June 21

June 21 is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 193 days remaining until the end of the year.

This day usually marks the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, which is the day of the year with the most hours of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere and the fewest hours of daylight in the Southern Hemisphere.

Events

• 217 BC – The Romans, led by Gaius Flaminius, are ambushed and defeated by Hannibal at the Battle of Lake Trasimene.
• 533 – A Byzantine expeditionary fleet under Belisarius sails from Constantinople to attack the Vandals in Africa, via Greece and Sicily.
• 1307 – Külüg Khan is enthroned as Khagan of the Mongols and Wuzong of the Yuan.
• 1529 – French forces are driven out of northern Italy by Spain at the Battle of Landriano during the War of the League of Cognac.
• 1582 – Sengoku period: Oda Nobunaga, the most powerful of the Japanese daimyo, was forced to commit suicide by his own general Akechi Mitsuhide.
• 1621 – Execution of 27 Czech noblemen on the Old Town Square in Prague as a consequence of the Battle of White Mountain.
• 1734 – In Montreal in New France, a slave known by the French name of Marie-Joseph Angélique is put to death, having been convicted of setting the fire that destroyed much of the city.
• 1749 – Halifax, Nova Scotia, is founded.
• 1768 – James Otis, Jr. offends the King and Parliament in a speech to the Massachusetts General Court.
• 1788 – New Hampshire ratifies the Constitution of the United States and is admitted as the ninth state in the United States.
• 1791 – King Louis XVI of France and his immediate family begin the Flight to Varennes during the French Revolution.
• 1798 – Irish Rebellion of 1798: The British Army defeats Irish rebels at the Battle of Vinegar Hill.
• 1813 – Peninsular War: Battle of Victoria.
• 1824 – Greek War of Independence: Egyptian forces capture Psara in the Aegean Sea.
• 1826 – Maniots defeat Egyptians under Ibrahim Pasha in the Battle of Vergas.
• 1848 – In the Wallachian Revolution, Ion Heliade Rădulescu and Christian Tell issue the Proclamation of Islaz and create a new republican government.
• 1854 – The first Victoria Cross is awarded during the bombardment of Bomarsund in the Åland Islands.
• 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road begins.
• 1864 – New Zealand land wars: The Tauranga Campaign ends.
• 1877 – The Molly Maguires, ten Irish immigrants convicted of murder, are hanged at the Schuylkill County and Carbon County, Pennsylvania prisons.
• 1898 – The United States captures Guam from Spain.
• 1900 – Boxer Rebellion. China formally declares war on the United States, Britain, Germany, France and Japan, as an edict issued from the Empress Dowager Cixi.
• 1915 – The U.S. Supreme Court hands down its decision in Guinn v. United States 238 US 347 1915, striking down an Oklahoma law denying the right to vote to some citizens.
• 1919 – The Royal Canadian Mounted Police fire a volley into a crowd of unemployed war veterans, killing two, during the Winnipeg General Strike.
• 1919 – Admiral Ludwig von Reuter scuttles the German fleet in Scapa Flow, Orkney. The nine sailors killed are the last casualties of World War I.
• 1929 – An agreement brokered by U.S. Ambassador Dwight Whitney Morrow ends the Cristero War in Mexico.
• 1930 – One-year conscription comes into force in France.
• 1940 – The first successful west-to-east navigation of Northwest Passage begins at Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
• 1942 – World War II: Tobruk falls to Italian and German forces.
• 1942 – World War II: A Japanese submarine surfaces near the Columbia River in Oregon, firing 17 shells at nearby Fort Stevens in one of only a handful of attacks by Japan against the United States mainland.
• 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Okinawa ends when the organized resistance of Imperial Japanese Army forces collapses in the Mabuni area on the southern tip of the main island.
• 1952 – The Philippine School of Commerce, through a republic act, is converted to Philippine College of Commerce, later to be the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
• 1957 – Ellen Fairclough is sworn in as Canada's first female Cabinet Minister.
• 1963 – Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini is elected as Pope Paul VI.
• 1964 – Three civil rights workers, Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Mickey Schwerner, are murdered in Neshoba County, Mississippi, United States, by members of the Ku Klux Klan.
• 1970 – Penn Central declares Section 77 bankruptcy, largest ever US corporate bankruptcy up to this date.
• 1973 – In handing down the decision in Miller v. California 413 US 15, the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the Miller test for obscenity in U.S. law.
• 1977 – Bülent Ecevit, of the CHP forms the new government of Turkey.
• 1982 – John Hinckley is found not guilty by reason of insanity for the attempted assassination of U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
• 2000 – Section 28 (of the Local Government Act 1988), outlawing the 'promotion' of homosexuality in the United Kingdom, is repealed in Scotland with a 99 to 17 vote.
• 2001 – A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, indicts 13 Saudis and a Lebanese in the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 American servicemen.
• 2004 – SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately funded spaceplane to achieve spaceflight.
• 2005 – Edgar Ray Killen, who had previously been acquitted for the murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Mickey Schwerner, is convicted of manslaughter 41 years afterwards (the case had been reopened in 2004).
• 2006 – Pluto's newly discovered moons are officially named Nix and Hydra.
• 2009 – Greenland assumes self-rule.
• 2012 – A boat carrying more than 200 refugees capsized in the Indian Ocean between the Indonesian island of Java and Christmas Island, killing 17 people and leaving 70 other missing.
• 2013 – A suicide bomber kills 15 and injures 20 in a Shi'ite mosque in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar.

Births

• 1002 – Pope Leo IX (d. 1054)
• 1226 – Bolesław V the Chaste of Poland (d. 1279)
• 1528 – Maria of Austria, Holy Roman Empress (d. 1603)
• 1535 – Leonhard Rauwolf, German physician and botanist (d. 1596)
• 1639 – Increase Mather, American minister and author (d. 1723)
• 1646 – Maria Francisca of Savoy (d. 1683)
• 1676 – Anthony Collins, English philosopher and author (d. 1729)
• 1703 – Joseph Lieutaud, French physician and anatomist (d. 1780)
• 1706 – John Dollond, English optician and astronomer (d. 1761)
• 1710 – James Short, Scottish-English mathematician and optician (d. 1768)
• 1712 – Luc Urbain de Bouëxic, comte de Guichen, French admiral (d. 1790)
• 1730 – Motoori Norinaga, Japanese poet and scholar (d. 1801)
• 1732 – Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, German pianist and composer (d. 1791)
• 1736 – Enoch Poor, American general (d. 1780)
• 1738 – Gottlieb Christoph Harless, German linguist and scholar (d. 1815)
• 1741 – Prince Benedetto, Duke of Chablais (d. 1808)
• 1750 – Pierre-Nicolas Beauvallet, French sculptor and illustrator (d. 1818)
• 1759 – Alexander J. Dallas, American lawyer and politician, 6th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1817)
• 1763 – Pierre Paul Royer-Collard, French philosopher and academic (d. 1845)
• 1764 – Sidney Smith, English admiral and politician (d. 1840)
• 1774 – Daniel D. Tompkins, American lawyer and politician, 6th Vice President of the United States (d. 1825)
• 1781 – Siméon Denis Poisson, French mathematician and physicist (d. 1840)
• 1786 – Charles Edward Horn, English singer-songwriter (d. 1849)
• 1788 – Princess Augusta of Bavaria (d. 1850)
• 1791 – Robert Napier, Scottish engineer and educator (d. 1876)
• 1792 – Ferdinand Christian Baur, German theologian and scholar (d. 1860)
• 1797 – Wilhelm Küchelbecker, Russian poet and author (d. 1846)
• 1805 – Charles Thomas Jackson, American physician and geologist (d. 1880)
• 1811 – Carlo Matteucci, Italian physicist and neurophysiologist (d. 1868)
• 1814 – Anton Nuhn, German anatomist and academic (d. 1889)
• 1823 – Jean Chacornac, French astronomer (d. 1873)
• 1825 – Thomas Edward Cliffe Leslie, Irish economist and jurist (d. 1882)
• 1825 – William Stubbs, English bishop and historian (d. 1901)
• 1828 – Ferdinand André Fouqué, French geologist and academic (d. 1904)
• 1834 – Frans de Cort, Flemish poet and author (d. 1878)
• 1834 – Elizabeth Jane Caulfeild, Countess of Charlemont (d. 1882)
• 1839 – Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, Brazilian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1908)
• 1845 – Arthur Cowper Ranyard, English astrophysicist and astronomer (d. 1894)
• 1846 – Marion Adams-Acton, Scottish-English author and playwright (d. 1928)
• 1850 – Daniel Carter Beard, American author and illustrator, co-founded the Boy Scouts of America (d. 1941)
• 1850 – Enrico Cecchetti, Italian ballet dancer (d. 1928)
• 1857 – Hugh Newall, English astrophysicist and academic (d. 1944)
• 1858 – Medardo Rosso, Italian sculptor and educator (d. 1928)
• 1859 – Henry Ossawa Tanner, American-French painter and illustrator (d. 1937)
• 1862 – Damrong Rajanubhab, Thai historian and author (d. 1943)
• 1863 – Max Wolf, German astronomer and academic (d. 1932)
• 1864 – Heinrich Wölfflin, Swiss historian and critic (d. 1945)
• 1865 – Herbert Brewer, English organist and composer (d. 1928)
• 1867 – Oscar Florianus Bluemner, German-American painter and illustrator (d. 1938)
• 1868 – Edwin Stephen Goodrich, English zoologist and anatomist (d. 1946)
• 1870 – Clara Immerwahr, Polish-German chemist and academic (d. 1915)
• 1870 – Anthony Michell, English-Australian engineer (d. 1959)
• 1874 – Jacob Linzbach, Estonian linguist and author (d. 1953)
• 1876 – Willem Hendrik Keesom, Dutch physicist and academic (d. 1956)
• 1880 – Arnold Gesell, American psychologist and pediatrician (d. 1961)
• 1880 – Josiah Stamp, 1st Baron Stamp, English economist and civil servant (d. 1941)
• 1882 – Lluís Companys, Spanish lawyer and politician, 123rd President of Catalonia (d. 1940)
• 1882 – Adrianus de Jong, Dutch fencer and soldier (d. 1966)
• 1882 – Rockwell Kent, American painter and illustrator (d. 1971)
• 1883 – Feodor Gladkov, Russian author and educator (d. 1958)
• 1883 – Daisy Turner, American author and poet (d. 1988)
• 1884 – Claude Auchinleck, English field marshal (d. 1981)
• 1885 – Oliver Chase Quick, English priest and theologian (d. 1944)
• 1887 – Norman L. Bowen, Canadian geologist and petrologist (d. 1956)
• 1889 – Ralph Craig, American sprinter and sailor (d. 1972)
• 1890 – Frank S. Land, American businessman, founded DeMolay International (d. 1959)
• 1891 – Pier Luigi Nervi, Italian architect and engineer, co-designed the Pirelli Tower and Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption (d. 1979)
• 1891 – Hermann Scherchen, German-Swiss viola player and conductor (d. 1966)
• 1892 – Reinhold Niebuhr, American theologian and academic (d. 1971)
• 1893 – Alois Hába, Czech composer and educator (d. 1973)
• 1894 – F. R. G. Heaf, English physician and academic (d. 1973)
• 1894 – Milward Kennedy, English journalist and civil servant (d. 1968)
• 1896 – Charles Momsen, American admiral, invented the Momsen lung (d. 1967)
• 1898 – Donald C. Peattie, American botanist and author (d. 1964)
• 1899 – Pavel Haas, Czech composer (d. 1944)
• 1899 – Miles Watson, 2nd Baron Manton, English horse breeder (d. 1968)
• 1902 – Howie Morenz, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1937)
• 1903 – Hermann Engelhard, German runner and coach (d. 1984)
• 1903 – Al Hirschfeld, American painter and illustrator (d. 2003)
• 1905 – Jacques Goddet, French journalist (d. 2000)
• 1905 – Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher and author (d. 1980)
• 1906 – Helene Costello, American actress (d. 1957)
• 1906 – Nusch Éluard, French model, painter, and photographer (d. 1946)
• 1906 – Harold Spina, American composer (d. 1997)
• 1906 – Grete Sultan, German-American pianist and educator (d. 2005)
• 1908 – William Frankena, American philosopher and academic (d. 1994)
• 1909 – Helmut Möckel, German soldier and politician (d. 1945)
• 1910 – Aleksandr Tvardovsky, Russian poet and author (d. 1971)
• 1911 – Irving Fein, American producer and manager (d. 2012)
• 1911 – Chester Wilmot, Australian journalist and historian (d. 1954)
• 1912 – Kazimierz Leski, Polish pilot and engineer (d. 2000)
• 1912 – Mary McCarthy, American author and critic (d. 1989)
• 1912 – Vishnu Prabhakar, Indian author and playwright (d. 2009)
• 1913 – Madihe Pannaseeha Thero, Sri Lankan monk and scholar (d. 2003)
• 1914 – William Vickrey, Canadian-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)
• 1915 – Jean Bastien, French professional footballer (d. 1969)
• 1915 – Wilhelm Gliese, German soldier and astronomer (d. 1993)
• 1916 – Joseph Cyril Bamford, English businessman, founded J. C. Bamford (d. 2001)
• 1916 – Herbert Friedman, American physicist and astronomer (d. 2000)
• 1916 – Buddy O'Connor, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1977)
• 1918 – Robert A. Boyd, Canadian engineer (d. 2006)
• 1918 – Kasper Idland, Norwegian lieutenant (d. 1968)
• 1918 – James Joll, English historian, author, and academic (d. 1994)
• 1918 – Ekkehard Kylling-Schmidt, German soldier (d. 2000)
• 1918 – Eddie Lopat, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1992)
• 1918 – J. Clyde Mitchell, English sociologist and anthropologist (d. 1995)
• 1918 – Dee Molenaar, American mountaineer, painter, and author
• 1918 – Robert Roosa, American economist and academic (d. 1993)
• 1918 – Tibor Szele, Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1955)
• 1918 – Josephine Webb, American engineer
• 1919 – Antonia Mesina, Italian martyr and saint (d. 1935)
• 1919 – Gérard Pelletier, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 1997)
• 1919 – Vladimir Simagin, Russian chess player and coach (d. 1968)
• 1919 – Paolo Soleri, Italian-American architect, designed the Cosanti (d. 2013)
• 1920 – Hans Gerschwiler, Swiss figure skater
• 1921 – Jean de Broglie, French politician (d. 1976)
• 1921 – Judy Holliday, American actress and singer (d. 1965)
• 1921 – Jane Russell, American actress and singer (d. 2011)
• 1921 – William Edwin Self, American actor, producer, and production manager (d. 2010)
• 1922 – Heino Lipp, Estonian decathlete, shot putter, and discus thrower (d. 2006)
• 1923 – Peter Flanigan, American banker and civil servant (d. 2013)
• 1923 – Jacques Hébert, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 2007)
• 1924 – Ezzatolah Entezami, Iranian actor
• 1924 – Wally Fawkes, Canadian-English clarinet player and cartoonist
• 1924 – Pontus Hultén, Swedish art collector and historian (d. 2006)
• 1924 – Jean Laplanche, French psychoanalyst and academic (d. 2012)
• 1924 – Max McNab, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2007)
• 1925 – Giovanni Spadolini, Italian journalist and politician, 45th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1994)
• 1925 – Maureen Stapleton, American actress (d. 2006)
• 1926 – George A. Burton, American soldier, accountant, and politician (d. 2014)
• 1926 – Conrad Hall, French-American cinematographer (d. 2003)
• 1926 – Muhsin Mahdi, Iraqi-American islamologist and philosopher (d. 2007)
• 1927 – Carl Stokes, American lawyer, politician, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Seychelles (d. 1996)
• 1928 – Wolfgang Haken, German-American mathematician and academic
• 1929 – Abdel Halim Hafez, Egyptian singer and actor (d. 1977)
• 1929 – Alexandre Lagoya, Egyptian-Greek guitarist and composer (d. 1999)
• 1930 – Gerald Kaufman, English journalist and politician, Shadow Foreign Secretary
• 1930 – Mike McCormack, American football player and coach (d. 2013)
• 1931 – Zlatko Grgić, Croatian-Canadian animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 1988)
• 1931 – Margaret Heckler, American journalist, lawyer, and politician, 15th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services
• 1931 – Barbara Levick, English historian and author
• 1931 – Jan Trąbka, Polish neurologist and academic (d. 2012)
• 1932 – Bernard Ingham, English journalist and civil servant
• 1932 – Lalo Schifrin, Argentinian pianist, composer, and conductor
• 1932 – O. C. Smith, American singer (d. 2001)
• 1933 – Bernie Kopell, American actor and screenwriter
• 1934 – Maggie Jones, English actress (d. 2009)
• 1934 – Ken Matthews, English race walker
• 1935 – Monte Markham, American actor, director, and producer
• 1935 – Françoise Sagan, French author and playwright (d. 2004)
• 1936 – Joseph Gosnell, Canadian tribal leader
• 1937 – John Edrich, English cricketer and coach
• 1938 – Eddie Adcock, American singer and banjo player (The Country Gentlemen)
• 1938 – Don Black, English songwriter
• 1938 – John W. Dower, American historian and author
• 1938 – Michael M. Richter, German mathematician and computer scientist
• 1939 – Rubén Berríos, Puerto Rican lawyer and politician
• 1940 – Marika Green, Swedish-French actress
• 1940 – Mariette Hartley, American actress
• 1940 – Enn Klooren, Estonian actor (d. 2011)
• 1940 – Michael Ruse, Canadian philosopher and academic
• 1941 – Aloysius Paul D'Souza, Indian bishop
• 1941 – Joe Flaherty, American-Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1941 – Cecil Gordon, American race car driver (d. 2012)
• 1941 – Lyman Ward, Canadian actor
• 1942 – Clive Brooke, Baron Brooke of Alverthorpe, English businessman and politician
• 1942 – Dan Henning, American football player and coach
• 1942 – Marjorie Margolies, American journalist and politician
• 1942 – Henry S. Taylor, American author and poet
• 1942 – Togo D. West, Jr., American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 3rd United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs
• 1943 – Salomé, Spanish singer
• 1943 – Eumir Deodato, Brazilian pianist, composer, and producer
• 1943 – Diane Marleau, Canadian accountant and politician, Canadian Minister of Health (d. 2013)
• 1943 – Brian Sternberg, American pole vaulter (d. 2013)
• 1944 – Ray Davies, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Kinks)
• 1944 – Tony Scott, English-American director and producer (d. 2012)
• 1944 – Corinna Tsopei, Greek model and actress, Miss Universe 1964
• 1945 – Robert Dewar, English-American computer scientist and academic (d. 2015)
• 1945 – Adam Zagajewski, Polish author and poet
• 1946 – Piotr Domaradzki, Polish-American historian and journalist (d. 2015)
• 1946 – Rob Dyson, American race car driver
• 1946 – Per Eklund, Swedish race car driver
• 1946 – Kate Hoey, Irish academic and politician, Minister for Sport and the Olympics
• 1946 – Brenda Holloway, American singer-songwriter
• 1946 – Trond Kirkvaag, Norwegian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2007)
• 1946 – Malcolm Rifkind, Scottish lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland
• 1946 – Maurice Saatchi, Baron Saatchi, Iraqi-English businessman, founded M&C Saatchi and Saatchi & Saatchi
• 1947 – Junko Akimoto, Japanese singer
• 1947 – Meredith Baxter, American actress and producer
• 1947 – Shirin Ebadi, Iranian lawyer, judge, and activist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1947 – Michael Gross, American actor and producer
• 1947 – Joey Molland, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Badfinger and Natural Gas)
• 1947 – Fernando Savater, Spanish philosopher and author
• 1948 – Jovan Aćimović, Serbian footballer and manager
• 1948 – Ian McEwan, English author and screenwriter
• 1948 – Lionel Rose, Australian boxer and singer (d. 2011)
• 1948 – Andrzej Sapkowski, Polish author and translator
• 1948 – Philippe Sarde, French composer and conductor
• 1949 – John Agard, Guyanese-English author, poet, and playwright
• 1949 – Derek Emslie, Lord Kingarth, Scottish lawyer and judge
• 1950 – Anne Carson, Canadian poet and academic
• 1950 – Joey Kramer, American drummer and songwriter (Aerosmith)
• 1950 – Gérard Lanvin, French actor
• 1950 – Vasilis Papakonstantinou, Greek singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1950 – Enn Reitel, Scottish actor and screenwriter
• 1950 – John Paul Young, Scottish-Australian singer
• 1950 – Trygve Thue, Norwegian guitarist and record producer
• 1951 – Jim Douglas, American academic and politician, 80th Governor of Vermont
• 1951 – Terence Etherton, English lawyer and judge
• 1951 – Alan Hudson, English footballer
• 1951 – Nils Lofgren, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (E Street Band and Crazy Horse)
• 1951 – Lenore Manderson, Australian anthropologist and academic
• 1951 – Mona-Lisa Pursiainen, Finnish sprinter (d. 2000)
• 1952 – Judith Bingham, English singer-songwriter
• 1952 – Jeremy Coney, New Zealand-English cricketer and sportscaster
• 1952 – Patrick Dunleavy, English political scientist and academic
• 1952 – Kōichi Mashimo, Japanese director and screenwriter
• 1953 – Benazir Bhutto, Pakistani financier and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan (d. 2007)
• 1953 – Maurice Boucher, Canadian drug trafficker and murderer
• 1954 – Müjde Ar, Turkish actress
• 1954 – Chitra Gajadin, Surinamese author and poet
• 1954 – Mar Gudmundsson, Icelandic economist
• 1954 – Mark Kimmitt, American general and politician, 16th Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs
• 1954 – Anne Kirkbride, English actress (d. 2015)
• 1954 – Robert Menasse, Austrian author and academic
• 1954 – Robert Pastorelli, American actor and singer (d. 2004)
• 1955 – Tim Bray, Canadian software developer and businessman, co-founded the Open Text Corporation
• 1955 – Jean-Pierre Mader, French singer-songwriter and producer
• 1955 – Leigh McCloskey, American actor and author
• 1955 – Michel Platini, French footballer and manager
• 1957 – Berkeley Breathed, American author and illustrator
• 1957 – Mark Brzezicki, English drummer (Big Country, The Cult, Ultravox, and Procol Harum)
• 1957 – Lucien DeBlois, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1957 – Vladimir Romanovsky, Russian canoe racer (d. 2013)
• 1957 – Luis Antonio Tagle, Filipino cardinal
• 1958 – Víctor Montoya, Bolivian journalist and author
• 1958 – Gennady Padalka, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut
• 1959 – John Baron, English captain and politician
• 1959 – Tom Chambers, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1959 – Marcella Detroit, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Shakespear's Sister)
• 1959 – Kathy Mattea, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1960 – Kevin Harlan, American sportscaster
• 1961 – Manu Chao, French singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Mano Negra, Hot Pants, and Los Carayos)
• 1961 – Sascha Konietzko, German keyboard player and producer (KMFDM, MDFMK, Excessive Force, Schwein, and KGC)
• 1961 – Kip Winger, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Winger)
• 1962 – Viktor Tsoi, Russian singer-songwriter and guitarist (Kino) (d. 1990)
• 1963 – Luc(as) de Groot, Dutch graphic designer and typographer
• 1963 – Dario Marianelli, Italian pianist and composer
• 1964 – Sammi Davis, English actress
• 1964 – David Morrissey, English actor and director
• 1964 – Dimitris Papaioannou, Greek director and choreographer
• 1964 – Dean Saunders, Welsh footballer and manager
• 1964 – Doug Savant, American actor
• 1965 – David Beerling, English biologist and academic
• 1965 – Yang Liwei, Chinese general, pilot, and astronaut
• 1965 – Ewen McKenzie, Australian rugby player and coach
• 1965 – Lana Wachowski, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1966 – Gretchen Carlson, American model and journalist, Miss America 1989
• 1966 – Sergey Grishin, Russian engineer and businessman
• 1966 – Mancow Muller, American radio host and actor
• 1966 – Pierre Thorsson, Swedish handball player
• 1966 – Nan Woods, American actress
• 1967 – Jim Breuer, American comedian, actor, and producer
• 1967 – Derrick Coleman, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1967 – Pierre Omidyar, French-American businessman, founded eBay
• 1967 – Carrie Preston, American actress, director, and producer
• 1967 – Yingluck Shinawatra, Thai businesswoman and politician, 28th Prime Minister of Thailand
• 1968 – Sonique, English singer-songwriter and DJ
• 1969 – Harun Isa, Albanian footballer
• 1970 – Sindee Coxx, American porn actress and director
• 1970 – Eric Reed, American pianist and composer (Black Note)
• 1970 – Pete Rock, American rapper and producer (Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth)
• 1971 – Anette Olzon, Swedish singer (Nightwish and Alyson Avenue)
• 1972 – Nobuharu Asahara, Japanese sprinter and long jumper
• 1972 – Neil Doak, Irish cricketer and rugby player
• 1972 – Alon Hilu, Israeli author
• 1972 – Allison Moorer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1973 – Juliette Lewis, American actress and singer (Juliette and the Licks)
• 1973 – John Mitchell, English guitarist, vocalist and songwriter (It Bites, Arena, Frost*, and John Wetton)
• 1973 – Pascal Rhéaume, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1974 – Natasha Desborough, English radio host, producer, and author
• 1974 – Neely Jenkins, American singer and bass player (Park Ave. and Tilly and the Wall)
• 1974 – Rob Kelly, American football player
• 1974 – Craig Lowndes, Australian race car driver
• 1974 – Eero Palm, Estonian architect
• 1974 – Flavio Roma, Italian footballer
• 1975 – Leila Lindholm, Swedish chef and author
• 1976 – Antonio Cochran, American football player
• 1976 – Shelley Craft, Australian television host
• 1976 – Mike Einziger, American guitarist and songwriter (Incubus and Time Lapse Consortium)
• 1976 – Nigel Lappin, Australian footballer and coach
• 1977 – Michael Gomez, Irish boxer
• 1977 – Jochen Hecht, German ice hockey player
• 1977 – Sarah Slean, Canadian singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress
• 1978 – Rim'K, French rapper (113)
• 1978 – Erica Durance, Canadian actress and producer
• 1978 – Jack Guzman, Colombian-American actor
• 1978 – Luke Kirby, Canadian actor
• 1978 – Matt Kuchar, American golfer
• 1978 – Jean-Pascal Lacoste, French singer and actor
• 1978 – Cristiano Lupatelli, Italian footballer
• 1978 – Dejan Ognjanović, Montenegrin footballer
• 1979 – Kostas Katsouranis, Greek footballer
• 1979 – Chris Pratt, American actor and singer
• 1979 – Robert Sidoli, Welsh rugby player
• 1980 – Ayşegül Abadan, Turkish pianist and educator
• 1980 – Luca Anania, Italian footballer
• 1980 – Michael Crocker, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
• 1980 – Łukasz Cyborowski, Polish chess player
• 1980 – Richard Jefferson, American basketball player
• 1980 – Sendy Rleal, Dominican baseball player
• 1981 – David Bortolussi, French-Italian rugby player
• 1981 – Yann Danis, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1981 – Simon Delestre, French horse rider
• 1981 – Brandon Flowers, American singer-songwriter (The Killers)
• 1981 – Garrett Jones, American baseball player
• 1981 – Brad Walker, American pole vaulter
• 1982 – Lee Dae-ho, South Korean baseball player
• 1982 – Rob Mills, Australian singer-songwriter and actor
• 1982 – Prince William, Duke of Cambridge
• 1983 – Marlon Davis, English comedian and actor
• 1983 – Edward Snowden, American activist and academic
• 1983 – Sigi Wimala, Indonesian model and actress
• 1984 – Jujubee, American drag queen performer
• 1984 – LaRoche Jackson, American football player
• 1984 – Franck Perera, French race car driver
• 1985 – Kris Allen, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1985 – Sharna Burgess, Australian dancer and choreographer
• 1985 – Lana Del Rey, American singer-songwriter
• 1985 – Sentayehu Ejigu, Ethiopian runner
• 1985 – Anthony Morelli, American football player
• 1985 – Byron Schammer, Australian footballer
• 1985 – Joosep Toome, Estonian basketball player
• 1986 – Hiroya Matsumoto. Japanese actor
• 1986 – Hideaki Wakui, Japanese baseball player
• 1987 – Pablo Barrera, Mexican footballer
• 1987 – Sergei Lashchenko, Ukrainian kick-boxer (d. 2015)
• 1987 – Sebastian Prödl, Austrian footballer
• 1987 – Kim Ryeowook, South Korean singer-songwriter and actor (Super Junior and Super Junior-M)
• 1987 – Dale Thomas, Australian footballer
• 1988 – Allyssa DeHaan, American basketball and volleyball player
• 1988 – Alejandro Ramírez, Costa Rican-American chess player
• 1988 – Tunnet Taimla, Estonian renju player
• 1988 – Paolo Tornaghi, Italian footballer
• 1989 – Finn Atkins, English actress
• 1989 – Abubaker Kaki, Sudanese runner
• 1989 – Patrick Schönfeld, German footballer
• 1989 – Jascha Washington, American actor
• 1990 – Pietro Baccolo, Italian footballer
• 1990 – Sandra Perković, Croatian discus thrower
• 1990 – Kasumi Suzuki, Japanese actress
• 1991 – Gaël Kakuta, French footballer
• 1991 – Min, South Korean singer and actress (Miss A)
• 1992 – Warren Cummings Smith, American-Estonian skier
• 1992 – Max Schneider, American singer-songwriter and actor
• 1993 – Caroline Brasch Nielsen, Danish model
• 1993 – Reni Takagi, Japanese singer (Momoiro Clover Z)
• 1994 – Başak Eraydın, Turkish tennis player
• 1994 – Chisato Okai, Japanese singer and actress (Cute)
• 1995 – Fumika Baba, Japanese actress and model
• 1997 – Rebecca Black, American singer and actress
• 1997 – Ferdinand Zvonimir von Habsburg, Austrian race car driver
• 2001 – Alexandra Obolentseva, Russian chess player
• 2001 – Eleanor Worthington Cox, English actress and singer

Deaths

• 1040 – Fulk III, Count of Anjou (b. 972)
• 1171 – Walter de Luci, French-English monk (b. 1103)
• 1208 – Philip of Swabia (b. 1177)
• 1305 – Wenceslaus II of Bohemia (b. 1271)
• 1377 – Edward III of England (b. 1312)
• 1421 – Jean Le Maingre, French general (b. 1366)
• 1521 – Leonardo Loredan, Italian politician, 76th Doge of Venice (b. 1436)
• 1527 – Niccolò Machiavelli, Italian historian and author (b. 1469)
• 1529 – John Skelton, English poet and educator (b. 1460)
• 1547 – Sebastiano del Piombo, Italian painter and educator (b. 1485)
• 1558 – Piero Strozzi, Italian general (b. 1510)
• 1582 – Oda Nobunaga, Japanese warlord (b. 1534)
• 1591 – Aloysius Gonzaga, Italian saint (b. 1568)
• 1596 – Jean Liebault, French agronomist and physician (b. 1535)
• 1621 – Louis III, Cardinal of Guise (b. 1575)
• 1621 – Kryštof Harant, Czech soldier and composer (b. 1564)
• 1631 – John Smith, English admiral and explorer (b. 1580)
• 1652 – Inigo Jones, English architect, designed the Queen's House and Wilton House (b. 1573)
• 1661 – Andrea Sacchi, Italian painter (b. 1599)
• 1737 – Matthieu Marais, French author, critic, and jurist (b. 1664)
• 1738 – Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1674)
• 1796 – Richard Gridley, American soldier and engineer (b. 1710)
• 1824 – Étienne Aignan, French playwright and translator (b. 1773)
• 1865 – Frances Adeline Seward, American wife of William H. Seward (b. 1824)
• 1874 – Anders Jonas Ångström, Swedish physicist and astronomer (b. 1814)
• 1876 – Antonio López de Santa Anna, Mexican general and politician 8th President of Mexico (b. 1794)
• 1893 – Leland Stanford, American businessman and politician, 8th Governor of California (b. 1824)
• 1908 – Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Russian composer and educator (b. 1844)
• 1914 – Bertha von Suttner, Austrian journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1843)
• 1917 – Matthias Zurbriggen, Swiss mountaineer (b. 1856)
• 1926 – Lorne Currie, French-English sailor (b. 1871)
• 1929 – Leonard Trelawny Hobhouse, English sociologist, journalist, and academic (b. 1864)
• 1934 – Thorne Smith, American author (b. 1892)
• 1935 – Alice Brown Davis, Seminole chief (b. 1852)
• 1940 – Smedley Butler, American general, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1881)
• 1940 – Édouard Vuillard, French painter (b. 1868)
• 1951 – Charles Dillon Perrine, American astronomer (b. 1867)
• 1951 – Gustave Sandras, French gymnast (b. 1872)
• 1952 – Wop May, Canadian captain and pilot (b. 1896)
• 1954 – Gideon Sundback, Swedish-American engineer, developed the zipper (b. 1880)
• 1957 – Claude Farrère, French captain and author (b. 1876)
• 1957 – Johannes Stark, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874)
• 1964 – James Chaney, American activist (b. 1943)
• 1964 – Andrew Goodman, American activist (b. 1943)
• 1964 – Michael Schwerner, American activist (b. 1939)
• 1968 – Ingeborg Spangsfeldt, Danish actress (b. 1895)
• 1969 – Maureen Connolly, American tennis player (b. 1934)
• 1970 – Sukarno, Indonesian engineer and politician, 1st President of Indonesia (b. 1901)
• 1970 – Piers Courage, English race car driver (b. 1942)
• 1976 – Margaret Herrick, American librarian (b. 1902)
• 1979 – Angus MacLise, American drummer and songwriter (Velvet Underground and Theatre of Eternal Music) (b. 1938)
• 1980 – Bert Kaempfert, German conductor and composer (b. 1923)
• 1980 – Ahmet Muhip Dıranas, Turkish poet and author (b. 1909)
• 1981 – Don Figlozzi, American illustrator and animator (b. 1909)
• 1985 – Hector Boyardee, Italian-American chef and businessman, founded Chef Boyardee (b. 1897)
• 1985 – Tage Erlander, Swedish lieutenant and politician, 25th Prime Minister of Sweden (b. 1901)
• 1986 – Assi Rahbani, Lebanese singer-songwriter and producer (Rahbani brothers) (b. 1923)
• 1987 – Madman Muntz, American engineer and businessman, founded the Muntz Car Company (b. 1914)
• 1990 – Cedric Belfrage, English-American journalist and author, co-founded the National Guardian (b. 1904)
• 1990 – June Christy, American singer (b. 1925)
• 1992 – Ben Alexander, Australian rugby player (b. 1971)
• 1992 – Rudra Mohammad Shahidullah, Bangladeshi poet, author, and playwright (b. 1956)
• 1992 – Li Xiannian, Chinese captain and politician, 3rd President of the People's Republic of China (b. 1909)
• 1993 – Ticho Parly, Danish tenor (b. 1928)
• 1994 – William Wilson Morgan, American astronomer and astrophysicist (b. 1906)
• 1997 – Shintaro Katsu, Japanese actor, singer, director, and producer (b. 1931)
• 1997 – Fidel Velázquez Sánchez, Mexican union leader (b. 1900)
• 1998 – Harry Cranbrook Allen, English historian (b. 1917)
• 1998 – Anastasio Ballestrero, Italian cardinal (b. 1913)
• 1998 – Al Campanis, American baseball player and manager (b. 1916)
• 1999 – Kami, Japanese drummer (Malice Mizer) (b. 1973)
• 2000 – Alan Hovhaness, Armenian-American pianist and composer (b. 1911)
• 2001 – John Lee Hooker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1916)
• 2001 – Soad Hosny, Egyptian actress and singer (b. 1942)
• 2001 – Carroll O'Connor, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1924)
• 2002 – Timothy Findley, Canadian author and playwright (b. 1930)
• 2003 – Jason Moran, Australian mobster (b. 1967)
• 2003 – Roger Neilson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1934)
• 2003 – Leon Uris, American soldier and author (b. 1924)
• 2004 – Leonel Brizola, Brazilian engineer and politician, Governor of Rio de Janeiro (b. 1922)
• 2004 – Ruth Leach Amonette, American businesswoman (b. 1916)
• 2005 – Jaime Sin, Filipino cardinal (b. 1928)
• 2006 – Jared C. Monti, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1975)
• 2007 – Bob Evans, American businessman, founded Bob Evans Restaurants (b. 1918)
• 2008 – Scott Kalitta, American race car driver (b. 1962)
• 2008 – Kermit Love, American actor and puppeteer (b. 1916)
• 2010 – Russell Ash, English author (b. 1946)
• 2010 – Irwin Barker, Canadian actor and screenwriter (b. 1956)
• 2010 – İlhan Selçuk, Turkish lawyer, journalist, and author (b. 1925)
• 2011 – Robert Kroetsch, Canadian author and poet (b. 1927)
• 2012 – Richard Adler, American composer and producer (b. 1921)
• 2012 – Abid Hussain, Indian economist and diplomat, Indian Ambassador to the United States (b. 1926)
• 2012 – Sunil Janah, Indian photographer and journalist (b. 1918)
• 2012 – Radha Vinod Raju, Indian police officer (b. 1949)
• 2012 – Anna Schwartz, American economist and author (b. 1915)
• 2012 – Ramaz Shengelia, Georgian footballer (b. 1957)
• 2013 – Diane Clare, English actress (b. 1938)
• 2013 – Margret Göbl, German figure skater (b. 1938)
• 2013 – James P. Gordon, American physicist and academic (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Mary Love, American singer (b. 1943)
• 2013 – Alen Pamić, Croatian footballer (b. 1989)
• 2013 – Elliott Reid, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1920)
• 2013 – Wendy Saddington, Australian singer (Chain) (b. 1949)
• 2014 – Gerry Conlon, Irish author and activist (b. 1954)
• 2014 – Yozo Ishikawa, Japanese politician, Japanese Minister of Defense (b. 1925)
• 2014 – Walter Kieber, Austrian-Liechtenstein politician, 7th Prime Minister of Liechtenstein (b. 1931)
• 2014 – Wong Ho Leng, Malaysian lawyer and politician (b. 1959)
• 2014 – Jimmy C. Newman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1927)
• 2015 – Darryl Hamilton, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1964)
• 2015 – Veijo Meri, Finnish author and poet (b. 1928)
• 2015 – Remo Remotti, Italian actor, playwright, and poet (b. 1924)
• 2015 – Alexander Schalck-Golodkowski, German soldier and politician (b. 1932)
• 2015 – Gunther Schuller, American horn player, composer, and conductor (b. 1925)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Alban of Mainz
  • Aloysius Gonzaga
  • Engelmund of Velsen
  • Martin of Tongres
  • Onesimos Nesib (Lutheran)
  • June 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

See Summer solstice for celebrations pertaining to it.

• Day of the Martyrs (Togo)
• Father's Day (Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Uganda, United Arab Emirates)
• Go Skateboarding Day
• National Aboriginal Day (Canada)
• National Day (Greenland)
• World Humanist Day (Humanism)
• World Hydrography Day (international)
• International Yoga Day (international)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to June 21.

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