June 15

June 15 is the 166th day of the year (167th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 199 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 763 BC – Assyrians record a solar eclipse that is later used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history.
• 923 – Battle of Soissons: King Robert I of France is killed and King Charles the Simple is arrested by the supporters of Duke Rudolph of Burgundy.
• 1184 – King Magnus V of Norway is killed at the Battle of Fimreite.
• 1215 – King John of England puts his seal to the Magna Carta.
• 1246 – With the death of Duke Frederick II, the Babenberg dynasty ends in Austria.
• 1389 – Battle of Kosovo: The Ottoman Empire defeats Serbs and Bosnians.
• 1520 – Pope Leo X threatens to excommunicate Martin Luther in papal bull Exsurge Domine.
• 1580 – Philip II of Spain declares William the Silent to be an outlaw.
• 1667 – The first human blood transfusion is administered by Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys.
• 1752 – Benjamin Franklin proves that lightning is electricity.
• 1775 – American Revolutionary War: George Washington is appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army.
• 1776 – Delaware Separation Day – Delaware votes to suspend government under the British Crown and separate officially from Pennsylvania.
• 1785 – Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, co-pilot of the first-ever manned flight (1783), and his companion, Pierre Romain, become the first-ever casualties of an air crash when their hot air balloon explodes during their attempt to cross the English Channel.
• 1804 – New Hampshire approves the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratifying the document.
• 1808 – Joseph Bonaparte becomes King of Spain.
• 1836 – Arkansas is admitted as the 25th U.S. state.
• 1844 – Charles Goodyear receives a patent for vulcanization, a process to strengthen rubber.
• 1846 – The Oregon Treaty establishes the 49th parallel as the border between the United States and Canada, from the Rocky Mountains to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
• 1859 – Pig War: Ambiguity in the Oregon Treaty leads to the "Northwestern Boundary Dispute" between U.S. and British/Canadian settlers.
• 1864 – American Civil War: The Siege of Petersburg begins.
• 1864 – Arlington National Cemetery is established when 200 acres (0.81 km²) around Arlington Mansion (formerly owned by Confederate General Robert E. Lee) are officially set aside as a military cemetery by U.S. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton.
• 1867 – Atlantic Cable Quartz Lode gold mine located in Montana.
• 1877 – Henry Ossian Flipper becomes the first African American cadet to graduate from the United States Military Academy.
• 1888 – Crown Prince Wilhelm becomes Kaiser Wilhelm II; he will be the last Emperor of the German Empire.
• 1896 – The most destructive tsunami in Japan's history kills more than 22,000 people.
• 1904 – A fire aboard the steamboat SS General Slocum in New York City's East River kills 1,000.
• 1905 – Princess Margaret of Connaught marries Gustaf, Crown Prince of Sweden.
• 1909 – Representatives from England, Australia and South Africa meet at Lord's and form the Imperial Cricket Conference.
• 1911 – Tabulating Computing Recording Corporation (IBM) is incorporated.
• 1913 – The Battle of Bud Bagsak in the Philippines ends.
• 1916 – U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signs a bill incorporating the Boy Scouts of America, making them the only American youth organization with a federal charter.
• 1919 – John Alcock and Arthur Brown complete the first nonstop transatlantic flight when they reach Clifden, County Galway, Ireland.
• 1920 – Duluth lynchings in Minnesota.
• 1920 – A new border treaty between Germany and Denmark gives northern Schleswig to Denmark.
• 1934 – The U.S. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is founded.
• 1937 – A German expedition led by Karl Wien loses sixteen members in an avalanche on Nanga Parbat. It is the worst single disaster to occur on an 8000m peak.
• 1944 – World War II: Battle of Saipan: The United States invade Saipan.
• 1944 – In the Saskatchewan general election, the CCF, led by Tommy Douglas, is elected and forms the first socialist government in North America.
• 1945 – The General Dutch Youth League (ANJV) is founded in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
• 1954 – UEFA (Union des Associations Européennes de Football) is formed in Basel, Switzerland.
• 1955 – The Eisenhower administration stages the first annual "Operation Alert" (OPAL) exercise, an attempt to assess the USA's preparations for a nuclear attack.
• 1978 – King Hussein of Jordan marries American Lisa Halaby, who takes the name Queen Noor.
• 1985 – Rembrandt's painting Danaë is attacked by a man (later judged insane) who throws sulfuric acid on the canvas and cuts it twice with a knife.
• 1992 – The United States Supreme Court rules in United States v. Álvarez-Machaín that it is permissible for the USA to forcibly extradite suspects in foreign countries and bring them to the USA for trial, without approval from those other countries.
• 1994 – Israel and Vatican City establish full diplomatic relations.
• 1996 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army explodes a large bomb in the middle of Manchester, England.
• 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.

Births

• 1330 – Edward of Woodstock ("The Black Prince"), son of King Edward III of England and father of King Richard II of England (d. 1376)
• 1519 – Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset, illegitimate son of King Henry VIII of England (d. 1536)
• 1594 – Nicolas Poussin, French painter (d. 1665)
• 1623 – Cornelis de Witt, Dutch politician (d. 1672)
• 1624 – Hiob Ludolf, German orientalist (d. 1704)
• 1640 – Bernard Lamy, French mathematician (d. 1715)
• 1755 – Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy, French chemist (d. 1809)
• 1765 – Johann Gottlieb Friedrich von Bohnenberger, German mathematician (d. 1831)
• 1767 – Rachel Donelson Jackson, First Lady of the United States (d. 1828)
• 1777 – David Daniel Davis, British politician (d. 1841)
• 1789 – Josiah Henson, American slave and settlement founder (d. 1883)
• 1801 – Benjamin Wright Raymond, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1883)
• 1805 – William Butler Ogden, first Mayor of Chicago (d. 1877)
• 1809 – François-Xavier Garneau, French-Canadian poet and historian (d. 1866)
• 1843 – Edvard Grieg, Norwegian composer (d. 1907)
• 1848 – Gheevarghese Mar Gregorios (Parumala Thirumeni), Indian-born Syrian Orthodox religious leader (d. 1902)
• 1875 – Herman Smith-Johannsen, Norwegian-Canadian cross-country skier and supercentenarian (d. 1987)
• 1882 – Ion Antonescu, Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1946)
• 1884 – Harry Langdon, American actor (d. 1944)
• 1888 – Ramón López Velarde, Mexican poet (d. 1921)
• 1894 – Nikolai Chebotaryov, Ukrainian mathematician (d. 1947)
• 1894 – Robert Russell Bennett, American composer and arranger (d. 1981)
• 1900 – Gotthard Günther, German philosopher (d. 1984)
• 1900 – Otto Luening, German-American composer (d. 1996)
• 1902 – Erik Erikson, German-born psychoanalyst (d. 1994)
• 1906 – Léon Degrelle, Belgian SS officer (d. 1994)
• 1908 – Sam Giancana, American mafioso (d. 1975)
• 1910 – David Rose, American songwriter, composer and orchestra leader (d. 1990)
• 1911 – W.V. Awdry, British children's writer (d. 1997)
• 1914 – Yuri Andropov, Soviet politician (d. 1984)
• 1914 – Saul Steinberg, Romanian/American cartoonist (d. 1999)
• 1914 – Hilda Terry, American cartoonist (d. 2006)
• 1915 – Thomas Huckle Weller, American virologist, Nobel laureate (d. 2008)
• 1916 – Herbert Simon, American economist, Nobel laureate (d. 2001)
• 1916 – Olga Erteszek, American undergarment designer and lingerie company owner (d. 1989)
• 1917 – John Bennett Fenn, American chemist, Nobel laureate
• 1917 – Lash La Rue, American actor (d. 1996)
• 1917 – Michalis Genitsaris, Greek singer and composer (d. 2005)
• 1920 – Alberto Sordi, Italian actor and director (d. 2003)
• 1920 – Alla Kazanskaya, Russian stage and film actress (d. 2008)
• 1921 – Erroll Garner, American musician (d. 1977)
• 1922 – John Veale, English composer (d. 2006)
• 1924 – Ezer Weizman, Israeli politician (d. 2005)
• 1926 – Mac McGarry, American quiz show host
• 1926 – Shigeru Kayano, Japanese Ainu activist (d. 2006)
• 1927 – Ibn-e-Insha, Pakistani humourist and Urdu poet (d. 1978)
• 1927 – Hugo Pratt, Italian comic book creator (d. 1995)
• 1930 – Marcel Pronovost, Canadian professional ice hockey player
• 1932 – Mario Cuomo, American politician
• 1933 – Sergio Endrigo, Italian singer (d. 2005)
• 1933 – Mark Jones, English footballer (d. 1958)
• 1934 – Jerry Buss, American basketball team owner
• 1934 – Mikel Laboa, Spanish Basque singer and songwriter (d. 2008)
• 1936 – Claude Brasseur, French actor
• 1936 – William Joseph Levada, American Catholic prelate
• 1937 – Waylon Jennings, American singer (d. 2002)
• 1938 – Billy Williams, American baseball player
• 1939 – Ward Connerly, American political figure
• 1939 – Brian Jacques, British novelist
• 1941 – Harry Nilsson, American singer and composer (d. 1994)
• 1942 – John E. McLaughlin, American former Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
• 1943 – Xaviera Hollander, Dutch author
• 1943 – Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, former Prime Minister of Denmark
• 1943 – Johnny Hallyday, French singer and actor
• 1943 – Muff Winwood, British songwriter and bassist (Spencer Davis Group)
• 1943 – Lee Shallat-Chemel, American television director
• 1944 – Robert Keppel, American criminologist
• 1945 – Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Filipino senator
• 1945 – Nicola Pagett, British actress
• 1945 – Lawrence Wilkerson, American retired military officer and former Chief of Staff to United States Secretary of State Colin Powell
• 1946 – Noddy Holder, British singer (Slade)
• 1947 – John Hoagland, American photographer
• 1947 – Lee Purcell, American actress
• 1948 – Mike Holmgren, American football coach
• 1949 – Dusty Baker, American baseball player and manager
• 1949 – Simon Callow, British actor
• 1949 – Russell Hitchcock, Australian singer (Air Supply)
• 1949 – Jim Varney, American actor (d. 2000)
• 1950 – Lakshmi Mittal, Indian industrialist
• 1951 – Steve Walsh, American singer (Kansas)
• 1951 – Vance A. Larson, American artist (d. 2000)
• 1953 – Rita Lee, American model and Playboy Playmate
• 1954 – James Belushi, American actor
• 1954 – Paul Rusesabagina, Rwandan hotel manager who saved over 1,000 people during the Rwandan Genocide of 1994
• 1954 – Beverley Whitfield, Australian swimmer (d. 1996)
• 1955 – Julie Hagerty, American actress
• 1955 – David Kennedy, American member of the Kennedy family (d. 1984)
• 1956 – Ava Cadell, American actress
• 1956 – Robin Curtis, American actress
• 1956 – Polly Draper, American actress
• 1957 – Seppo Pääkkönen, Finnish actor
• 1958 – Wade Boggs, American baseball player
• 1958 – Riccardo Paletti, Italian racing driver (d. 1982)
• 1959 – Eileen Davidson, American actress
• 1959 – Alan Brazil, British footballer
• 1960 – Michèle Laroque, French actress
• 1960 – Marieke van Doorn, Dutch field hockey player
• 1961 – Kai Eckhardt, German bassist and composer (Garaj Mahal, Vital Information)
• 1961 – Dave McAuley, Northern Irish boxer
• 1961 – Yoshimi Iwasaki, Japanese singer and actress
• 1961 – Scott Norton, American professional wrestler
• 1962 – Thomas Mikal Ford, American actor
• 1962 – Andrea Rost, Hungarian soprano
• 1963 – Mario Gosselin, Canadian Quebecois ice hockey player
• 1963 – Helen Hunt, American actress
• 1963 – Blanca Portillo, Spanish actress
• 1963 – Nigel Walker, Welsh Olympic athlete (110m hurdles) and rugby union player
• 1964 – Courteney Cox, American actress
• 1964 – Gavin Greenaway, British composer
• 1964 – Michael Laudrup, Danish footballer
• 1965 – Annelies Bredael, Belgian rower
• 1965 – Adam Smith, American politician
• 1966 – Tory Burch, American fashion designer
• 1966 – Idalis DeLeon, American actress and singer
• 1967 – Yūji Ueda, Japanese voice actor
• 1968 – Oh Dal-su, South Korean actor
• 1968 – Károly Güttler, Hungarian swimmer
• 1969 – Ice Cube, American rapper and actor
• 1969 – Oliver Kahn, German footballer
• 1969 – Cédric Pioline, French tennis player
• 1969 – Maurice Odumbe, Kenyan cricketer
• 1970 – Leah Remini, American actress
• 1970 – Gaëlle Méchaly, French soprano
• 1970 – Christian Bauman, American novelist and essayist
• 1971 – Edwin Brienen, Dutch director
• 1971 – Jake Busey, American actor
• 1971 – Bif Naked, Canadian singer, poetess and actress
• 1971 – Nathan Astle, New Zealand cricketer
• 1972 – Justin Leonard, American golfer
• 1972 – Andy Pettitte, American baseball player
• 1972 – Marcus Hahnemann, American footballer
• 1972 – Hank Von Helvete, Norwegian vocalist (Turbonegro)
• 1972 – Chloe Dao, American designer, winner of the second season of Project Runway
• 1973 – Neil Patrick Harris, American actor
• 1973 – Tore André Flo, Norwegian footballer
• 1973 – Pia Miranda, Australian actress
• 1973 – Greg Vaughan, American actor
• 1975 – Elizabeth Reaser, American actress
• 1975 – Rachel Wacholder, American beach volleyballer
• 1976 – Gary Lightbody, Northern Irish singer and songwriter (Snow Patrol)
• 1977 – Michael Doleac, American basketball player
• 1977 – Nina Liu, Australian actress
• 1978 – Wilfred Bouma, Dutch footballer
• 1978 – Zach Day, American baseball player
• 1979 – Danielle Lineker, Welsh lingerie model
• 1979 – Yulia Nestsiarenka, Belarusian athlete
• 1979 – Julia Schultz, American model
• 1979 – Charles Zwolsman Jr., Dutch racing driver
• 1980 – Mary Carey, American pornographic actress
• 1980 – Christopher Castile, American actor
• 1980 – Almudena Cid Tostado, Spanish gymnast
• 1980 – Cara Zavaleta, American model
• 1981 – John Paintsil, Ghanaian footballer
• 1981 – Jeremy Reed, American baseball player
• 1981 – Jordi Vilasuso, American actor
• 1981 – Daniel Vosovic, American fashion designer
• 1982 – Abdur Razzak, Bangladeshi cricketer
• 1982 – Haley Scarnato, American singer
• 1982 – Katie Chapman, English footballer
• 1982 – Mike Delany, New Zealand rugby player
• 1983 – Derek Anderson, American football player
• 1983 – Julia Fischer, German violinist
• 1983 – Laura Imbruglia, Australian musician
• 1984 – Luke Hodge, Australian AFL player
• 1984 – Tim Lincecum, American baseball player
• 1984 – Mauro Rizzo, Italian footballer
• 1985 – Nadine Coyle, Northern Irish singer (Girls Aloud)
• 1988 – Miku Ishida, Japanese teen idol
• 1990 – Denzel Whitaker, American actor
• 1990 – Miwa, Japanese singer-songwriter

Deaths

• 923 – King Robert I of France (b. 866)
• 991 – Empress Theophanu, Byzantine wife of Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 960)
• 1073 – Emperor Go-Sanjō of Japan (b. 1034)
• 1246 – Duke Frederick II of Austria (b. 1219)
• 1341 – Andronikos III Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1297)
• 1381 – John Cavendish, Lord Chief Justice of England (b. c. 1346)
• 1381 – Wat Tyler, English rebel (b. 1341)
• 1383 – John VI Cantacuzenus, Byzantine Emperor (b. c. 1292)
• 1389 – Murad I, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1326)
• 1389 – Prince Lazar, Serbian Orthodox saint (b. 1329)
• 1467 – Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1396)
• 1521 – Tamás Bakócz, Hungarian Catholic cardinal and statesman (b. 1442)
• 1614 – Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton, English politician (b. 1540)
• 1679 – Guillaume Courtois, French painter (b. 1628)
• 1724 – Henry Sacheverell, English churchman and politician (b. 1674)
• 1768 – James Short, Scottish mathematician and optician (b. 1710)
• 1772 – Louis-Claude Daquin, French composer (b. 1694)
• 1844 – Thomas Campbell, Scottish poet (b. 1777)
• 1849 – James Knox Polk, 11th President of the United States (b. 1795)
• 1858 – Ary Scheffer, Dutch-French painter (b. 1795)
• 1888 – Emperor Friedrich III of Germany (b. 1831)
• 1889 – Mihai Eminescu, Romanian poet (b. 1850)
• 1890 – Unryū Kyūkichi, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 10^th Yokozuna (b. 1822)
• 1917 – Kristian Birkeland, Norwegian physicist (b. 1867)
• 1934 – Alfred Bruneau, French composer (b. 1857)
• 1941 – Evelyn Underhill, British writer (b. 1875)
• 1941 – Otfrid Foerster, German neurologist (b. 1873)
• 1961 – Giulio Cabianca, Italian racing driver (b. 1923)
• 1962 – Alfred Cortot, French-Swiss pianist (b. 1877)
• 1965 – E. A. Speiser, American Bible scholar (b. 1902)
• 1965 – Steve Cochran, American actor (b. 1917)
• 1968 – Sam Crawford, American baseball player (b. 1880)
• 1968 – Wes Montgomery, American jazz guitarist (b. 1925)
• 1971 – Wendell Meredith Stanley, American chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1904)
• 1976 – Jimmy Dykes, American baseball player and manager (b. 1896)
• 1983 – Srirangam Srinivasarao (Sri Sri), Indian Telugu poet (b. 1910)
• 1984 – Meredith Willson, American composer (b. 1902)
• 1985 – Andy Stanfield, American sprinter (b. 1927)
• 1985 – Robert Stethem, U.S. Navy Seabee diver murdered by terrorists on TWA Flight 847 (b. 1961)
• 1989 – Victor French, American actor (b. 1934)
• 1989 – Maurice Bellemare, Canadian politician (b. 1912)
• 1991 – Arthur Lewis, British economist, Nobel laureate (b. 1915)
• 1991 – Happy Chandler, American politician and commissioner of baseball (b. 1898)
• 1993 – John Connally, American politician (b. 1917)
• 1993 – James Hunt, English racing driver and 1976 Formula One world champion (b. 1947)
• 1994 – Manos Hadjidakis, Greek composer (b. 1925)
• 1995 – John Vincent Atanasoff, American computer pioneer (b. 1903)
• 1996 – Ella Fitzgerald, American singer (b. 1917)
• 1996 – Dick Murdoch, American professional wrestler (b. 1946)
• 2000 – Jules Roy, French writer (b. 1907)
• 2001 – Henri Alekan, French cinematographer (b. 1909)
• 2002 – Choi Hong Hi, South Korean founder of Taekwondo (b. 1918)
• 2003 – Hume Cronyn, Canadian actor (b. 1911)
• 2005 – Suzanne Flon, French actress (b. 1918)
• 2006 – Raymond Devos, French humourist (b. 1922)
• 2006 – Herb Pearson, New Zealand cricketer (b. 1910)
• 2007 – Claudia Cohen, American gossip columnist and socialite (b. 1950)
• 2007 – Sherri Martel, American professional wrestler and valet (b. 1958)
• 2008 – Stan Winston, American special effects and makeup artist, and film director (b. 1946)

Holidays and observances

• Cagayan de Oro Charter Day (Cagayan de Oro City)
• Christian Feast Day
  • Augustine of Hippo (Eastern Orthodox Church)
  • Edburga of Winchester
  • Evelyn Underhill (Church of England and the Episcopal Church of the United States)
  • Germaine Cousin
  • Vitus, Modestus and Crescentia
  • June 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Day of Valdemar and Reunion day (Flag Day) (Denmark)
• Earliest day on which Father's Day can fall, while June 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Sunday in June. (United States)
• Mangaia Gospel Day (Mangaia)
• National Salvation Day (Azerbaijan)
• Separation Day (Delaware)
• Statehood Day (Arkansas)
• The first day of the month of Harh. (Sikhism)
• The ninth and final day of the Vestalia. (Roman Empire)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada