)
  • 1963 – Medgar Evers, American soldier and activist (b. 1925)
  • 1966 – Hermann Scherchen, German viola player and conductor (b. 1891)
  • 1968 – Herbert Read, English poet and critic (b. 1893)
  • 1969 – Aleksandr Deyneka, Ukrainian-Russian painter and sculptor (b. 1899)
  • 1972 – Edmund Wilson, American critic, essayist, and editor (b. 1895)
  • 1972 – Dinanath Gopal Tendulkar, Indian writer and documentary filmmaker (b. 1909)
  • 1976 – Gopinath Kaviraj, Indian philosopher and scholar (b. 1887)
  • 1978 – Guo Moruo, Chinese historian, author, and poet (b. 1892)
  • 1978 – Georg Siimenson, Estonian footballer (b. 1912)
  • 1980 – Billy Butlin, South African-English businessman, founded the Butlins Company (b. 1899)
  • 1980 – Masayoshi Ōhira, Japanese politician, 68th Prime minister of Japan (b. 1910)
  • 1980 – Milburn Stone, American actor (b. 1904)
  • 1982 – Ian McKay, English sergeant, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1953)
  • 1982 – Karl von Frisch, Austrian-German ethologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
  • 1983 – Norma Shearer, Canadian-American actress (b. 1902)
  • 1989 – Bruce Hamilton, Australian public servant (b. 1911)
  • 1990 – Terence O’Neill, Baron O’Neill of the Maine, English captain and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Northern Ireland (b. 1914)
  • 1994 – Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Russian-French rabbi and author (b. 1902)
  • 1995 – Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Italian pianist (b. 1920)
  • 1995 – Pierre Russell, American basketball player (b. 1949)
  • 1997 – Bulat Okudzhava, Russian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1924)
  • 1998 – Leo Buscaglia, American author and educator (b. 1924)
  • 1998 – Theresa Merritt, American actress and singer (b. 1922)
  • 1999 – J. F. Powers, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1917)
  • 2000 – Purushottam Laxman Deshpande, Indian actor, director, and producer (b. 1919)
  • 2000 – Sandro Rosa do Nascimento, Brazilian criminal (b. 1978)
  • 2002 – Bill Blass, American fashion designer, founded Bill Blass Limited (b. 1922)
  • 2002 – Zena Sutherland, American reviewer of children’s literature (b. 1915)
  • 2003 – Gregory Peck, American actor and political activist (b. 1916)
  • 2005 – Scott Young, Canadian journalist and author (b. 1918)
  • 2006 – Nicky Barr, Australian rugby player and fighter pilot (b. 1915)
  • 2006 – György Ligeti, Romanian-Hungarian composer and educator (b. 1923)
  • 2006 – Kenneth Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet, Canadian businessman and art collector (b. 1923)
  • 2008 – Miroslav Dvořák, Czech ice hockey player (b. 1951)
  • 2008 – Derek Tapscott, Welsh footballer and manager (b. 1932)
  • 2010 – Al Williamson, American illustrator (b. 1931)
  • 2011 – René Audet, Canadian bishop (b. 1920)
  • 2011 – Carl Gardner, American singer (The Coasters) (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – Hector Bianciotti, Argentinian-French journalist and author (b. 1930)
  • 2012 – Henry Hill, American mobster (b. 1943)
  • 2012 – Margarete Mitscherlich-Nielsen, Danish-German psychoanalyst and author (b. 1917)
  • 2012 – Medin Zhega, Albanian footballer and manager (b. 1946)
  • 2012 – Elinor Ostrom, American political scientist and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1933)
  • 2012 – Pahiño, Spanish footballer (b. 1923)
  • 2012 – Frank Walker, Australian judge and politician, 41st Attorney General of New South Wales (b. 1942)
  • 2013 – Teresita Barajuen, Spanish nun (b. 1908)
  • 2013 – Jason Leffler, American race car driver (b. 1975)
  • 2013 – Joseph A. Unanue, American sergeant and businessman (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Nabil Hemani, Algerian footballer (b. 1979)
  • 2014 – Dan Jacobson, South African-English author and critic (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – Frank Schirrmacher, German journalist (b. 1959)
  • 2015 – Fernando Brant, Brazilian journalist, poet, and composer (b. 1946)
  • 2015 – Frederick Pei Li, Chinese-American physician and academic (b. 1940)
  • 2015 – Patrick Lennox Tierney, American historian and academic (b. 1914)
  • 2016 – Omar Mateen, American mass murderer (b. 1986)
  • 2016 – George Voinovich, American politician (b. 1936)
  • 2016 – Janet Waldo, American actress and voice artist (b. 1920)

Holidays and observances on June 12

  • Chaco Armistice Day (Paraguay)
  • Christian feast day:
    • 108 Martyrs of World War II
    • Basilides, Cyrinus, Nabor and Nazarius
    • Blessed Hildegard Burjan
    • Enmegahbowh (Episcopal Church)
    • Eskil
    • First Ecumenical Council (Lutheran)
    • Gaspar Bertoni
    • John of Sahagún
    • Onuphrius
    • Pope Leo III
    • Ternan
    • June 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Dia dos Namorados (Brazil)
  • Helsinki Day (Finland)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of the Philippines from Spain in 1898.
  • June 12 Commemoration (Lagos State)
  • Loving Day (United States)
  • Russia Day (Russia)
  • World Day Against Child Labour, and its related observances:
    • Children’s Day (Haiti)

June 12 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

June 5 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 1257 – Kraków, in Poland, receives city rights.
  • 1283 – Battle of the Gulf of Naples: Roger of Lauria, admiral to King Peter III of Aragon, destroys the Neapolitan fleet and captures Charles of Salerno.
  • 1288 – The Battle of Worringen ends the War of the Limburg Succession, with John I, Duke of Brabant, being one of the more important victors.
  • 1610 – The masque Tethys’ Festival is performed at Whitehall Palace to celebrate the investiture of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales.
  • 1644 – The Qing dynasty Manchu forces led by the Shunzhi Emperor take Beijing during the collapse of the Ming dynasty.
  • 1798 – The Battle of New Ross: The attempt to spread the United Irish Rebellion into Munster is defeated.
  • 1817 – The first Great Lakes steamer, the Frontenac, is launched.
  • 1829 – HMS Pickle captures the armed slave ship Voladora off the coast of Cuba.
  • 1832 – The June Rebellion breaks out in Paris in an attempt to overthrow the monarchy of Louis Philippe.
  • 1837 – Houston is incorporated by the Republic of Texas.
  • 1849 – Denmark becomes a constitutional monarchy by the signing of a new constitution.
  • 1851 – Harriet Beecher Stowe’s anti-slavery serial, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, or Life Among the Lowly, starts a ten-month run in the National Era abolitionist newspaper.
  • 1862 – As the Treaty of Saigon is signed, ceding parts of southern Vietnam to France, the guerrilla leader Trương Định decides to defy Emperor Tự Đức of Vietnam and fight on against the Europeans.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Piedmont: Union forces under General David Hunter defeat a Confederate army at Piedmont, Virginia, taking nearly 1,000 prisoners.
  • 1873 – Sultan Barghash bin Said of Zanzibar closes the great slave market under the terms of a treaty with Great Britain.
  • 1883 – The first regularly scheduled Orient Express departs Paris.
  • 1888 – The Rio de la Plata earthquake takes place.
  • 1893 – The trial of Lizzie Borden for the murder of her father and step-mother begins in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
  • 1900 – Second Boer War: British soldiers take Pretoria.
  • 1915 – Denmark amends its constitution to allow women’s suffrage.
  • 1916 – Louis Brandeis is sworn in as a Justice of the United States Supreme Court; he is the first American Jew to hold such a position.
  • 1916 – World War I: The Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire breaks out.
  • 1917 – World War I: Conscription begins in the United States as “Army registration day”.
  • 1940 – World War II: After a brief lull in the Battle of France, the Germans renew the offensive against the remaining French divisions south of the River Somme in Operation Fall Rot (“Case Red”).
  • 1941 – World War II: Four thousand Chongqing residents are asphyxiated in a bomb shelter during the Bombing of Chongqing.
  • 1942 – World War II: The United States declares war on Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania.
  • 1944 – World War II: More than 1,000 British bombers drop 5,000 tons of bombs on German gun batteries on the Normandy coast in preparation for D-Day.
  • 1945 – The Allied Control Council, the military occupation governing body of Germany, formally takes power.
  • 1946 – A fire in the La Salle Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, kills 61 people.
  • 1947 – Cold War: Marshall Plan: In a speech at Harvard University, the United States Secretary of State George Marshall calls for economic aid to war-torn Europe.
  • 1949 – Thailand elects Orapin Chaiyakan, the first female member of Thailand’s Parliament.
  • 1956 – Elvis Presley introduces his new single, “Hound Dog”, on The Milton Berle Show, scandalizing the audience with his suggestive hip movements.
  • 1959 – The first government of Singapore is sworn in.
  • 1963 – The British Secretary of State for War, John Profumo, resigns in a sex scandal known as the “Profumo affair”.
  • 1963 – Movement of 15 Khordad: Protests against the arrest of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini by the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In several cities, masses of angry demonstrators are confronted by tanks and paratroopers.
  • 1964 – DSV Alvin is commissioned.
  • 1967 – The Six-Day War begins: Israel launches surprise strikes against Egyptian air-fields in response to the mobilisation of Egyptian forces on the Israeli border.
  • 1968 – Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan.
  • 1975 – The Suez Canal opens for the first time since the Six-Day War.
  • 1975 – The United Kingdom holds its first country-wide referendum on membership of the European Economic Community (EEC).
  • 1976 – The Teton Dam in Idaho, United States, collapses.
  • 1981 – The “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report” of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that five people in Los Angeles, California, have a rare form of pneumonia seen only in patients with weakened immune systems, in what turns out to be the first recognized cases of AIDS.
  • 1983 – More than 100 people are killed when the Russian river cruise ship Aleksandr Suvorov collides with a girder of the Ulyanovsk Railway Bridge. The collision caused a freight train to derail, further damaging the vessel yet the ship remained afloat and was eventually restored and returned to service.
  • 1984 – Operation Blue Star: Under orders from India’s prime minister, Indira Gandhi, the Indian Army begins an invasion of the Golden Temple, the holiest site of the Sikh religion.
  • 1989 – The Tank Man halts the progress of a column of advancing tanks for over half an hour after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
  • 1993 – Portions of the Holbeck Hall Hotel in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, UK, fall into the sea following a landslide.
  • 1995 – The Bose–Einstein condensate is first created.
  • 1997 – The Second Republic of the Congo Civil War begins.
  • 1998 – A strike begins at the General Motors parts factory in Flint, Michigan, that quickly spreads to five other assembly plants. The strike lasts seven weeks.
  • 2000 – The Six-Day War in Kisangani begins in Kisangani, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, between Ugandan and Rwandan forces. A large part of the city is destroyed.
  • 2001 – Tropical Storm Allison makes landfall on the upper-Texas coastline as a strong tropical storm and dumps large amounts of rain over Houston. The storm causes $5.5 billion in damages, making Allison the second costliest tropical storm in U.S. history.
  • 2003 – A severe heat wave across Pakistan and India reaches its peak, as temperatures exceed 50 °C (122 °F) in the region.
  • 2004 – Noël Mamère, Mayor of Bègles, celebrates marriage for two men for the first time in France.
  • 2006 – Serbia declares independence from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro.
  • 2009 – After 65 straight days of civil disobedience, at least 31 people are killed in clashes between security forces and indigenous people near Bagua, Peru.
  • 2013 – A building collapse in Philadelphia kills six and wounds 14 other people.
  • 2015 – An earthquake with a moment magnitude of 6.0 struck Ranau, Sabah, Malaysia killing 18 people, including hikers and mountain guides on Mount Kinabalu, after mass landslides that occurred during the earthquake. This is the strongest earthquake to strike Malaysia since 1975.
  • 2017 – Montenegro becomes the 29th member of the NATO.
  • 2017 – Six Arab countries—Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates—cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of destabilising the region.

Births on June 5

  • 1341 – Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, son of King Edward III of England and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (d. 1402)
  • 1412 – Ludovico III Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua, Italian ruler (d. 1478)
  • 1493 – Justus Jonas, German priest and academic (d. 1555)
  • 1523 – Margaret of France, Duchess of Berry (d. 1573)
  • 1554 – Benedetto Giustiniani, Italian clergyman (d. 1621)
  • 1587 – Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick, English colonial administrator and admiral (d. 1658)
  • 1596 – Peter Wtewael, Dutch Golden Age painter (d. 1660)
  • 1640 – Pu Songling, Chinese author (d. 1715)
  • 1646 – Elena Cornaro Piscopia, Italian mathematician and philosopher (d. 1684)
  • 1660 – Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (d. 1744)
  • 1757 – Pierre Jean George Cabanis, French physiologist and philosopher (d. 1808)
  • 1760 – Johan Gadolin, Finnish chemist, physicist, and mineralogist (d. 1852)
  • 1771 – Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover (d. 1851)
  • 1781 – Christian Lobeck, German scholar and academic (d. 1860)
  • 1801 – William Scamp, English architect and engineer (d. 1872)
  • 1819 – John Couch Adams, English mathematician and astronomer (d. 1892)
  • 1830 – Carmine Crocco, Italian soldier (d. 1905)
  • 1850 – Pat Garrett, American sheriff (d. 1908)
  • 1862 – Allvar Gullstrand, Swedish ophthalmologist and optician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1930)
  • 1868 – James Connolly, Scottish-born Irish rebel leader (d. 1916)
  • 1870 – Bernard de Pourtalès, Swiss captain and sailor (d. 1935)
  • 1876 – Isaac Heinemann, German-Israeli scholar and academic (d. 1957)
  • 1877 – Willard Miller, Canadian-American sailor, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1959)
  • 1878 – Pancho Villa, Mexican general and politician, Governor of Chihuahua (d. 1923)
  • 1879 – Robert Mayer, German-English businessman and philanthropist (d. 1985)
  • 1883 – John Maynard Keynes, English economist, philosopher, and academic (d. 1946)
  • 1884 – Ralph Benatzky, Czech-Swiss composer (d. 1957)
  • 1884 – Ivy Compton-Burnett, English author (d. 1969)
  • 1884 – Frederick Lorz, American runner (d. 1914)
  • 1892 – Jaan Kikkas, Estonian weightlifter (d. 1944)
  • 1894 – Roy Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson of Fleet, Canadian-English publisher and academic (d. 1976)
  • 1895 – William Boyd, American actor and producer (d. 1972)
  • 1895 – William Roberts, English soldier and painter (d. 1980)
  • 1898 – Salvatore Ferragamo, Italian shoe designer, founded Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. (d. 1960)
  • 1898 – Federico García Lorca, Spanish poet, playwright, and director (d. 1936)
  • 1899 – Otis Barton, American diver, engineer, and actor, designed the bathysphere (d. 1992)
  • 1899 – Theippan Maung Wa, Burmese writer (d. 1942)
  • 1900 – Dennis Gabor, Hungarian-English physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)
  • 1902 – Arthur Powell Davies, American minister, author, and activist (d. 1957)
  • 1905 – Wayne Boring, American illustrator (d. 1987)
  • 1912 – Dean Amadon, American ornithologist and author (d. 2003)
  • 1912 – Eric Hollies, English cricketer (d. 1981)
  • 1913 – Conrad Marca-Relli, American-Italian painter and academic (d. 2000)
  • 1914 – Beatrice de Cardi, English archaeologist and academic (d. 2016)
  • 1916 – Sid Barnes, Australian cricketer (d. 1973)
  • 1916 – Eddie Joost, American baseball player and manager (d. 2011)
  • 1919 – Richard Scarry, American-Swiss author and illustrator (d. 1994)
  • 1920 – Marion Motley, American football player and coach (d. 1999)
  • 1920 – Cornelius Ryan, Irish-American journalist and author (d. 1974)
  • 1922 – Paul Couvret, Dutch-Australian soldier, pilot, and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Sheila Sim, English actress (d. 2016)
  • 1923 – Jorge Daponte, Argentinian racing driver (d. 1963)
  • 1923 – Roger Lebel, Canadian actor (d. 1994)
  • 1923 – Daniel Pinkham, American organist and composer (d. 2006)
  • 1924 – Lou Brissie, American baseball player and scout (d. 2013)
  • 1924 – Art Donovan, American football player and radio host (d. 2013)
  • 1925 – Bill Hayes, American actor and singer
  • 1926 – Paul Soros, Hungarian-American engineer and businessman (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Robert Lansing, American actor (d. 1994)
  • 1928 – Umberto Maglioli, Italian racing driver (d. 1999)
  • 1928 – Tony Richardson, English-American director and producer (d. 1991)
  • 1930 – Alifa Rifaat, Egyptian author (d. 1996)
  • 1931 – Yves Blais, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1998)
  • 1931 – Jacques Demy, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1990)
  • 1931 – Jerzy Prokopiuk, Polish anthropologist and philosopher
  • 1932 – Christy Brown, Irish painter and author (d. 1981)
  • 1932 – Dave Gold, American businessman, founded the 99 Cents Only Stores (d. 2013)
  • 1933 – Bata Živojinović, Serbian actor and politician (d. 2016)
  • 1934 – Vilhjálmur Einarsson, Icelandic triple jumper, painter, and educator (d. 2019)
  • 1934 – Bill Moyers, American journalist, 13th White House Press Secretary
  • 1937 – Hélène Cixous, French author, poet, and critic
  • 1938 – Moira Anderson, Scottish singer
  • 1938 – Karin Balzer, German hurdler (d. 2019)
  • 1938 – Roy Higgins, Australian jockey (d. 2014)
  • 1939 – Joe Clark, Canadian journalist and politician, 16th Prime Minister of Canada
  • 1939 – Margaret Drabble, English novelist, biographer, and critic
  • 1941 – Martha Argerich, Argentinian pianist
  • 1941 – Erasmo Carlos, Brazilian singer-songwriter
  • 1941 – Spalding Gray, American writer, actor, and monologist (d. 2004)
  • 1941 – Robert Kraft, American businessman, founded The Kraft Group
  • 1941 – Jeff Rooker, Baron Rooker, English academic and politician, Minister of State for Immigration
  • 1941 – Gudrun Sjödén, Swedish designer
  • 1942 – Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Equatoguinean lieutenant and politician, 2nd President of Equatorial Guinea
  • 1943 – Abraham Viruthakulangara, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Nagpur, Maharashtra, India (d. 2018)
  • 1944 – Whitfield Diffie, American cryptographer and academic
  • 1945 – John Carlos, American runner and football player
  • 1945 – André Lacroix, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1946 – John Du Cann, English guitarist (d. 2001)
  • 1946 – Bob Grant, Australian rugby league player
  • 1946 – Patrick Head, English engineer and businessman, co-founded Williams F1
  • 1946 – Wanderléa, Brazilian singer and television host
  • 1947 – Laurie Anderson, American singer-songwriter and violinist
  • 1947 – Tom Evans, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1983)
  • 1947 – David Hare, English director, playwright, and screenwriter
  • 1947 – Freddie Stone, American singer, guitarist, and pastor
  • 1949 – Ken Follett, Welsh author
  • 1949 – Elizabeth Gloster, English lawyer and judge
  • 1949 – Alexander Scrymgeour, 12th Earl of Dundee, Scottish politician
  • 1950 – Ronnie Dyson, American singer and actor (d. 1990)
  • 1950 – Abraham Sarmiento, Jr., Filipino journalist and activist (d. 1977)
  • 1951 – Suze Orman, American financial adviser, author, and television host
  • 1952 – Pierre Bruneau, Canadian journalist and news anchor
  • 1952 – Carole Fredericks, American singer (d. 2001)
  • 1952 – Nicko McBrain, English drummer and songwriter
  • 1953 – Kathleen Kennedy, American film producer, co-founded Amblin Entertainment
  • 1954 – Alberto Malesani, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1954 – Phil Neale, English cricketer, coach, and manager
  • 1954 – Nancy Stafford, American model and actress
  • 1955 – Edino Nazareth Filho, Brazilian footballer and manager
  • 1956 – Richard Butler, English singer-songwriter
  • 1956 – Kenny G, American saxophonist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1957 – Charles Nolan, American fashion designer (d. 2011)
  • 1958 – Avigdor Lieberman, Moldavian-Israeli soldier and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Israel
  • 1958 – Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi, Comorian businessman and politician, President of Comoros
  • 1959 – Mark Ella, Australian rugby player
  • 1959 – Werner Schildhauer, German runner
  • 1960 – Boris Dugan, Estonian footballer and coach
  • 1960 – Claire Fox, English author and academic
  • 1961 – Anke Behmer, German heptathlete
  • 1961 – Mary Kay Bergman, American voice actress (d. 1999)
  • 1961 – Anthony Burger, American singer and pianist (d. 2006)
  • 1961 – Aldo Costa, Italian engineer
  • 1961 – Ramesh Krishnan, Indian tennis player and coach
  • 1962 – Jeff Garlin, American actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter
  • 1962 – Tõnis Lukas, Estonian historian and politician, 34th Estonian Minister of Education
  • 1964 – Lisa Cholodenko, American director and screenwriter
  • 1964 – Karl Sanders, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1965 – Michael E. Brown, American astronomer and author
  • 1965 – Sandrine Piau, French soprano
  • 1965 – Alfie Turcotte, American ice hockey player
  • 1967 – Matt Bullard, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1967 – Joe DeLoach, American sprinter
  • 1967 – Ray Lankford, American baseball player
  • 1967 – Ron Livingston, American actor
  • 1968 – Ed Vaizey, English lawyer and politician, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries
  • 1969 – Brian McKnight, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
  • 1970 – Martin Gélinas, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1971 – Susan Lynch, Northern Irish actress
  • 1971 – Alex Mooney, American politician
  • 1971 – Takaya Tsubobayashi, Japanese racing driver
  • 1971 – Mark Wahlberg, American model, actor, producer, and rapper
  • 1972 – Yogi Adityanath, Indian priest and politician
  • 1972 – Paweł Kotla, Polish conductor and academic
  • 1973 – Lamon Brewster, American boxer
  • 1973 – Gella Vandecaveye, Belgian martial artist
  • 1974 – Mervyn Dillon, Trinidadian cricketer
  • 1974 – Scott Draper, Australian tennis player and golfer
  • 1974 – Russ Ortiz, American baseball player
  • 1975 – Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Lithuanian-American basketball player
  • 1975 – Duncan Patterson, English drummer and keyboard player
  • 1975 – Sandra Stals, Belgian runner
  • 1976 – Giannis Giannoulis, Canadian basketball player
  • 1976 – Torry Holt, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1977 – Liza Weil, American actress
  • 1978 – Fernando Meira, Portuguese footballer
  • 1979 – Stefanos Kotsolis, Greek footballer
  • 1979 – Matthew Scarlett, Australian footballer
  • 1979 – Pete Wentz, American singer-songwriter, bass player, actor, and fashion designer
  • 1979 – Jason White, American race car driver
  • 1980 – Mike Fisher, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1980 – Antonio García, Spanish racing driver
  • 1981 – Serhat Akın, Turkish footballer
  • 1981 – Sébastien Lefebvre, Canadian singer and guitarist
  • 1982 – Ryan Dallas Cook, American trombonist (d. 2005)
  • 1983 – Marques Colston, American football player
  • 1984 – Robert Barbieri, Canadian-Italian rugby player
  • 1984 – Eric Traoré, Senegalese footballer
  • 1985 – Jeremy Abbott, American figure skater
  • 1985 – Ekaterina Bychkova, Russian tennis player
  • 1986 – Dave Bolland, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Vernon Gholston, American football player
  • 1987 – Marcus Thornton, American basketball player
  • 1988 – Alessandro Salvi, Italian footballer
  • 1989 – Cam Atkinson, American ice hockey player
  • 1989 – Megumi Nakajima, Japanese voice actress and singer
  • 1990 – Radko Gudas, Czech ice hockey defenceman
  • 1991 – Sören Bertram, German footballer
  • 1992 – Joazhiño Arroe, Peruvian footballer
  • 1992 – Emily Seebohm, Australian swimmer
  • 1993 – Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Samoan-New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1995 – Troye Sivan, South African–born Australian singer-songwriter, actor, and YouTuber
  • 1995 – Ross Wilson, English table tennis player
  • 1997 – Sam Darnold, American football player
  • 1998 – Yulia Lipnitskaya, Russian figure skater

Deaths on June 5

  • 301 – Sima Lun, Chinese emperor (b. 249)
  • 535 – Epiphanius, patriarch of Constantinople
  • 567 – Theodosius I, patriarch of Alexandria
  • 708 – Jacob of Edessa, Syrian bishop (b. 640)
  • 754 – Eoban, bishop of Utrecht
  • 754 – Boniface, English missionary and martyr (b. 675)
  • 879 – Ya’qub ibn al-Layth, Persian emir (b. 840)
  • 928 – Louis the Blind, king of Provence
  • 1017 – Sanjō, emperor of Japan (b. 976)
  • 1118 – Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester, Norman nobleman and politician (b. 1049)
  • 1296 – Edmund Crouchback, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1245)
  • 1310 – Amalric, prince of Tyre
  • 1316 – Louis X, king of France (b. 1289)
  • 1383 – Dmitry of Suzdal, Russian grand prince (b. 1324)
  • 1400 – Frederick I, duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
  • 1424 – Braccio da Montone, Italian nobleman (b. 1368)
  • 1434 – Yuri IV, Russian grand prince (b. 1374)
  • 1443 – Ferdinand, Portuguese prince (b. 1402)
  • 1445 – Leonel Power, English composer
  • 1530 – Mercurino Gattinara, Italian statesman and jurist (b. 1465)
  • 1568 – Lamoral, Count of Egmont (b. 1522)
  • 1625 – Orlando Gibbons, English organist and composer (b. 1583)
  • 1667 – Francesco Sforza Pallavicino, Italian cardinal and historian (b. 1607)
  • 1716 – Roger Cotes, English mathematician and academic (b. 1682)
  • 1722 – Johann Kuhnau, German organist and composer (b. 1660)
  • 1738 – Isaac de Beausobre, French pastor and theologian (b. 1659)
  • 1740 – Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent, English politician and courtier (b. 1671)
  • 1791 – Frederick Haldimand, Swiss-Canadian general and politician, 22nd Governor of Quebec (b. 1718)
  • 1816 – Giovanni Paisiello, Italian composer and educator (b. 1741)
  • 1825 – Odysseas Androutsos, Greek soldier (b. 1788)
  • 1826 – Carl Maria von Weber, German pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1786)
  • 1866 – John McDouall Stuart, Scottish explorer and surveyor (b. 1815)
  • 1899 – Antonio Luna, Filipino general (b. 1866)
  • 1900 – Stephen Crane, American poet, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1871)
  • 1906 – Karl Robert Eduard von Hartmann, German philosopher and author (b. 1842)
  • 1910 – O. Henry, American short story writer (b. 1862)
  • 1913 – Chris von der Ahe, German-American businessman (b. 1851)
  • 1916 – Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, Irish-born British field marshal and politician, Secretary of State for War (b. 1850)
  • 1920 – Rhoda Broughton, Welsh-English author (b. 1840)
  • 1921 – Will Crooks, English trade unionist and politician (b. 1852)
  • 1921 – Georges Feydeau, French playwright (b. 1862)
  • 1930 – Eric Lemming, Swedish athlete (b. 1880)
  • 1930 – Pascin, Bulgarian-French painter and illustrator (b. 1885)
  • 1934 – Emily Dobson, Australian philanthropist (b. 1842)
  • 1934 – William Holman, English-Australian politician, 19th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1871)
  • 1947 – Nils Olaf Chrisander, Swedish-American actor and director (b. 1884)
  • 1967 – Arthur Biram, Israeli philologist, philosopher, and academic (b. 1878)
  • 1967 – Harry Brown, Australian public servant (b. 1878)
  • 1993 – Conway Twitty, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1933)
  • 1996 – Acharya Kuber Nath Rai, Indian poet and scholar (b. 1933)
  • 1997 – J. Anthony Lukas, American journalist and author (b. 1933)
  • 1998 – Jeanette Nolan, American actress (b. 1911)
  • 1998 – Sam Yorty, American soldier and politician, 37th Mayor of Los Angeles (b. 1909)
  • 1999 – Mel Tormé, American singer-songwriter (b. 1925)
  • 2000 – Don Liddle, American baseball player (b. 1925)
  • 2002 – Dee Dee Ramone, American singer-songwriter and bass player (b. 1951)
  • 2003 – Jürgen Möllemann, German soldier and politician, 10th Vice-Chancellor of Germany (b. 1945)
  • 2003 – Manuel Rosenthal, French composer and conductor (b. 1904)
  • 2004 – Iona Brown, English violinist and conductor (b. 1941)
  • 2004 – Ronald Reagan, American actor and politician, 40th President of the United States (b. 1911)
  • 2005 – Adolfo Aguilar Zínser, Mexican scholar and politician (b. 1949)
  • 2006 – Frederick Franck, Dutch-American painter, sculptor, and author (b. 1909)
  • 2006 – Edward L. Moyers, American businessman (b. 1928)
  • 2009 – Jeff Hanson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1978)
  • 2012 – Ray Bradbury, American science fiction writer and screenwriter (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Hal Keller, American baseball player and manager (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – Mihai Pătrașcu, Romanian-American computer scientist (b. 1982)
  • 2012 – Charlie Sutton, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Helen McElhone, Scottish politician (b. 1933)
  • 2013 – Stanisław Nagy, Polish cardinal (b. 1921)
  • 2013 – Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, Irish republican activist and politician (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – Michel Ostyn, Belgian physiologist and physician (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Abu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi, Iraqi commander (b. 1971)
  • 2014 – Don Davis, American songwriter and producer (b. 1938)
  • 2014 – Reiulf Steen, Norwegian journalist and politician, Norwegian Minister of Transport and Communications (b. 1933)
  • 2015 – Tariq Aziz, Iraqi journalist and politician, Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1936)
  • 2015 – Alan Bond, English-Australian businessman (b. 1938)
  • 2015 – Richard Johnson, English actor (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – Roger Vergé, French chef and author (b. 1930)
  • 2016 – Jerome Bruner, American psychologist (b. 1915)
  • 2017 – Andy Cunningham, English actor (b. 1950)
  • 2017 – Cheick Tioté, Ivorian footballer (b. 1986)
  • 2018 – Kate Spade, American fashion designer (b. 1962)

Holidays and observances on June 5

  • Arbor Day (New Zealand)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Boniface (Roman Catholic Church)
    • Dorotheus of Tyre
    • Genesius, Count of Clermont
    • Blessed Meinwerk
    • June 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Constitution Day (Denmark)
  • Father’s Day (Denmark)
  • Feast of Núr, the first day of the fifth month of the Bahá’í calendar (Bahá’í Faith) (only if Bahá’í Naw-Rúz falls on March 21)
  • Indian Arrival Day (Suriname)
  • Khordad Movement Anniversary (Iran) (Only if March equinox falls on March 20)
  • Liberation Day (Seychelles)
  • President’s Day (Equatorial Guinea)
  • Reclamation Day (Azerbaijan)
  • World Day Against Speciesism (International)
  • World Environment Day (International)

June 5 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

June 4 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 1411 – King Charles VI granted a monopoly for the ripening of Roquefort cheese to the people of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon as they had been doing for centuries.
  • 1561 – The steeple of St Paul’s, the medieval cathedral of London, is destroyed in a fire caused by lightning and is never rebuilt.
  • 1615 – Siege of Osaka: Forces under Tokugawa Ieyasu take Osaka Castle in Japan.
  • 1745 – Battle of Hohenfriedberg: Frederick the Great’s Prussian army decisively defeated an Austrian army under Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine during the War of the Austrian Succession.
  • 1760 – Great Upheaval: New England planters arrive to claim land in Nova Scotia, Canada, taken from the Acadians.
  • 1783 – The Montgolfier brothers publicly demonstrate their montgolfière (hot air balloon).
  • 1784 – Élisabeth Thible becomes the first woman to fly in an untethered hot air balloon. Her flight covers four kilometres in 45 minutes, and reached 1,500 metres altitude (estimated).
  • 1792 – Captain George Vancouver claims Puget Sound for the Kingdom of Great Britain.
  • 1802 – King Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia abdicates his throne in favor of his brother, Victor Emmanuel.
  • 1812 – Following Louisiana’s admittance as a U.S. state, the Louisiana Territory is renamed the Missouri Territory.
  • 1825 – General Lafayette, a French officer in the American Revolutionary War, speaks at what would become Lafayette Square, Buffalo, during his visit to the United States.
  • 1855 – Major Henry C. Wayne departs New York aboard the USS Supply to procure camels to establish the U.S. Camel Corps.
  • 1859 – Italian Independence wars: In the Battle of Magenta, the French army, under Louis-Napoleon, defeat the Austrian army.
  • 1862 – American Civil War: Confederate troops evacuate Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River, leaving the way clear for Union troops to take Memphis, Tennessee.
  • 1876 – An express train called the Transcontinental Express arrives in San Francisco, via the First Transcontinental Railroad only 83 hours and 39 minutes after leaving New York City.
  • 1878 – Cyprus Convention: The Ottoman Empire cedes Cyprus to the United Kingdom but retains nominal title.
  • 1896 – Henry Ford completes the Ford Quadricycle, his first gasoline-powered automobile, and gives it a successful test run.
  • 1912 – Massachusetts becomes the first state of the United States to set a minimum wage.
  • 1913 – Emily Davison, a suffragette, runs out in front of King George V’s horse at The Derby. She is trampled, never regains consciousness, and dies four days later.
  • 1916 – World War I: Russia opens the Brusilov Offensive with an artillery barrage of Austro-Hungarian lines in Galicia.
  • 1917 – The first Pulitzer Prizes are awarded: Laura E. Richards, Maude H. Elliott, and Florence Hall receive the first Pulitzer for biography (for Julia Ward Howe). Jean Jules Jusserand receives the first Pulitzer for history for his work With Americans of Past and Present Days. Herbert B. Swope receives the first Pulitzer for journalism for his work for the New York World.
  • 1919 – Women’s rights: The U.S. Congress approves the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees suffrage to women, and sends it to the U.S. states for ratification.
  • 1920 – Hungary loses 71% of its territory and 63% of its population when the Treaty of Trianon is signed in Paris.
  • 1928 – The President of the Republic of China, Zhang Zuolin, is assassinated by Japanese agents.
  • 1932 – Marmaduke Grove and other Chilean military officers lead a coup d’état establishing the short-lived Socialist Republic of Chile.
  • 1939 – The Holocaust: The MS St. Louis, a ship carrying 963 Jewish refugees, is denied permission to land in Florida, in the United States, after already being turned away from Cuba. Forced to return to Europe, more than 200 of its passengers later die in Nazi concentration camps.
  • 1940 – World War II: The Dunkirk evacuation ends: British forces complete evacuation of 338,000 troops from Dunkirk in France. To rally the morale of the country, Winston Churchill delivers, only to the House of Commons, his famous “We shall fight on the beaches” speech.
  • 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Midway begins. The Japanese Admiral Chūichi Nagumo orders a strike on Midway Island by much of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
  • 1943 – A military coup in Argentina ousts Ramón Castillo.
  • 1944 – World War II: A hunter-killer group of the United States Navy captures the German submarine U-505: The first time a U.S. Navy vessel had captured an enemy vessel at sea since the 19th century.
  • 1944 – World War II: The United States Fifth Army captures Rome, although much of the German Fourteenth Army is able to withdraw to the north.
  • 1961 – Cold War: In the Vienna summit, the Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev sparks the Berlin Crisis by threatening to sign a separate peace treaty with East Germany and ending American, British and French access to East Berlin.
  • 1967 – Seventy-two people are killed when a Canadair C-4 Argonaut crashes at Stockport in England.
  • 1970 – Tonga gains independence from the United Kingdom.
  • 1975 – The Governor of California Jerry Brown signs the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act into law, the first law in the U.S. giving farmworkers collective bargaining rights.
  • 1979 – Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings takes power in Ghana after a military coup in which General Fred Akuffo is overthrown.
  • 1983 – Gordon Kahl, who killed two US Marshals in Medina, North Dakota on February 13, is killed in a shootout in Smithville, Arkansas, along with a local sheriff, after a four-month manhunt.
  • 1986 – Jonathan Pollard pleads guilty to espionage for selling top secret United States military intelligence to Israel.
  • 1988 – Three cars on a train carrying hexogen to Kazakhstan explode in Arzamas, Gorky Oblast, USSR, killing 91 and injuring about 1,500.
  • 1989 – Ali Khamenei is elected as the new Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Assembly of Experts after the death and funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
  • 1989 – The Tiananmen Square protests are suppressed in Beijing by the People’s Liberation Army, with between 241 and 1,000 dead (an unofficial estimate).
  • 1989 – Solidarity’s victory in the first (somewhat) free parliamentary elections in post-war Poland sparks off a succession of peaceful anti-communist revolutions in Eastern Europe, leads to the creation of the so-called Contract Sejm and begins the Autumn of Nations.
  • 1989 – Ufa train disaster: A natural gas explosion near Ufa, Russia, kills 575 as two trains passing each other throw sparks near a leaky pipeline.
  • 1996 – The first flight of Ariane 5 explodes after roughly 37 seconds. It was a Cluster mission.
  • 1998 – Terry Nichols is sentenced to life in prison for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.
  • 2010 – Falcon 9 Flight 1 is the maiden flight of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which launches from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 40.

Births on June 4

  • 1394 – Philippa of England, Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (d. 1430)
  • 1489 – Antoine, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1544)
  • 1563 – George Heriot, Scottish goldsmith (d. 1624)
  • 1604 – Claudia de’ Medici, Italian daughter of Christina of Lorraine (d. 1648)
  • 1665 – Zacharie Robutel de La Noue, Canadian captain (d. 1733)
  • 1694 – François Quesnay, French economist and physician (d. 1774)
  • 1704 – Benjamin Huntsman, English inventor and businessman (d. 1776)
  • 1738 – George III of the United Kingdom (d. 1820)
  • 1744 – Patrick Ferguson, Scottish soldier, designed the Ferguson rifle (d. 1780)
  • 1754 – Miguel de Azcuénaga, Argentinian soldier (d. 1833)
  • 1754 – Franz Xaver von Zach, Slovak astronomer and academic (d. 1832)
  • 1787 – Constant Prévost, French geologist and academic (d. 1856)
  • 1801 – James Pennethorne, English architect, designed Victoria Park (d. 1871)
  • 1821 – Apollon Maykov, Russian poet and playwright (d. 1897)
  • 1829 – Jinmaku Kyūgorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 12th Yokozuna (d. 1903)
  • 1854 – Solko van den Bergh, Dutch target shooter (d. 1916)
  • 1860 – Alexis Lapointe, Canadian runner (d. 1924)
  • 1861 – William Propsting, Australian politician, 20th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1937)
  • 1866 – Miina Sillanpää, Finnish journalist and politician (d. 1952)
  • 1867 – Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Finnish general and politician, 6th President of Finland (d. 1951)
  • 1873 – Nictzin Dyalhis, American author (d.1942)
  • 1877 – Heinrich Otto Wieland, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
  • 1879 – Mabel Lucie Attwell, English author and illustrator (d. 1964)
  • 1880 – Clara Blandick, American actress (d. 1962)
  • 1885 – Arturo Rawson, Argentinian general and politician, 26th President of Argentina (d. 1952)
  • 1887 – Tom Longboat, Canadian runner and soldier (d. 1949)
  • 1889 – Beno Gutenberg, German-American seismologist (d. 1960)
  • 1903 – Yevgeny Mravinsky, Russian conductor (d. 1988)
  • 1904 – Bhagat Puran Singh, Indian publisher, environmentalist, and philanthropist (d. 1992)
  • 1907 – Jacques Roumain, Haitian journalist and politician (d. 1944)
  • 1907 – Rosalind Russell, American actress (d. 1976)
  • 1907 – Patience Strong, English poet and journalist (d. 1990)
  • 1910 – Christopher Cockerell, English engineer, invented the hovercraft (d. 1999)
  • 1912 – Robert Jacobsen, Danish sculptor and painter (d. 1993)
  • 1915 – Walter Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2006)
  • 1915 – Modibo Keïta, Malian educator and politician, 1st President of Mali (d. 1977)
  • 1915 – Nils Kihlberg, Swedish actor, singer, and director (d. 1965)
  • 1916 – Robert F. Furchgott, American biochemist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2009)
  • 1916 – Fernand Leduc, Canadian painter (d. 2014)
  • 1917 – Robert Merrill, American actor and singer (d. 2004)
  • 1921 – Milan Komar, Slovenian-Argentinian philosopher and academic (d. 2006)
  • 1921 – Bobby Wanzer, American basketball player and coach (d. 2016)
  • 1923 – Elizabeth Jolley, English-Australian author and academic (d. 2007)
  • 1923 – Masutatsu Ōyama, Japanese karateka (d. 1994)
  • 1924 – Tofilau Eti Alesana, Samoan politician, 5th Prime Minister of Samoa (d. 1999)
  • 1924 – Dennis Weaver, American actor and director (d. 2006)
  • 1925 – Antonio Puchades, Spanish footballer (d. 2013)
  • 1926 – Robert Earl Hughes, American who was the heaviest human being recorded in the history of the world during his lifetime (d. 1958)
  • 1926 – Ain Kaalep, Estonian poet, playwright, and critic (d. 2020)
  • 1926 – Judith Malina, German-American actress and director, co-founded The Living Theatre (d. 2015)
  • 1927 – Henning Carlsen, Danish director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
  • 1927 – Geoffrey Palmer, English actor
  • 1928 – Ruth Westheimer, German-American therapist and author
  • 1929 – Karolos Papoulias, Greek lawyer and politician, 5th President of Greece
  • 1930 – George Chesworth, English air marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Moray (d. 2017)
  • 1930 – Morgana King, American singer and actress (d. 2018)
  • 1930 – Viktor Tikhonov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2014)
  • 1931 – Gustav Nossal, Austrian-Australian biologist and academic
  • 1932 – John Drew Barrymore, American actor (d. 2004)
  • 1932 – Oliver Nelson, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1975)
  • 1932 – Maurice Shadbolt, New Zealand author and playwright (d. 2004)
  • 1934 – Monica Dacon, Vincentian educator and politician, 6th Governor-General of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  • 1934 – Daphne Sheldrick, Kenyan-British conservationist and author (d. 2018)
  • 1935 – Colette Boky, Canadian soprano and actress
  • 1935 – Berhanu Dinka, Ethiopian economist and diplomat (d. 2013)
  • 1936 – Vince Camuto, American fashion designer and businessman, co-founded Nine West (d. 2015)
  • 1936 – Bruce Dern, American actor
  • 1937 – Freddy Fender, American singer and guitarist (d. 2006)
  • 1937 – Mortimer Zuckerman, Canadian-American businessman and publisher, founded Boston Properties
  • 1938 – John Harvard, Canadian journalist and politician, 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba (d. 2016)
  • 1938 – Art Mahaffey, American baseball player
  • 1939 – Jeremy Browne, 11th Marquess of Sligo, Anglo-Irish peer (d. 2014)
  • 1939 – Denis de Belleval, Canadian civil servant and politician
  • 1939 – Henri Pachard, American director and producer (d. 2008)
  • 1939 – George Reid, Scottish journalist and politician, 2nd Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament
  • 1940 – Ludwig Schwarz, Slovak-Austrian bishop
  • 1941 – Kenneth G. Ross, Australian playwright and screenwriter
  • 1942 – Louis Reichardt, American mountaineer
  • 1942 – Bill Rowe, Canadian lawyer and politician
  • 1943 – John Burgess, Australian radio and television host
  • 1943 – Sandra Haynie, American golfer
  • 1943 – Tom Jaine, English author
  • 1944 – Roger Ball, Scottish saxophonist and songwriter
  • 1944 – Michelle Phillips, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1945 – Anthony Braxton, American saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer
  • 1945 – Daniel Topolski, English rower and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1945 – Gordon Waller, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2009)
  • 1947 – Viktor Klima, Austrian businessman and politician, 25th Chancellor of Austria
  • 1948 – Bob Champion, English jockey
  • 1948 – Sandra Post, Canadian golfer and sportscaster
  • 1948 – Jürgen Sparwasser, German footballer and manager
  • 1949 – Gabriel Arcand, Canadian actor
  • 1949 – Mark B. Cohen, American lawyer and politician
  • 1950 – Raymond Dumais, Canadian bishop (d. 2012)
  • 1951 – Leigh Kennedy, American author
  • 1951 – Bronisław Malinowski, Polish runner (d. 1981)
  • 1951 – Melanie Phillips, English journalist and author
  • 1951 – Wendy Pini, American author and illustrator
  • 1951 – David Yip, English actor and playwright
  • 1952 – Bronisław Komorowski, Polish historian and politician, 5th President of Poland
  • 1952 – Dambudzo Marechera, Zimbabwean author and poet (d. 1987)
  • 1953 – Linda Lingle, American journalist and politician, 6th Governor of Hawaii
  • 1953 – Jimmy McCulloch, Scottish musician and songwriter (d. 1979)
  • 1953 – Susumu Ojima, Japanese businessman, founded Huser
  • 1953 – Paul Samson, English guitarist and producer (d. 2002)
  • 1954 – Raphael Ravenscroft, English saxophonist and composer (d. 2014)
  • 1954 – Kazuhiro Yamaji, Japanese actor and voice actor
  • 1955 – Val McDermid, Scottish author
  • 1955 – Mary Testa, American singer and actress
  • 1956 – Keith David, American actor
  • 1956 – John Hockenberry, American journalist and author
  • 1956 – Terry Kennedy, American baseball player and manager
  • 1956 – Joyce Sidman, American author and poet
  • 1957 – Neil McNab, Scottish footballer
  • 1959 – Juan Camacho, Bolivian runner
  • 1959 – Georgios Voulgarakis, Greek politician, 21st Greek Minister for Culture
  • 1960 – Miloš Đelmaš, Serbian footballer and manager
  • 1960 – Kristine Kathryn Rusch, American author
  • 1960 – Paul Taylor, American guitarist and keyboard player
  • 1960 – Bradley Walsh, English television presenter, comedian, singer and former footballer
  • 1961 – El DeBarge, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1961 – Ferenc Gyurcsány, Hungarian businessman and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Hungary
  • 1962 – Krzysztof Hołowczyc, Polish race car driver
  • 1962 – Zenon Jaskuła, Polish cyclist
  • 1962 – John P. Kee, American singer-songwriter and pastor
  • 1962 – Junius Ho, Hong Kong solicitor and politician
  • 1963 – Sean Fitzpatrick, New Zealand rugby union player
  • 1963 – Jim Lachey, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1963 – Xavier McDaniel, American basketball player and coach
  • 1964 – Sean Pertwee, English actor
  • 1964 – Kōji Yamamura, Japanese animator, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1965 – Mick Doohan, Australian motorcycle racer
  • 1965 – Andrea Jaeger, American tennis player and preacher
  • 1966 – Cecilia Bartoli, Italian soprano and actress
  • 1966 – Vladimir Voevodsky, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 2017)
  • 1966 – Bill Wiggin, English politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
  • 1967 – Robert S. Kimbrough, American colonel and astronaut
  • 1968 – Roger Lim, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1968 – Niurka Montalvo, Cuban-Spanish long jumper
  • 1968 – Al B. Sure!, American R&B singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
  • 1968 – Scott Wolf, American actor
  • 1969 – Horatio Sanz, Chilean-American actor and comedian
  • 1970 – Deborah Compagnoni, Italian skier
  • 1970 – Richie Hawtin, English-Canadian DJ and producer
  • 1970 – Dave Pybus, English bass player and songwriter
  • 1970 – Izabella Scorupco, Polish-Swedish actress and model
  • 1971 – Joseph Kabila, Congolese soldier and politician, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • 1971 – Mike Lee, American lawyer and politician
  • 1971 – Shoji Meguro, Japanese director and composer
  • 1971 – Karl Martin Sinijärv, Estonian journalist and poet
  • 1971 – Noah Wyle, American actor and producer
  • 1972 – Derian Hatcher, American ice hockey defenseman
  • 1972 – Rob Huebel, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1973 – Mikey Whipwreck, American wrestler and trainer
  • 1974 – Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni, Indian chef (d. 2012)
  • 1974 – Darin Erstad, American baseball player and coach
  • 1974 – Andrew Gwynne, English lawyer and politician
  • 1974 – Janette Husárová, Slovak tennis player
  • 1974 – Buddy Wakefield, American poet and author
  • 1975 – Russell Brand, English comedian and actor
  • 1975 – Henry Burris, American football player
  • 1975 – Angelina Jolie, American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian, and activist
  • 1975 – Dinanath Ramnarine, Trinidadian cricketer
  • 1975 – Alex Wharf, English cricketer
  • 1976 – Kasey Chambers, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1976 – Alexei Navalny, Russian lawyer and politician
  • 1976 – Nenad Zimonjić, Serbian tennis player
  • 1977 – Dionisis Chiotis, Greek footballer
  • 1977 – Alex Manninger, Austrian footballer
  • 1977 – Roman Miroshnichenko, Ukrainian guitarist and composer
  • 1977 – Roland G. Fryer Jr., American economist and professor
  • 1978 – Robin Lord Taylor, American actor
  • 1979 – Naohiro Takahara, Japanese footballer
  • 1979 – Daniel Vickerman, South African-Australian rugby player (d. 2017)
  • 1980 – François Beauchemin, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1981 – Jennifer Carroll, Canadian swimmer
  • 1981 – Giourkas Seitaridis, Greek footballer
  • 1981 – Natalia Vodopyanova, Russian basketball player
  • 1982 – Abel Kirui, Kenyan runner
  • 1982 – Ronnie Prude, American-Canadian football player
  • 1983 – Romaric, Ivorian footballer
  • 1983 – Emmanuel Eboué, Ivorian footballer
  • 1983 – Olha Saladuha, Ukrainian triple jumper
  • 1984 – Enrico Rossi Chauvenet, Italian footballer
  • 1984 – Rainie Yang, Taiwanese actress
  • 1984 – Ian White, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Leon Botha, South African painter and DJ (d. 2011)
  • 1985 – Anna-Lena Grönefeld, German tennis player
  • 1985 – Evan Lysacek, American figure skater
  • 1985 – Lukas Podolski, German footballer
  • 1985 – Oddvar Reiakvam, Norwegian politician
  • 1987 – Luisa Zissman, English businesswoman
  • 1987 – Mollie King, English singer-songwriter and model
  • 1988 – Matt Bartkowski, American ice hockey defenseman
  • 1988 – Kimberley Busteed, Australian model
  • 1989 – Federico Erba, Italian footballer
  • 1989 – Paweł Fajdek, Polish hammer thrower
  • 1990 – Zac Farro, American singer and drummer
  • 1990 – Evan Spiegel, American Internet entrepreneur
  • 1991 – Lorenzo Insigne, Italian footballer
  • 1991 – Matt McIlwrick, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1991 – Ben Stokes, New Zealand-English cricketer
  • 1993 – Jonathan Huberdeau, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1995 – Shiori Tamai, Japanese singer
  • 1999 – Kim So-hyun, South Korean actress
  • 2004 – Mackenzie Ziegler, American dancer, singer, actress and model

Deaths on June 4

  • 756 – Shōmu, Japanese emperor (b. 701)
  • 863 – Charles, archbishop of Mainz
  • 895 – Li Xi, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
  • 946 – Guaimar II (Gybbosus), Lombard prince
  • 956 – Muhammad III of Shirvan, Muslim ruler
  • 1039 – Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 990)
  • 1102 – Władysław I Herman, Polish nobleman (b. c. 1044)
  • 1134 – Magnus I of Sweden (b. 1106)
  • 1135 – Emperor Huizong of Song (b. 1082)
  • 1206 – Adela of Champagne (b. 1140)
  • 1246 – Isabella of Angoulême (b. 1188)
  • 1257 – Przemysł I of Greater Poland (b. 1221)
  • 1394 – Mary de Bohun, wife of Henry IV of England (b.c. 1368)
  • 1453 – Andronikos Palaiologos Kantakouzenos, Byzantine commander
  • 1463 – Flavio Biondo, Italian historian and author (b. 1392)
  • 1472 – Nezahualcoyotl, Aztec poet (b. 1402)
  • 1585 – Muretus, French philosopher and author (b. 1526)
  • 1608 – Francis Caracciolo, Italian Catholic priest (b. 1563)
  • 1622 – Péter Révay, Hungarian soldier and historian (b. 1568)
  • 1647 – Canonicus, Grand Chief Sachem of the Narragansett (b. 1565)
  • 1663 – William Juxon, English archbishop and academic (b. 1582)
  • 1798 – Giacomo Casanova, Italian adventurer and author (b. 1725)
  • 1801 – Frederick Muhlenberg, American minister and politician, 1st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1750)
  • 1809 – Nicolai Abildgaard, Danish neoclassical and history painter, sculptor and architect (b. 1743)
  • 1830 – Antonio José de Sucre, Venezuelan general and politician, 2nd President of Bolivia (b. 1795)
  • 1872 – Johan Rudolph Thorbecke, Dutch historian, jurist, and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1798)
  • 1875 – Eduard Mörike, German pastor and poet (b. 1804)
  • 1876 – Abdülaziz of the Ottoman Empire, 32nd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1830)
  • 1922 – W. H. R. Rivers, English anthropologist, neurologist, ethnologist, and psychiatrist (b. 1864)
  • 1925 – Margaret Murray Washington, American Academic (b. 1865)
  • 1926 – Fred Spofforth, Australian-English cricketer and coach (b. 1853)
  • 1928 – Zhang Zuolin, Chinese warlord (b. 1873)
  • 1929 – Harry Frazee, American director, producer, and agent (b. 1881)
  • 1931 – Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, Sharif and Emir of Mecca, King of the Hejaz (b. 1853/54)
  • 1933 – Ahmet Haşim, Turkish poet and author (b. 1884)
  • 1939 – Tommy Ladnier, American trumpet player (b. 1900)
  • 1941 – Wilhelm II, German Emperor (b. 1859)
  • 1942 – Reinhard Heydrich, German SS officer and politician (b. 1904)
  • 1951 – Serge Koussevitzky, Russian-American bassist, composer, and conductor (b. 1874)
  • 1956 – Katherine MacDonald, American actress and producer (b. 1881)
  • 1962 – Clem McCarthy, American sportscaster (b. 1882)
  • 1967 – Linda Eenpalu, Estonian lawyer and politician (b. 1890)
  • 1968 – Dorothy Gish, American actress (b. 1898)
  • 1970 – Sonny Tufts, American actor (b. 1911)
  • 1971 – György Lukács, Hungarian historian and philosopher (b. 1885)
  • 1973 – Maurice René Fréchet, French mathematician and academic (b. 1878)
  • 1973 – Murry Wilson, American songwriter, producer, and manager (b. 1917)
  • 1981 – Leslie Averill, New Zealand doctor and soldier (b. 1897)
  • 1989 – Dik Browne, American cartoonist (b. 1917)
  • 1990 – Stiv Bators, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1949)
  • 1992 – Carl Stotz, American businessman, founded Little League Baseball (b. 1910)
  • 1993 – Bernard Evslin, American writer (b. 1922)
  • 1994 – Derek Leckenby, English musician (b. 1943)
  • 1997 – Ronnie Lane, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1946)
  • 1998 – Josephine Hutchinson, American actress (b. 1903)
  • 2002 – Fernando Belaúnde Terry, Peruvian architect and politician, 42nd President of Peru (b. 1912)
  • 2004 – Steve Lacy, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1934)
  • 2004 – Nino Manfredi, Italian actor (b. 1921)
  • 2007 – Clete Boyer, American baseball player and manager (b. 1937)
  • 2007 – Bill France, Jr., American businessman (b. 1933)
  • 2007 – Craig L. Thomas, American captain and politician (b. 1933)
  • 2010 – John Wooden, American basketball player and coach (b. 1910)
  • 2011 – Juan Francisco Luis, Virgin Islander sergeant and politician, 23rd Governor of the United States Virgin Islands (b. 1940)
  • 2011 – Andreas P. Nielsen, Danish author and composer (b. 1953)
  • 2012 – Peter Beaven, New Zealand architect, designed the Lyttelton Road Tunnel Administration Building (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Pedro Borbón, Dominican-American baseball player (b. 1946)
  • 2012 – Rodolfo Quezada Toruño, Guatemalan cardinal (b. 1932)
  • 2012 – Herb Reed, American violinist (b. 1929)
  • 2013 – Walt Arfons, American race car driver (b. 1916)
  • 2013 – Joey Covington, American drummer (b. 1945)
  • 2013 – Hermann Gunnarsson, Icelandic footballer, handball player, and sportscaster (b. 1946)
  • 2013 – Will Wynn, American football player (b. 1949)
  • 2014 – George Ho, American-Hong Kong businessman (b. 1919)
  • 2014 – Nathan Shamuyarira, Zimbabwean journalist and politician, Zimbabwean Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – Sydney Templeman, Baron Templeman, English lawyer and judge (b. 1920)
  • 2014 – Don Zimmer, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1931)
  • 2015 – Marguerite Patten, English economist and author (b. 1915)
  • 2015 – Leonid Plyushch, Ukrainian mathematician and academic (b. 1938)
  • 2015 – Jabe Thomas, American race car driver (b. 1930)
  • 2015 – Anne Warburton, British academic and diplomat, British Ambassador to Denmark (b. 1927)
  • 2016 – Carmen Pereira, Bissau-Guinean politician (b. 1937)
  • 2017 – Juan Goytisolo, Spanish essayist, poet and novelist (b. 1931)

Holidays and observances on June 4

  • Birthday of Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim & Flag Day celebration of the Finnish Defence Forces (Finland)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Filippo Smaldone
    • Francis Caracciolo
    • Optatus
    • Petroc of Cornwall
    • Quirinus of Sescia
    • Saturnina
    • June 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Emancipation Day or Independence Day, commemorates the abolition of serfdom in Tonga by King George Tupou in 1862, and the independence of Tonga from the British protectorate in 1970. (Tonga)
  • Flag Day (Estonia)
  • International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression (International)
  • National Unity Day (Hungary)
  • Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989 Memorial Day (International)

June 4 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

June 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 1215 – Zhongdu (now Beijing), then under the control of the Jurchen ruler Emperor Xuanzong of Jin, is captured by the Mongols under Genghis Khan, ending the Battle of Zhongdu.
  • 1252 – Alfonso X is proclaimed king of Castile and León.
  • 1298 – Residents of Riga and Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeated the Livonian Order in the Battle of Turaida.
  • 1495 – A monk, John Cor, records the first known batch of Scotch whisky
  • 1533 – Anne Boleyn is crowned Queen of England.
  • 1535 – Combined forces loyal to Charles V attack and expel the Ottomans from Tunis during the Conquest of Tunis.
  • 1648 – The Roundheads defeat the Cavaliers at the Battle of Maidstone in the Second English Civil War.
  • 1649 – Start of the Sumuroy Revolt: Filipinos in Northern Samar led by Agustin Sumuroy revolt against Spanish colonial authorities.
  • 1670 – In Dover, England, Charles II of England and Louis XIV of France sign the Secret Treaty of Dover, which will force England into the Third Anglo-Dutch War.
  • 1676 – Battle of Öland: allied Danish-Dutch forces defeat the Swedish navy in the Baltic Sea, during the Scanian War (1675–79).
  • 1679 – The Scottish Covenanters defeat John Graham of Claverhouse at the Battle of Drumclog.
  • 1773 – Wolraad Woltemade rescues 14 sailors at the Cape of Good Hope from the sinking ship De Jonge Thomas by riding his horse into the sea seven times. He drowned on his eighth attempt.
  • 1779 – The court-martial for malfeasance of Benedict Arnold, a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, begins.
  • 1792 – Kentucky is admitted as the 15th state of the United States.
  • 1794 – The battle of the Glorious First of June is fought, the first naval engagement between Britain and France during the French Revolutionary Wars.
  • 1796 – Tennessee is admitted as the 16th state of the United States.
  • 1812 – War of 1812: U.S. President James Madison asks the Congress to declare war on the United Kingdom.
  • 1813 – Capture of USS Chesapeake.
  • 1815 – Napoleon promulgates a revised Constitution after it passes a plebiscite.
  • 1831 – James Clark Ross becomes the first European at the North Magnetic Pole.
  • 1849 – Territorial Governor Alexander Ramsey declared the Territory of Minnesota officially established.
  • 1855 – The American adventurer William Walker conquers Nicaragua.
  • 1857 – Charles Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du mal is published.
  • 1861 – American Civil War: The Battle of Fairfax Court House is fought.
  • 1862 – American Civil War: Peninsula Campaign: The Battle of Seven Pines (or the Battle of Fair Oaks) ends inconclusively, with both sides claiming victory.
  • 1868 – The Treaty of Bosque Redondo is signed, allowing the Navajo to return to their lands in Arizona and New Mexico.
  • 1879 – Napoléon Eugène, the last dynastic Bonaparte, is killed in the Anglo-Zulu War.
  • 1890 – The United States Census Bureau begins using Herman Hollerith’s tabulating machine to count census returns.
  • 1913 – The Greek–Serbian Treaty of Alliance is signed, paving the way for the Second Balkan War.
  • 1916 – Louis Brandeis becomes the first Jew appointed to the United States Supreme Court.
  • 1918 – World War I: Western Front: Battle of Belleau Wood: Allied Forces under John J. Pershing and James Harbord engage Imperial German Forces under Wilhelm, German Crown Prince.
  • 1922 – The Royal Ulster Constabulary is founded.
  • 1929 – The 1st Conference of the Communist Parties of Latin America is held in Buenos Aires.
  • 1930 – The Deccan Queen is introduced as first intercity train between Bombay VT (Now Mumbai CST) and Poona (Pune) to run on electric locomotives.
  • 1939 – First flight of the German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter aircraft.
  • 1941 – World War II: The Battle of Crete ends as Crete capitulates to Germany.
  • 1941 – The Farhud, a massive pogrom in Iraq, starts and as a result, many Iraqi Jews are forced to leave their homes.
  • 1943 – BOAC Flight 777 is shot down over the Bay of Biscay by German Junkers Ju 88s, killing British actor Leslie Howard and leading to speculation that it was actually an attempt to kill British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
  • 1946 – Ion Antonescu, “Conducator” (“Leader”) of Romania during World War II, is executed.
  • 1950 – The Chinchaga fire ignites. By September, it would become the largest single fire on record in North America.
  • 1958 – Charles de Gaulle comes out of retirement to lead France by decree for six months.
  • 1961 – The Canadian Bank of Commerce and Imperial Bank of Canada merge to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the largest bank merger in Canadian history.
  • 1962 – Adolf Eichmann is hanged in Israel.
  • 1964 – Kenya becomes a republic with Jomo Kenyatta (1897 – 22 August 1978) as its first President (1964 to 1978).
  • 1974 – The Heimlich maneuver for rescuing choking victims is published in the journal Emergency Medicine.
  • 1975 – The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was founded by Jalal Talabani, Nawshirwan Mustafa, Fuad Masum and others.
  • 1978 – The first international applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty are filed.
  • 1979 – The first black-led government of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 90 years takes power.
  • 1980 – Cable News Network (CNN) begins broadcasting.
  • 1988 – European Central Bank is founded in Brussels.
  • 1988 – The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty comes into effect.
  • 1990 – Cold War: George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev sign a treaty to end chemical weapon production.
  • 1993 – Dobrinja mortar attack: Thirteen are killed and 133 wounded when Serb mortar shells are fired at a soccer game in Dobrinja, west of Sarajevo.
  • 1994 – Republic of South Africa becomes a Commonwealth republic.
  • 1999 – American Airlines Flight 1420 slides and crashes while landing at Little Rock National Airport, killing 11 people on a flight from Dallas to Little Rock.
  • 2001 – Nepalese royal massacre: Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal shoots and kills several members of his family including his father and mother.
  • 2001 – Dolphinarium discotheque massacre: A Hamas suicide bomber kills 21 at a disco in Tel Aviv.
  • 2004 – Oklahoma City bombing co-conspirator Terry Nichols is sentenced to 161 consecutive life terms without the possibility of a parole, breaking a Guinness World Record.
  • 2008 – A fire on the back lot of Universal Studios breaks out, destroying the attraction King Kong Encounter and a large archive of master tapes for music and film, the full extent of which was not revealed until 2019.
  • 2009 – Air France Flight 447 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. All 228 passengers and crew are killed.
  • 2009 – General Motors files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It is the fourth largest United States bankruptcy in history.
  • 2011 – A rare tornado outbreak occurs in New England; a strong EF3 tornado strikes Springfield, Massachusetts, during the event, killing four people.
  • 2011 – Space Shuttle Endeavour makes its final landing after 25 flights.
  • 2015 – A ship carrying 458 people capsizes on Yangtze river in China’s Hubei province, killing 400 people.

Births on June 1

  • 1134 – Geoffrey, Count of Nantes (d. 1158)
  • 1300 – Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk, English politician, Lord Marshal of England (d. 1338)
  • 1451 – Giles Daubeney, 1st Baron Daubeney (d. 1508)
  • 1460 – Enno I, Count of East Frisia, German noble (d. 1491)
  • 1480 – Tiedemann Giese, Polish bishop (d. 1550)
  • 1498 – Maarten van Heemskerck, Dutch painter (d. 1574)
  • 1522 – Dirck Volckertszoon Coornhert, Dutch writer and scholar (d. 1590)
  • 1563 – Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, English politician, Secretary of State for England (d. 1612)
  • 1612 – Frans Post, Dutch painter (d. 1680)
  • 1633 – Geminiano Montanari, Italian astronomer and academic (d. 1687)
  • 1637 – Jacques Marquette, French missionary and explorer (d. 1675)
  • 1653 – Georg Muffat, French organist and composer (d. 1704)
  • 1675 – Francesco Scipione, marchese di Maffei, Italian archaeologist and playwright (d. 1755)
  • 1762 – Edmund Ignatius Rice, Irish priest and missionary, founded the Irish Christian Brothers (d. 1844)
  • 1765 – Christiane Vulpius, mistress and wife of Johann Wolfgang Goethe (d. 1816)
  • 1770 – Friedrich Laun, German author (d. 1849)
  • 1790 – Ferdinand Raimund, Austrian actor and playwright (d. 1836)
  • 1796 – Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot, French physicist and engineer (d. 1832)
  • 1800 – Edward Deas Thomson, Australian educator and politician, Chief Secretary of New South Wales (d. 1879)
  • 1801 – Brigham Young, American religious leader, 2nd President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1877)
  • 1804 – Mikhail Glinka, Russian composer (d. 1857)
  • 1808 – Henry Parker, English-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of New South Wales (d. 1881)
  • 1815 – Otto of Greece (d. 1862)
  • 1819 – Francis V, Duke of Modena (d. 1875)
  • 1822 – Clementina Maude, Viscountess Hawarden, English portrait photographer (d. 1865)
  • 1825 – John Hunt Morgan, American general (d. 1864)
  • 1831 – John Bell Hood, American general (d. 1879)
  • 1833 – John Marshall Harlan, American lawyer, judge, and politician, Attorney General of Kentucky (d. 1911)
  • 1843 – Henry Faulds, Scottish physician and missionary, developed fingerprinting (d. 1930)
  • 1844 – John J. Toffey, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1911)
  • 1869 – Richard Wünsch, German philologist (d. 1915)
  • 1873 – Elena Alistar, Bessarabian politician (d. 1955)
  • 1874 – Yury Nikolaevich Voronov, Russian botanist (d. 1931)
  • 1878 – John Masefield, English author and poet (d. 1967)
  • 1879 – Max Emmerich, American triathlete and gymnast (d. 1956)
  • 1882 – Nicolae Bivol, Moldovan businessman and politician, Mayor of Chișinău (d. 1940)
  • 1887 – Clive Brook, English actor (d. 1974)
  • 1889 – James Daugherty, American author, illustrator, and painter (d. 1974)
  • 1889 – Charles Kay Ogden, English linguist and philosopher (d. 1957)
  • 1890 – Frank Morgan, American actor (d. 1949)
  • 1892 – Amanullah Khan, sovereign of the Kingdom of Afghanistan, (d. 1960)
  • 1899 – Edward Charles Titchmarsh, English mathematician and academic (d. 1963)
  • 1901 – Hap Day, Canadian ice hockey player, referee, and manager (d. 1990)
  • 1901 – Tom Gorman, Australian rugby league player (d. 1978)
  • 1901 – John Van Druten, English-American playwright and director (d. 1957)
  • 1903 – Vasyl Velychkovsky, Ukrainian-Canadian bishop and martyr (d. 1973)
  • 1903 – Hans Vogt, Norwegian linguist and academic (d. 1986)
  • 1905 – Robert Newton, English-American actor (d. 1956)
  • 1907 – Jan Patočka, Czech philosopher (d. 1977)
  • 1907 – Frank Whittle, English airman and engineer, developed the jet engine (d. 1996)
  • 1908 – Julie Campbell Tatham, American author (d. 1999)
  • 1909 – Yechezkel Kutscher, Slovakian-Israeli philologist and linguist (d. 1971)
  • 1910 – Gyula Kállai, Hungarian communist leader, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the People’s Republic of Hungary (d. 1996)
  • 1912 – Herbert Tichy, Austrian geologist, author, and mountaineer (d. 1987)
  • 1913 – Bill Deedes, English journalist and politician (d. 2007)
  • 1915 – John Randolph, American actor (d. 2004)
  • 1916 – Jean Jérôme Hamer, Belgian Cardinal (d. 1996)
  • 1917 – William Standish Knowles, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
  • 1920 – Robert Clarke, American actor and producer (d. 2005)
  • 1921 – Nelson Riddle, American composer and bandleader (d. 1985)
  • 1922 – Joan Caulfield, American model and actress (d. 1991)
  • 1922 – Povel Ramel, Swedish singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2007)
  • 1924 – William Sloane Coffin, American minister and activist (d. 2006)
  • 1925 – Dilia Díaz Cisneros, Venezuelan teacher (d. 2017)
  • 1926 – Johnny Berry, English footballer (d. 1994)
  • 1926 – Andy Griffith, American actor, singer, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
  • 1926 – Marilyn Monroe, American model and actress (d. 1962)
  • 1926 – George Robb, English international footballer and teacher (d. 2011)
  • 1926 – Richard Schweiker, American soldier and politician, 14th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (d. 2015)
  • 1928 – Georgy Dobrovolsky, Ukrainian pilot and astronaut (d. 1971)
  • 1928 – Steve Dodd, Australian actor and composer (d. 2014)
  • 1928 – Bob Monkhouse, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2003)
  • 1929 – Nargis, Indian actress (d. 1981)<ref”>Dilip Kumar (28 July 2014). Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow. Hay House, Inc. p. 137. ISBN 978-93-81398-96-8.</ref>
  • 1929 – James H. Billington, American academic and Thirteenth Librarian of Congress (d. 2018)
  • 1930 – John Lemmon, English logician and philosopher (d. 1966)
  • 1930 – Richard Levins, American ecologist and geneticist (d. 2016)
  • 1930 – Matt Poore, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2020)
  • 1930 – Edward Woodward, English actor (d. 2009)
  • 1931 – Walter Horak, Austrian footballer (d. 2019)
  • 1932 – Frank Cameron, New Zealand cricketer
  • 1932 – Christopher Lasch, American historian and critic (d. 1994)
  • 1933 – Haruo Remeliik, Palauan politician, 1st President of Palau (d. 1985)
  • 1933 – Charles Wilson, American lieutenant and politician (d. 2010)
  • 1934 – Pat Boone, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1934 – Peter Masterson, American actor, director, producer and screenwriter (d. 2018)
  • 1934 – Doris Buchanan Smith, American author (d. 2002)
  • 1935 – Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank, English architect, founded Foster and Partners
  • 1935 – Reverend Ike, American minister and television host (d. 2009)
  • 1935 – Jack Kralick, American baseball player (d. 2012)
  • 1935 – Percy Adlon, German director, screenwriter and producer
  • 1935 – John C. Reynolds, American computer scientist and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1936 – Anatoly Albul, Soviet and Russian wrestler (d. 2013)
  • 1936 – André Bourbeau, Canadian politician (d. 2018)
  • 1936 – Bekim Fehmiu, Bosnian actor (d. 2010)
  • 1936 – Gerald Scarfe, English illustrator and animator
  • 1937 – Morgan Freeman, American actor and producer
  • 1937 – Rosaleen Linehan, Irish actress
  • 1937 – Colleen McCullough, Australian neuroscientist and author (d. 2015)
  • 1939 – Cleavon Little, American actor and comedian (d. 1992)
  • 1940 – René Auberjonois, American actor (d. 2019)
  • 1940 – Katerina Gogou, Greek writer and actress (d. 1993)
  • 1940 – Kip Thorne, American physicist, astronomer, and academic
  • 1941 – Dean Chance, American baseball player and manager (d. 2015)
  • 1941 – Toyo Ito, Japanese architect, designed the Torre Realia BCN and Hotel Porta Fira
  • 1941 – Alexander V. Zakharov, Russian physicist and astronomer
  • 1942 – Parveen Kumar, Pakistani-English physician and academic
  • 1943 – Orietta Berti, Italian singer and actress
  • 1943 – Richard Goode, American pianist
  • 1943 – Lorrie Wilmot, South African cricketer (d. 2004)
  • 1944 – Colin Blakemore, British neurobiologist
  • 1944 – Robert Powell, English actor
  • 1945 – Jim McCarty, American blues rock guitarist
  • 1945 – Linda Scott, American singer
  • 1945 – Lydia Shum, Chinese-Hong Kong actress (d. 2008)
  • 1945 – Kerry Vincent, Australian chef and author
  • 1945 – Frederica von Stade, American soprano and actress
  • 1946 – Brian Cox, Scottish actor
  • 1947 – Ron Dennis, English businessman, founded the McLaren Group
  • 1947 – Jonathan Pryce, Welsh actor and singer
  • 1947 – Ronnie Wood, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1948 – Powers Boothe, American actor (d. 2017)
  • 1948 – Tomáš Halík, Czech Roman Catholic priest, philosopher, theologian and scholar
  • 1948 – Michel Plasse, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2006)
  • 1948 – Juhan Viiding, Estonian poet and actor (d. 1995)
  • 1950 – Perrin Beatty, Canadian businessman and politician
  • 1950 – Charlene, American singer-songwriter
  • 1950 – Jean Lambert, English educator and politician
  • 1950 – Michael McDowell, American author and screenwriter (d. 1999)
  • 1952 – Şenol Güneş, Turkish footballer and manager
  • 1952 – David Lan, South African-English director and playwright
  • 1952 – Mihaela Loghin, Romanian shot putter
  • 1953 – Ronnie Dunn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1953 – Ted Field, American entrepreneur and race car driver
  • 1954 – Jill Black, English lawyer and judge
  • 1955 – Chiyonofuji Mitsugu, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 2016)
  • 1955 – Lorraine Moller, New Zealand runner
  • 1955 – Tony Snow, American journalist, 26th White House Press Secretary (d. 2008)
  • 1956 – Patrick Besson, French writer and journalist
  • 1956 – Lisa Hartman Black, American actress
  • 1956 – Petra Morsbach, German author
  • 1958 – Nambaryn Enkhbayar, Mongolian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Mongolia
  • 1958 – Gennadiy Valyukevich, Belarusian triple jumper (d. 2019)
  • 1959 – Martin Brundle, English racing driver and sportscaster
  • 1959 – Alan Wilder, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
  • 1960 – Simon Gallup, English musician (The Cure)
  • 1960 – Vladimir Krutov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2012)
  • 1960 – Sergey Kuznetsov, Russian footballer and manager
  • 1960 – Giorgos Lillikas, Cypriot politician, 8th Cypriot Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1960 – Elena Mukhina, Russian gymnast (d. 2006)
  • 1961 – Paul Coffey, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1961 – Mark Curry, American actor
  • 1961 – Werner Günthör, Swiss shot putter and bobsledder
  • 1961 – John Huston, American golfer
  • 1961 – Peter Machajdík, Slovakian-German pianist and composer
  • 1963 – Vital Borkelmans, Belgian footballer
  • 1963 – Miles J. Padgett, Scottish physicist and academic
  • 1963 – David Westhead, English actor and producer
  • 1965 – Larisa Lazutina, Russian skier
  • 1965 – Olga Nazarova, Russian sprinter
  • 1965 – Nigel Short, English chess player and journalist
  • 1966 – Greg Schiano, American football player and coach
  • 1968 – Jason Donovan, Australian actor and singer
  • 1968 – Jeff Hackett, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1968 – Mathias Rust, German aviator
  • 1969 – Luis García Postigo, former Mexican footballer
  • 1969 – Teri Polo, American actress
  • 1970 – Georgie Gardner, Australian journalist and television host
  • 1970 – Alexi Lalas, American soccer player, manager, and sportscaster
  • 1971 – Mario Cimarro, Cuban-American actor and singer
  • 1973 – Frédérik Deburghgraeve, Belgian swimmer
  • 1973 – Adam Garcia, Australian actor
  • 1973 – Derek Lowe, American baseball player
  • 1973 – Heidi Klum, German-American model, fashion designer, and producer
  • 1974 – Alanis Morissette, Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actress
  • 1974 – Michael Rasmussen, Danish cyclist
  • 1974 – Sarah Teather, English politician
  • 1974 – Akis Zikos, Greek footballer and coach
  • 1975 – Michal Grošek, Czech-Swiss ice hockey player and coach
  • 1975 – Frauke Petry, German politician
  • 1975 – Ēriks Rags, Latvian javelin thrower
  • 1976 – Marlon Devonish, English sprinter and coach
  • 1976 – Kōhei Murakami, Japanese actor
  • 1977 – Andrea Bogart, American actress
  • 1977 – Arsen Gitinov, Russian and Kyrgyzstani freestyle wrestler
  • 1977 – Danielle Harris, American actress
  • 1977 – Brad Wilkerson, American baseball player and coach
  • 1977 – Sarah Wayne Callies, American actress
  • 1978 – Antonietta Di Martino, Italian high jumper
  • 1978 – Matthew Hittinger, American poet and author
  • 1979 – Santana Moss, American football player
  • 1979 – Markus Persson, Swedish game designer, founded Mojang
  • 1981 – Brandi Carlile, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1981 – Amy Schumer, American actress
  • 1981 – Carlos Zambrano, Venezuelan-American baseball player
  • 1981 – Aleksei Mikhailovich Uvarov, Russian footballer
  • 1982 – Justine Henin, Belgian tennis player
  • 1983 – Tetyana Hamera-Shmyrko, Ukrainian runner
  • 1983 – Tõnis Sahk, Estonian long jumper
  • 1984 – Jean Beausejour, Chilean footballer
  • 1984 – Olivier Tielemans, Dutch racing driver
  • 1985 – Tirunesh Dibaba, Ethiopian runner
  • 1985 – Mário Hipólito, Angolan footballer
  • 1985 – Dinesh Karthik, Indian cricketer
  • 1985 – Nick Young, American basketball player
  • 1985 – Sam Young, American basketball player
  • 1986 – Moses Ndiema Masai, Kenyan runner
  • 1986 – Chinedu Obasi, Nigerian footballer
  • 1986 – Ben Smith, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1987 – Zoltán Harsányi, Slovakian footballer
  • 1987 – Jerel McNeal, American basketball player
  • 1987 – Yarisley Silva, Cuban pole vaulter
  • 1988 – Javier Hernández, Mexican footballer
  • 1989 – Nataliya Goncharova, Ukrainian/Russian volleyball player
  • 1989 – Sammy Alex Mutahi, Kenyan runner
  • 1990 – Miller Bolaños, Ecuadoran footballer
  • 1990 – Kennie Chopart, Danish footballer
  • 1990 – Carlota Ciganda, Spanish golfer
  • 1990 – Martin Pembleton, English footballer
  • 1990 – Bianca Perie, Romanian hammer thrower
  • 1991 – Tyrone Roberts, Australian rugby league player
  • 1993 – Sam Anas, American ice hockey player
  • 1994 – Kagayaki Taishi, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1996 – Edvinas Gertmonas, Lithuanian footballer
  • 1996 – Tom Holland, English actor
  • 1999 – Dmitri Aliev, Russian figure skater

Deaths on June 1

  • 195 BC – Emperor Gaozu of Han (b. 256 BC)
  • 193 – Didius Julianus, Roman Emperor (b. 133)
  • 352 – Ran Min, “Heavenly Prince” (Tian Wang) during the Sixteen Kingdoms
  • 654 – Pyrrhus, patriarch of Constantinople
  • 829 – Li Tongjie, general of the Tang Dynasty
  • 847 – Xiao, empress of the Tang Dynasty
  • 896 – Theodosius Romanus, Syriac Orthodox patriarch of Antioch
  • 932 – Thietmar, duke of Saxony
  • 1146 – Ermengarde of Anjou, Duchess regent of Brittany (b. 1068)
  • 1186 – Minamoto no Yukiie, Japanese warlord
  • 1220 – Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford (b. 1176)
  • 1310 – Marguerite Porete, French mystic
  • 1354 – Kitabatake Chikafusa (b. 1293)
  • 1434 – King Wladislaus II of Poland
  • 1571 – John Story, English martyr (b. 1504)
  • 1616 – Tokugawa Ieyasu, Japanese shogun (b. 1543)
  • 1625 – Honoré d’Urfé, French author and poet (b. 1568)
  • 1639 – Melchior Franck, German composer (b. 1579)
  • 1660 – Mary Dyer, English-American martyr (b. 1611)
  • 1662 – Zhu Youlang, Chinese emperor (b. 1623)
  • 1681 – Cornelis Saftleven, Dutch genre painter (b. 1607)
  • 1710 – David Mitchell, Scottish admiral and politician (b. 1642)
  • 1740 – Samuel Werenfels, Swiss theologian (b. 1657)
  • 1769 – Edward Holyoke, American pastor and academic (b. 1689)
  • 1773 – Wolraad Woltemade, South African folk hero (b. 1708)
  • 1795 – Pierre-Joseph Desault, French anatomist and surgeon (b. 1744)
  • 1815 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier, French general and politician, French Minister of War (b. 1753)
  • 1823 – Louis-Nicolas Davout, French general and politician, French Minister of War (b. 1770)
  • 1826 – J. F. Oberlin, French pastor and philanthropist (b. 1740)
  • 1830 – Swaminarayan, Indian religious leader (b. 1781)
  • 1833 – Oliver Wolcott Jr., American lawyer and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of the Treasury, 24th Governor of Connecticut (b. 1760)
  • 1841 – David Wilkie, Scottish painter and academic (b. 1785)
  • 1846 – Pope Gregory XVI (b. 1765)
  • 1861 – John Quincy Marr, American captain (b. 1825)
  • 1864 – Hong Xiuquan, Chinese rebel, led the Taiping Rebellion (b. 1812)
  • 1868 – James Buchanan, American lawyer and politician, 15th President of the United States (b. 1791)
  • 1872 – James Gordon Bennett, Sr., American publisher, founded the New York Herald (b. 1795)
  • 1873 – Joseph Howe, Canadian journalist and politician, 5th Premier of Nova Scotia (b. 1804)
  • 1876 – Hristo Botev, Bulgarian poet and journalist (b. 1848)
  • 1879 – Napoléon, Prince Imperial of France (b. 1856)
  • 1908 – Allen Butler Talcott, American painter (b. 1867)
  • 1927 – Lizzie Borden, American accused murderer (b. 1860)
  • 1927 – J. B. Bury, Irish historian, philologist, and scholar (b. 1861)
  • 1934 – Sir Alfred Rawlinson, 3rd Baronet, English colonel and polo player (b. 1867)
  • 1935 – Arthur Arz von Straußenburg, Romanian-Hungarian general (d. 1857)
  • 1938 – Ödön von Horváth, Croatian-French author and playwright (b. 1901)
  • 1941 – Hans Berger, German neurologist and academic (b. 1873)
  • 1941 – Hugh Walpole, New Zealand-English author (b. 1884)
  • 1943 – Leslie Howard, English actor, director, and producer (b. 1893)
  • 1943 – Wilfrid Israel, English-German businessman and philanthropist (b. 1899)
  • 1946 – Ion Antonescu, Romanian marshal and politician, 43rd Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1882)
  • 1948 – Alex Gard, Russian-American cartoonist (b. 1900)
  • 1952 – John Dewey, American psychologist and philosopher (b. 1859)
  • 1953 – Emanuel Vidović, Croatian painter and illustrator (b. 1870)
  • 1954 – Martin Andersen Nexø, Danish-German journalist and author (b. 1869)
  • 1960 – Lester Patrick, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1883)
  • 1960 – Paula Hitler, German-Austrian sister of Adolf Hitler (b. 1896)
  • 1962 – Adolf Eichmann, a German Nazi SS-Obersturmbannführer (b. 1906)
  • 1963 – Walter Lee, Australian politician, 24th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1874)
  • 1965 – Curly Lambeau, American football player and coach, founded the Green Bay Packers (b. 1898)
  • 1966 – Papa Jack Laine, American drummer and bandleader (b. 1873)
  • 1968 – Helen Keller, American author and activist (b. 1880)
  • 1968 – André Laurendeau, Canadian playwright, journalist, and politician (b. 1912)
  • 1969 – Ivar Ballangrud, Norwegian speed skater (b. 1904)
  • 1971 – Reinhold Niebuhr, American theologian and academic (b. 1892)
  • 1979 – Werner Forssmann, German physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
  • 1980 – Arthur Nielsen, American businessman, founded the ACNielsen company (b. 1897)
  • 1981 – Carl Vinson, American lawyer and politician (b. 1883)
  • 1983 – Prince Charles, Count of Flanders (b. 1903)
  • 1985 – Richard Greene, English actor and soldier (b. 1918)
  • 1986 – Jo Gartner, Austrian racing driver (b. 1958)
  • 1987 – Rashid Karami, Lebanese lawyer and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Lebanon (b. 1921)
  • 1988 – Herbert Feigl, Austrian philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1902)
  • 1989 – Aurelio Lampredi, Italian engineer, designed the Ferrari Lampredi engine (b. 1917)
  • 1991 – David Ruffin, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
  • 1996 – Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, Indian politician, 6th President of India (b. 1913)
  • 1999 – Christopher Cockerell, English engineer, invented the hovercraft (b. 1910)
  • 2000 – Tito Puente, American drummer, composer, and producer (b. 1923)
  • 2001 – Hank Ketcham, American cartoonist, created Dennis the Menace (b. 1920)
  • 2001 – notable victims of the Nepalese royal massacre
    • Aishwarya of Nepal (b. 1949)
    • Birendra of Nepal (b. 1945)
    • Dhirendra of Nepal (b. 1950)
    • Prince Nirajan of Nepal (b. 1978)
    • Princess Shruti of Nepal (b. 1976)
  • 2002 – Hansie Cronje, South African cricketer (b. 1969)
  • 2004 – William Manchester, American historian and author (b. 1922)
  • 2005 – Hilda Crosby Standish, American physician (b. 1902)
  • 2005 – George Mikan, American basketball player and coach (b. 1924)
  • 2006 – Rocío Jurado, Spanish singer and actress (b. 1944)
  • 2007 – Tony Thompson, American singer and songwriter (Hi-Five) (b. 1975)
  • 2008 – Tommy Lapid, Israeli journalist and politician, 17th Justice Minister of Israel (b. 1931)
  • 2008 – Yves Saint Laurent, French fashion designer, founded Saint Laurent Paris (b. 1936)
  • 2009 – Bob Christie, American race car driver (b. 1924)
  • 2009 – Vincent O’Brien, Irish horse trainer (b. 1917)
  • 2010 – Kazuo Ohno, Japanese dancer (b. 1906)
  • 2010 – Andrei Voznesensky, Russian poet (b. 1933)
  • 2011 – Haleh Sahabi, Iranian humanitarian and activist (b. 1957)
  • 2012 – Faruq Z. Bey, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1942)
  • 2012 – Pádraig Faulkner, Irish educator and politician, 19th Irish Minister of Defence (b. 1918)
  • 2012 – Milan Gaľa, Slovak politician (b. 1953)
  • 2013 – James Kelleher, Canadian lawyer and politician, 33rd Solicitor General of Canada (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – Ann B. Davis, American actress (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – Valentin Mankin, Ukrainian sailor (b. 1938)
  • 2015 – Charles Kennedy, Scottish journalist and politician (b. 1959)
  • 2015 – Joan Kirner, Australian educator and politician, 42nd Premier of Victoria (b. 1938)
  • 2015 – Nicholas Liverpool, Dominican lawyer and politician, 6th President of Dominica (b. 1934)
  • 2015 – Jacques Parizeau, Canadian economist and politician, 26th Premier of Quebec (b. 1930)
  • 2015 – Jean Ritchie, American singer-songwriter (b. 1922)
  • 2018 – Sinan Sakić, Serbian pop-folk singer (b. 1956)
  • 2019 – Ani Yudhoyono, Indonesian politician, 6th First Lady of Indonesia. (b. 1952)

Holidays and observances on June 1

  • Children’s Day (International), and its related observances:
    • The Day of Protection of Children Rights (Armenia)
    • Mothers’ and Children’s Day (Mongolia)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Annibale Maria di Francia
    • Crescentinus
    • Fortunatus of Spoleto
    • Herculanus of Piegaro
    • Íñigo of Oña
    • Justin Martyr (Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran)
    • Ronan of Locronan
    • June 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Canadian Forces Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Canada)
  • Earliest day on which Father’s Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Lithuania)
  • Earliest day on which June Holiday can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in June. (Ireland)
  • Earliest day on which Labour Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Friday in June. (The Bahamas)
  • Earliest day on which Teacher’s Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Hungary)
  • Earliest day on which the Queen’s Birthday can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in June. (New Zealand, Cook Islands, Fiji)
  • Earliest day on which Seamen’s Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Iceland)
  • Earliest day on which Western Australia Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Western Australia)
  • Global Day of Parents (International)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Samoa from New Zealand in 1962.
  • Madaraka Day (Kenya)
  • National Maritime Day (Mexico)
  • National Tree Planting Day (Cambodia)
  • Pancasila Day (Indonesia)
  • President’s Day (Palau)
  • The beginning of Crop over, celebrated until the first Monday of August. (Barbados)
  • Victory Day (Tunisia)
  • World Milk Day (International)

June 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

May 28 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 585 BC – A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by the Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of Halys, leading to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from which other dates can be calculated.
  • 621 – Battle of Hulao: Li Shimin, the son of the Chinese emperor Gaozu, defeats the numerically superior forces of Dou Jiande near the Hulao Pass (Henan). This victory decides the outcome of the civil war that followed the Sui dynasty’s collapse in favour of the Tang dynasty.
  • 1533 – The Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, declares the marriage of King Henry VIII of England to Anne Boleyn valid.
  • 1588 – The Spanish Armada, with 130 ships and 30,000 men, sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal, heading for the English Channel. (It will take until May 30 for all ships to leave port.)
  • 1644 – English Civil War: Bolton Massacre by Royalist troops under the command of James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby.
  • 1754 – French and Indian War: In the first engagement of the war, Virginia militia under the 22-year-old Lieutenant colonel George Washington defeat a French reconnaissance party in the Battle of Jumonville Glen in what is now Fayette County in southwestern Pennsylvania.
  • 1802 – In Guadeloupe, 400 rebellious slaves, led by Louis Delgrès, blow themselves up rather than submit to Napoleon’s troops.
  • 1830 – U.S. President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act which denies Native Americans their land rights and forcibly relocates them.
  • 1871 – The Paris Commune falls after two months.
  • 1892 – In San Francisco, John Muir organizes the Sierra Club.
  • 1905 – Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Tsushima ends with the destruction of the Russian Baltic Fleet by Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō and the Imperial Japanese Navy.
  • 1907 – The first Isle of Man TT race was held.
  • 1918 – The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the First Republic of Armenia declare their independence.
  • 1926 – The 28 May 1926 coup d’état: Ditadura Nacional is established in Portugal to suppress the unrest of the First Republic.
  • 1932 – In the Netherlands, construction of the Afsluitdijk is completed and the Zuiderzee bay is converted to the freshwater IJsselmeer.
  • 1934 – Near Callander, Ontario, Canada, the Dionne quintuplets are born to Oliva and Elzire Dionne; they will be the first quintuplets to survive infancy.
  • 1936 – Alan Turing submits On Computable Numbers for publication.
  • 1937 – Volkswagen, the German automobile manufacturer is founded.
  • 1940 – World War II: Belgium surrenders to Nazi Germany to end the Battle of Belgium.
  • 1940 – World War II: Norwegian, French, Polish and British forces recapture Narvik in Norway. This is the first allied infantry victory of the War.
  • 1948 – Daniel François Malan is elected as Prime Minister of South Africa. He later goes on to implement Apartheid.
  • 1958 – Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro’s 26th of July Movement, heavily reinforced by Frank Pais Militia, overwhelm an army post in El Uvero.
  • 1961 – Peter Benenson’s article The Forgotten Prisoners is published in several internationally read newspapers. This will later be thought of as the founding of the human rights organization Amnesty International.
  • 1974 – Northern Ireland’s power-sharing Sunningdale Agreement collapses following a general strike by loyalists.
  • 1975 – Fifteen West African countries sign the Treaty of Lagos, creating the Economic Community of West African States.
  • 1977 – In Southgate, Kentucky, the Beverly Hills Supper Club is engulfed in fire, killing 165 people inside.
  • 1979 – Konstantinos Karamanlis signs the full treaty of the accession of Greece with the European Economic Community.
  • 1987 – A West German pilot, Mathias Rust, who was 18 years old, evades Soviet Union air defences and lands a private plane in the Red Square in Moscow, Russia.
  • 1991 – The capital city of Addis Ababa falls to the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, ending both the Derg regime in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Civil War.
  • 1995 – The 7.0 Mw  Neftegorsk earthquake shook the former Russian settlement of Neftegorsk with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Total damage was $64.1–300 million, with 1,989 deaths and 750 injured. The settlement was not rebuilt.
  • 1996 – U.S. President Bill Clinton’s former business partners in the Whitewater land deal, Jim McDougal and Susan McDougal, and the Governor of Arkansas Jim Guy Tucker, are convicted of fraud.
  • 1998 – Nuclear testing: Pakistan responds to a series of nuclear tests by India with five of its own codenamed Chagai-I, prompting the United States, Japan, and other nations to impose economic sanctions. Pakistan celebrates Youm-e-Takbir annually.
  • 1999 – In Milan, Italy, after 22 years of restoration work, Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece The Last Supper is put back on display.
  • 2002 – The last steel girder is removed from the original World Trade Center site. Cleanup duties officially end with closing ceremonies at Ground Zero in Manhattan, New York City.
  • 2003 – Peter Hollingworth resigns as Governor-General of Australia following criticism of his handling of child sexual abuse allegations during his tenure as Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane.
  • 2004 – The Iraqi Governing Council chooses Ayad Allawi, a longtime anti-Saddam Hussein exile, as prime minister of Iraq’s interim government.
  • 2008 – The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly of Nepal formally declares Nepal a republic, ending the 240-year reign of the Shah dynasty.
  • 2010 – In West Bengal, India, the Jnaneswari Express train derailment and subsequent collision kills 148 passengers.
  • 2011 – Malta votes on the introduction of divorce; the proposal was approved by 53% of voters, resulting in a law allowing divorce under certain conditions being enacted later in the year.

Births on May 28

  • 1140 – Xin Qiji, Chinese poet, general, and politician (d. 1207)
  • 1371 – John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1419)
  • 1524 – Selim II, Ottoman sultan (d. 1574)
  • 1588 – Pierre Séguier, French politician, Lord Chancellor of France (d. 1672)
  • 1589 – Robert Arnauld d’Andilly, French writer (d. 1674)
  • 1663 – António Manoel de Vilhena, Grand Master of the Order of Saint John (d. 1736)
  • 1676 – Jacopo Riccati, Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1754)
  • 1692 – Geminiano Giacomelli, Italian composer (d. 1740)
  • 1738 – Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, French physician (d. 1814)
  • 1759 – William Pitt the Younger, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1806)
  • 1763 – Manuel Alberti, Argentinian priest and journalist (d. 1811)
  • 1764 – Edward Livingston, American jurist and politician, 11th United States Secretary of State (d. 1836)
  • 1779 – Thomas Moore, Irish poet and composer (d. 1852)
  • 1807 – Louis Agassiz, Swiss-American paleontologist and geologist (d. 1873)
  • 1818 – P. G. T. Beauregard, American general (d. 1893)
  • 1836 – Friedrich Baumfelder, German pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1916)
  • 1836 – Alexander Mitscherlich, German chemist and academic (d. 1918)
  • 1837 – George Ashlin, Irish architect, co-designed St Colman’s Cathedral (d. 1921)
  • 1837 – Tony Pastor, American impresario, variety performer and theatre owner (d. 1908)
  • 1841 – Sakaigawa Namiemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 14th Yokozuna (d. 1887)
  • 1853 – Carl Larsson, Swedish painter and author (d. 1919)
  • 1858 – Carl Richard Nyberg, Swedish inventor and businessman, developed the blow torch (d. 1939)
  • 1872 – Marian Smoluchowski, Polish physicist and mountaineer (d. 1917)
  • 1878 – Paul Pelliot, French sinologist and explorer (d. 1945)
  • 1879 – Milutin Milanković, Serbian mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist (d. 1958)
  • 1883 – Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Indian poet and politician (d. 1966)
  • 1883 – Clough Williams-Ellis, English-Welsh architect, designed the Portmeirion Village (d. 1978)
  • 1884 – Edvard Beneš, Czech academic and politician, 2nd President of Czechoslovakia (d. 1948)
  • 1886 – Santo Trafficante, Sr., Italian-American mobster (d. 1954)
  • 1888 – Kaarel Eenpalu, Estonian journalist and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Estonia (d. 1942)
  • 1888 – Vivienne Haigh-Wood Eliot, English author and educator (d. 1947)
  • 1888 – Jim Thorpe, American decathlete, football player, and coach (d. 1953)
  • 1889 – Richard Réti, Slovak-Czech chess player and author (d. 1929)
  • 1892 – Minna Gombell, American actress (d. 1973)
  • 1900 – Tommy Ladnier, American trumpet player (d. 1939)
  • 1903 – S. L. Kirloskar, Indian businessman, founded Kirloskar Group (d. 1994)
  • 1906 – Henry Thambiah, Sri Lankan lawyer, judge, and diplomat, Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Canada (d. 1997)
  • 1908 – Léo Cadieux, Canadian journalist and politician, 17th Canadian Minister of National Defence (d. 2005)
  • 1908 – Ian Fleming, English journalist and author, created James Bond (d. 1964)
  • 1909 – Red Horner, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2005)
  • 1910 – Georg Gaßmann, German politician, Mayor of Marburg (d. 1987)
  • 1910 – Rachel Kempson, English actress (d. 2003)
  • 1910 – T-Bone Walker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1975)
  • 1911 – Bob Crisp, South African cricketer (d. 1994)
  • 1911 – Thora Hird, English actress (d. 2003)
  • 1911 – Fritz Hochwälder, Austrian playwright (d. 1986)
  • 1912 – Herman Johannes, Indonesian scientist, academic, and politician (d. 1992)
  • 1912 – Ruby Payne-Scott, Australian physicist and astronomer (d. 1981)
  • 1912 – Patrick White, Australian novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1990)
  • 1914 – W. G. G. Duncan Smith, English captain and pilot (d. 1996)
  • 1915 – Joseph Greenberg, American linguist and academic (d. 2001)
  • 1916 – Walker Percy, American novelist and essayist (d. 1990)
  • 1917 – Barry Commoner, American biologist, academic, and politician (d. 2012)
  • 1918 – Johnny Wayne, Canadian comedian (d. 1990)
  • 1921 – D. V. Paluskar, Indian Hindustani classical musician (d. 1955)
  • 1921 – Heinz G. Konsalik, German journalist and author (d. 1999)
  • 1921 – Tom Uren, Australian soldier, boxer, and politician (d. 2015)
  • 1922 – Lou Duva, American boxer, trainer, and manager (d. 2017)
  • 1922 – Roger Fisher, American author and academic (d. 2012)
  • 1922 – Tuomas Gerdt, Finnish soldier
  • 1923 – György Ligeti, Hungarian-Austrian composer and educator (d. 2006)
  • 1923 – N. T. Rama Rao, Indian actor, director, producer, and politician, 10th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (d. 1996)
  • 1924 – Edward du Cann, English naval officer and politician (d. 2017)
  • 1924 – Paul Hébert, Canadian actor (d. 2017)
  • 1925 – Bülent Ecevit, Turkish journalist, scholar, and politician, 16th Prime Minister of Turkey (d. 2006)
  • 1925 – Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, German opera singer and conductor (d. 2012)
  • 1928 – Sally Forrest, American actress and dancer (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – Patrick McNair-Wilson, English politician
  • 1930 – Edward Seaga, American-Jamaican academic and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Jamaica (d. 2019)
  • 1931 – Carroll Baker, American actress
  • 1931 – Gordon Willis, American cinematographer (d. 2014)
  • 1932 – Tim Renton, Baron Renton of Mount Harry, English politician, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries
  • 1933 – John Karlen, American actor
  • 1933 – Zelda Rubinstein, American actress and activist (d. 2010)
  • 1936 – Claude Forget, Canadian academic and politician
  • 1936 – Ole K. Sara, Norwegian politician (d. 2013)
  • 1936 – Betty Shabazz, American educator and activist (d. 1997)
  • 1938 – Jerry West, American basketball player, coach, and executive
  • 1939 – Maeve Binchy, Irish novelist (d. 2012)
  • 1940 – David William Brewer, English politician, Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London
  • 1940 – Shlomo Riskin, American rabbi and academic, founded the Lincoln Square Synagogue
  • 1941 – Beth Howland, American actress and singer (d. 2015)
  • 1942 – Stanley B. Prusiner, American neurologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1943 – Terry Crisp, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1944 – Faith Brown, English actress and singer
  • 1944 – Rudy Giuliani, American lawyer and politician, 107th mayor of New York City
  • 1944 – Gladys Knight, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1944 – Rita MacNeil, Canadian singer and actress (d. 2013)
  • 1944 – Gary Stewart, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
  • 1944 – Billy Vera, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1945 – Patch Adams, American physician and author, founded the Gesundheit! Institute
  • 1945 – John N. Bambacus, American military veteran (USMC) and politician
  • 1945 – John Fogerty, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1945 – Jean Perrault, Canadian politician, Mayor of Sherbrooke, Quebec
  • 1945 – Helena Shovelton, English physician
  • 1946 – Bruce Alexander, English actor
  • 1946 – Skip Jutze, American baseball player
  • 1946 – Janet Paraskeva, Welsh politician
  • 1946 – K. Satchidanandan, Indian poet and critic
  • 1946 – William Shawcross, English journalist and author
  • 1947 – Zahi Hawass, Egyptian archaeologist and academic
  • 1947 – Lynn Johnston, Canadian author and illustrator
  • 1947 – Leland Sklar, American singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1948 – Michael Field, Australian politician, 38th Premier of Tasmania
  • 1948 – Pierre Rapsat, Belgian singer and songwriter (d. 2002)
  • 1949 – Martin Kelner, English journalist, author, comedian, singer, actor and radio presenter
  • 1949 – Wendy O. Williams, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress (d. 1998)
  • 1952 – Roger Briggs, American pianist, composer, conductor, and educator
  • 1953 – Pierre Gauthier, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
  • 1954 – João Carlos de Oliveira, Brazilian jumper (d. 1999)
  • 1954 – Youri Egorov, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1988)
  • 1954 – Charles Saumarez Smith, English historian and academic
  • 1954 – Péter Szilágyi, Hungarian conductor and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1954 – John Tory, Canadian lawyer and politician, 65th Mayor of Toronto
  • 1955 – Laura Amy Schlitz, American author and librarian
  • 1955 – Mark Howe, American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1956 – Jerry Douglas, American guitarist and producer
  • 1956 – Jeff Dujon, Jamaican cricketer
  • 1956 – Markus Höttinger, Austrian racing driver (d. 1980)
  • 1956 – Peter Wilkinson, English admiral
  • 1957 – Colin Barnes, English footballer
  • 1957 – Kirk Gibson, American baseball player and manager
  • 1957 – Ben Howland, American basketball player and coach
  • 1959 – Risto Mannisenmäki, Finnish racing driver
  • 1960 – Mark Sanford, American military veteran (USAF) and politician, 115th Governor of South Carolina
  • 1960 – Mary Portas, English journalist and author
  • 1963 – Houman Younessi, Australian-American biologist and academic
  • 1964 – Jeff Fenech, Australian boxer and trainer
  • 1964 – Armen Gilliam, American basketball player and coach (d. 2011)
  • 1964 – Zsa Zsa Padilla, Filipino singer and actress
  • 1964 – Phil Vassar, American singer-songwriter
  • 1965 – Chris Ballew, American singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1965 – Mary Coughlan, Irish politician
  • 1966 – Roger Kumble, American director, screenwriter, and playwright
  • 1966 – Miljenko Jergović, Bosnian novelist and journalist
  • 1966 – Gavin Robertson, Australian cricketer
  • 1967 – Glen Rice, American basketball player
  • 1968 – Kylie Minogue, Australian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
  • 1969 – Mike DiFelice, American baseball player and manager
  • 1969 – Rob Ford, Canadian politician, 64th Mayor of Toronto (d. 2016)
  • 1970 – Glenn Quinn, American actor (d. 2002)
  • 1971 – Isabelle Carré, French actress and singer
  • 1971 – Ekaterina Gordeeva, Russian figure skater and sportscaster
  • 1971 – Marco Rubio, American lawyer and politician
  • 1972 – Doriva, Brazilian footballer and manager
  • 1972 – Michael Boogerd, Dutch cyclist and manager
  • 1973 – Marco Paulo Faria Lemos, Portuguese footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Hans-Jörg Butt, German footballer
  • 1974 – Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistani cricketer
  • 1975 – Maura Johnston, American journalist, critic, and academic
  • 1976 – Steven Bell, Australian rugby league player
  • 1976 – Zaza Enden, Georgian-Turkish wrestler, basketball player, and coach
  • 1976 – Roberto Goretti, Italian footballer
  • 1976 – Glenn Morrison, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1977 – Elisabeth Hasselbeck, American talk show host and author
  • 1978 – Jake Johnson, American actor
  • 1979 – Abdulaziz al-Omari, Saudi Arabian terrorist, hijacker of American Airlines Flight 11 (d. 2001)
  • 1979 – Ronald Curry, American football player and coach
  • 1980 – Miguel Pérez, Spanish footballer
  • 1980 – Lucy Shuker, English tennis player
  • 1981 – Daniel Cabrera, Dominican-American baseball player
  • 1981 – Eric Ghiaciuc, American football player
  • 1981 – Adam Green, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1982 – Alexa Davalos, French-American actress
  • 1982 – Jhonny Peralta, Dominican-American baseball player
  • 1983 – Steve Cronin, American soccer player
  • 1983 – Humberto Sánchez, Dominican-American baseball player
  • 1983 – Roman Atwood, American YouTube star
  • 1985 – Colbie Caillat, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1985 – Pablo Andrés González, Argentinian footballer
  • 1985 – Kostas Mendrinos, Greek footballer
  • 1985 – Carey Mulligan, English actress and singer
  • 1986 – Berrick Barnes, Australian rugby player
  • 1986 – Seth Rollins, American wrestler
  • 1986 – Ingmar Vos, Dutch decathlete
  • 1987 – T.J. Yates, American football player
  • 1988 – NaVorro Bowman, American football player
  • 1988 – Percy Harvin, American football player
  • 1988 – Craig Kimbrel, American baseball player
  • 1990 – Kyle Walker, English international footballer, right-back
  • 1991 – Sharrif Floyd, American football player
  • 1991 – Alexandre Lacazette, French footballer
  • 1991 – Kail Piho, Estonian skier
  • 1992 – Tom Carroll, English footballer
  • 1993 – Daniel Alvaro, Australian rugby league player
  • 1993 – Bárbara Luz, Portuguese tennis player
  • 1994 – John Stones, English footballer
  • 1994 – Son Yeon-jae, South Korean gymnast
  • 1998 – Dahyun, Korean singer
  • 1999 – Cameron Boyce, American actor (d. 2019)
  • 2000 – Phil Foden, English footballer

Deaths on May 28

  • 576 – Germain of Paris, French bishop and saint (b. 496)
  • 741 – Ucha’an K’in B’alam, Mayan king
  • 926 – Kong Qian, official of Later Tang
  • 926 – Li Jiji, prince of Later Tang
  • 1023 – Wulfstan, English archbishop
  • 1279 – William Wishart, English bishop
  • 1327 – Robert Baldock, Lord Privy Seal and Lord Chancellor of England
  • 1357 – Afonso IV of Portugal (b. 1291)
  • 1427 – Henry IV, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg (b. 1397)
  • 1556 – Saitō Dōsan, Japanese samurai (b. 1494)
  • 1626 – Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk (b. 1561)
  • 1651 – Henry Grey, 10th Earl of Kent, English politician (b. 1594)
  • 1672 – John Trevor, Welsh politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (b. 1626)
  • 1747 – Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues, French author (b. 1715)
  • 1750 – Emperor Sakuramachi of Japan (b. 1720)
  • 1787 – Leopold Mozart, Austrian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1719)
  • 1805 – Luigi Boccherini, Italian cellist and composer (b. 1743)
  • 1808 – Richard Hurd, English bishop (b. 1720)
  • 1811 – Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, Scottish lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for War (b. 1742)
  • 1831 – William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk, Scottish-English admiral (b. 1756)
  • 1843 – Noah Webster, American lexicographer (b. 1758)
  • 1849 – Anne Brontë, English novelist and poet (b. 1820)
  • 1864 – Simion Bărnuțiu, Romanian historian and politician (b. 1808)
  • 1878 – John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1792)
  • 1904 – Kicking Bear, Native American tribal leader (b. 1846)
  • 1916 – Ivan Franko, Ukrainian economist, journalist, and poet (b. 1856)
  • 1927 – Boris Kustodiev, Russian painter and stage designer (b. 1878)
  • 1937 – Alfred Adler, Austrian-Scottish ophthalmologist and psychologist (b. 1870)
  • 1946 – Carter Glass, American publisher and politician, 47th United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1858)
  • 1947 – August Eigruber, Austrian-German politician (b. 1907)
  • 1952 – Philippe Desranleau, Canadian archbishop (b. 1882)
  • 1953 – Tatsuo Hori, Japanese author and poet (b. 1904)
  • 1964 – Terry Dillon, American football player (b. 1941)
  • 1968 – Fyodor Okhlopkov, Russian sergeant and sniper (b. 1908)
  • 1971 – Audie Murphy, American soldier and actor, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1925)
  • 1972 – Edward VIII of the United Kingdom (b. 1894)
  • 1975 – Ezzard Charles, American boxer (b. 1921)
  • 1976 – Zainul Abedin, Bangladeshi painter and sculptor (b. 1914)
  • 1980 – Rolf Nevanlinna, Finnish mathematician and academic (b. 1895)
  • 1981 – Mary Lou Williams, American pianist and composer (b. 1910)
  • 1981 – Stefan Wyszyński, Polish cardinal (b. 1901)
  • 1982 – H. Jones, English colonel, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1940)
  • 1983 – Erastus Corning 2nd, American soldier and politician, 72nd Mayor of Albany (b. 1909)
  • 1984 – Eric Morecambe, English actor and comedian (b. 1926)
  • 1986 – Edip Cansever, Turkish poet and author (b. 1928)
  • 1988 – Sy Oliver, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (b. 1910)
  • 1990 – Julius Eastman, American composer (b. 1940)
  • 1994 – Julius Boros, American golfer (b. 1920)
  • 1994 – Ely Jacques Kahn, Jr., American author and academic (b. 1916)
  • 1998 – Phil Hartman, Canadian-American actor and comedian (b. 1948)
  • 1999 – Michael Barkai, Israeli commander (b. 1935)
  • 1999 – B. Vittalacharya, Indian director and producer (b. 1920)
  • 2000 – George Irving Bell, American physicist, biologist, and mountaineer (b. 1926)
  • 2001 – Joe Moakley, American lawyer and politician (b. 1927)
  • 2001 – Francisco Varela, Chilean biologist and philosopher (b. 1946)
  • 2002 – Mildred Benson, American journalist and author (b. 1905)
  • 2003 – Oleg Grigoryevich Makarov, Russian engineer and astronaut (b. 1933)
  • 2003 – Ilya Prigogine, Russian-Belgian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
  • 2003 – Martha Scott, American actress (b. 1912)
  • 2004 – Umberto Agnelli, Swiss-Italian businessman and politician (b. 1934)
  • 2004 – Michael Buonauro, American author and illustrator (b. 1979)
  • 2004 – John Tolos, Greek-Canadian wrestler (b. 1930)
  • 2006 – Thorleif Schjelderup, Norwegian ski jumper and author (b. 1920)
  • 2007 – Jörg Immendorff, German painter, sculptor, and academic (b. 1945)
  • 2007 – Toshikatsu Matsuoka, Japanese politician, Japanese Minister of Agriculture (b. 1945)
  • 2008 – Beryl Cook, English painter and illustrator (b. 1926)
  • 2010 – Gary Coleman, American actor (b. 1968)
  • 2011 – Gino Valenzano, Italian racing driver (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Bob Edwards, English journalist (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Yuri Susloparov, Ukrainian-Russian footballer and manager (b. 1958)
  • 2013 – Viktor Kulikov, Russian commander (b. 1921)
  • 2013 – Eddie Romero, Filipino director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Gerd Schmückle, German general (b. 1917)
  • 2014 – Maya Angelou, American memoirist and poet (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – Stan Crowther, English footballer (b. 1935)
  • 2014 – Oscar Dystel, American publisher (b. 1912)
  • 2014 – Malcolm Glazer, American businessman (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – Bob Houbregs, Canadian-American basketball player and manager (b. 1932)
  • 2014 – Isaac Kungwane, South African footballer (b. 1971)
  • 2015 – Steven Gerber, American pianist and composer (b. 1948)
  • 2015 – Johnny Keating, Scottish trombonist, composer, and producer (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – Reynaldo Rey, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1940)
  • 2018 – Neale Cooper, Scottish footballer (b. 1963)
  • 2018 – Jens Christian Skou, Danish medical doctor and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
  • 2018 – Cornelia Frances, English-Australian actress (b. 1941)

Holidays and observances on May 28

  • Armed Forces Day (Croatia)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Bernard of Menthon
    • Germain of Paris
    • John Calvin (Episcopal Church)
    • Lanfranc
    • Margaret Pole
    • William of Gellone
    • May 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Downfall of the Derg Day (Ethiopia)
  • Flag Day (Philippines)
  • Menstrual Hygiene Day
  • Republic Day (Nepal)
  • TDFR Republic Day, celebrates the declaration of independence of the First Republic of Armenia and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic from the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic in 1918. (Azerbaijan and Armenia)
  • Youm-e-Takbir (Pakistan)

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