June 15 is the 166th day of the year (167th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 199 days remaining until the end of the year. [edit] Events - 763 BC – Assyrians record a solar eclipse that 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 – Phillip II of Spain declares William the Silent to be an outlaw.
- 1667 – The first human blood transfusion is administered by Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys.
- 1752 – Benjamin Franklin proves that lightning is electricity.
- 1775 – American Revolutionary War: George Washington is appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army.
- 1776 – Delaware Separation Day – Delaware votes to suspend government under the British Crown and separate officially from Pennsylvania.
- 1785 – Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, co-pilot of the first-ever manned flight (1783), and his companion, Pierre Romain, become the first-ever casualties of an air crash when their hot air balloon explodes during their attempt to cross the English Channel.
- 1804 – New Hampshire approves the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratifying the document.
- 1808 – Joseph Bonaparte becomes King of Spain.
- 1836 – Arkansas is admitted as the 25th U.S. state.
- 1844 – Charles Goodyear receives a patent for vulcanization, a process to strengthen rubber.
- 1846 – The Oregon Treaty establishes the 49th parallel as the border between the United States and Canada, from the Rocky Mountains to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
- 1859 – Pig War: Ambiguity in the Oregon Treaty leads to the "Northwestern Boundary Dispute" between U.S. and British/Canadian settlers.
- 1864 – American Civil War: 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 and is 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 1000.
- 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 concludes.
- 1916 – U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signs a bill incorporating the Boy Scouts of America, making them the only American youth organization with a federal charter.
- 1919 – John Alcock and Arthur Brown complete the first nonstop transatlantic flight at Clifden, County Galway, Ireland.
- 1920 – Duluth lynchings in Minnesota.
- 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 lost sixteen members in an avalanche on Nanga Parbat. The worst single disaster to occur on an 8000m peak.
- 1944 – World War II: Battle of Saipan: The United States invades Saipan.
- 1944 – In the Saskatchewan general election, the CCF, led by Tommy Douglas, is elected and forms the first socialist government of North America.
- 1945 – The General Dutch Youth League (ANJV) is founded in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- 1954 – UEFA (Union des Associations Européennes de Football) is formed in Basle, Switzerland.
- 1955 – The Eisenhower administration stages the first annual "Operation Alert" (OPAL) exercise, an attempt to assess the USA's preparations for a nuclear attack.
- 1978 – King Hussein of Jordan marries American Lisa Halaby, who takes the name Queen Noor.
- 1985 – Rembrandt's painting Danaë is attacked by a man (later judged insane) who throws sulfuric acid on the canvas and cuts it twice with a knife.
- 1991 – Birth of the first federal political party in Canada that supports Quebec nationalism, le Bloc Québécois.
- 1992 – The United States Supreme Court rules in United States v. Álvarez-Machaín that it is permissible for the USA to forcibly extradite suspects in foreign countries and bring them to the USA for trial, without approval from those other countries.
- 1994 – Israel and Vatican City establish full diplomatic relations.
- 1996 – In Manchester, United Kingdom, a terrorist bomb injures over 200 people and devastates a large part of the city centre.
- 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
[edit] Births - 1330 – Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales (d. 1376)
- 1519 – Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset, illegitimate son of King Henry VIII of England (d. 1536)
- 1594 – Nicolas Poussin, French painter (d. 1665)
- 1623 – Cornelis de Witt, Dutch politician (d. 1672)
- 1624 – Hiob Ludolf, German orientalist (d. 1704)
- 1640 – Bernard Lamy, French mathematician (d. 1715)
- 1755 – Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy, French chemist (d. 1809)
- 1765 – Johann Gottlieb Friedrich von Bohnenberger, German mathematician (d. 1831)
- 1767 – Rachel Donelson Jackson, First Lady of the United States (d. 1828)
- 1777 – David Daniel Davis, British politician (d. 1841)
- 1789 – Josiah Henson, American slave and settlement founder (d. 1883)
- 1801 – Benjamin Raymond, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1883)
- 1805 – William Butler Ogden, first Mayor of Chicago (d. 1877)
- 1809 – François-Xavier Garneau, French-Canadian poet and historian (d. 1866)
- 1843 – Edvard Grieg, Norwegian composer (d. 1907)
- 1848 – Parumala Thirumeni,Gheevarghese Mor Gregorios (d. 1902)
- 1875 – Herman Smith-Johannsen, cross-country skier (d. 1987)
- 1882 – Ion Antonescu, Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1946)
- 1884 – Harry Langdon, American actor (d. 1944)
- 1888 – Ramón López Velarde, Mexican poet (d. 1921)
- 1894 – Nikolai Chebotaryov, Ukrainian mathematician (d. 1947)
- 1894 – Robert Russell Bennett, American composer and arranger (d. 1981)
- 1900 – Gotthard Günther, German philosopher (d. 1984)
- 1900 – Otto Luening, German-American composer (d. 1996)
- 1902 – Erik Erikson, psychoanalyst (d. 1994)
- 1906 – Léon Degrelle, Belgian SS officer (d. 1994)
- 1908 – Sam Giancana, American mafioso (d. 1975)
- 1910 – David Rose, American songwriter, composer and orchestra leader (d. 1990)
- 1911 – W.V. Awdry, British children's writer (d. 1997)
- 1914 – Yuri Andropov, Soviet politician (d. 1984)
- 1914 – Saul Steinberg, Romanian/American cartoonist (d. 1999)
- 1914 – Hilda Terry, American Cartoonist (d. 2006)
- 1915 – Thomas Huckle Weller, American virologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 2008)
- 1916 – Herbert Simon, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2001)
- 1917 – John Bennett Fenn, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1917 – Lash La Rue, American actor (d. 1996)
- 1917 – Michalis Genitsaris, Greek singer and composer (d. 2005)
- 1920 – Alberto Sordi, Italian actor and director (d. 2003)
- 1920 – Alla Kazanskaya, Russian stage and film actress (d. 2008)
- 1921 – Errol Garner, American musician (d. 1977)
- 1922 – John Veale, English composer (d. 2006)
- 1924 – Ezer Weizman, Israeli politician (d. 2005)
- 1926 – Mac McGarry, American quiz show host
- 1926 – Shigeru Kayano, Japanese Ainu activist (d. 2006)
- 1927 – Ibn-e-Insha, Pakistani humourist and Urdu poet (d. 1978)
- 1927 – Hugo Pratt, Italian comic book creator (d. 1995)
- 1930 – Marcel Pronovost, Canadian professional ice hockey player
- 1932 – Mario Cuomo, American politician
- 1933 – Sergio Endrigo, Italian singer (d. 2005)
- 1933 – Mark Jones, English footballer (d. 1958)
- 1934 – Jerry Buss, American basketball team owner
- 1934 – Mikel Laboa, Basque singer and songwriter. (d. 2008)
- 1936 – Claude Brasseur, French actor
- 1936 – William Joseph Levada, American Catholic prelate
- 1937 – Waylon Jennings, American singer (d. 2002)
- 1938 – Billy Williams, baseball player
- 1939 – Ward Connerly, American political figure
- 1939 – Brian Jacques, British author
- 1941 – Harry Nilsson, American singer and composer (d. 1994)
- 1942 – John E. McLaughlin, former Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
- 1943 – Xaviera Hollander, Dutch author
- 1943 – Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, former Prime Minister of Denmark
- 1943 – Johnny Hallyday, French singer and actor
- 1943 – Muff Winwood, British songwriter and bassist (Spencer Davis Group)
- 1943 – Lee Shallat-Chemel, American television director
- 1944 – Robert Keppel, American criminologist
- 1945 – Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Philippine senator
- 1945 – Nicola Pagett, British actress
- 1945 – Lawrence Wilkerson, American retired military officer
- 1946 – Noddy Holder, British singer (Slade)
- 1946 – Demis Roussos, Greek singer
- 1947 – John Hoagland, American photographer
- 1947 – Lee Purcell, American actress
- 1948 – Mike Holmgren, American football coach
- 1949 – Dusty Baker, baseball player and manager
- 1949 – Simon Callow, British actor
- 1949 – Russell Hitchcock, Australian singer (Air Supply)
- 1949 – Jim Varney, American actor (d. 2000)
- 1950 – Lakshmi Mittal, Indian industrialist
- 1951 – Steve Walsh, American singer (Kansas)
- 1953 – Rita Lee, American model and Playboy Playmate
- 1954 – James Belushi, American actor
- 1954 – Paul Rusesabagina, Rwandan hotel manager
- 1954 – Beverley Whitfield, Australian swimmer (d. 1996)
- 1955 – Julie Hagerty, American actress
- 1955 – David Kennedy, Kennedy family member (d. 1984)
- 1956 – Ava Cadell, American actress
- 1956 – Robin Curtis, American actress
- 1956 – Polly Draper, American actress
- 1957 – Seppo Pääkkönen, Finnish actor
- 1958 – Wade Boggs, American baseball player
- 1958 – Riccardo Paletti, Italian racing driver (d. 1982)
- 1959 – Eileen Davidson, American actress
- 1959 – Alan Brazil, British footballer
- 1960 – Michèle Laroque, French actress
- 1960 – Marieke van Doorn, Dutch field hockey player
- 1961 – Kai Eckhardt, German musician (Garaj Mahal)
- 1961 – Dave McAuley, Northern Irish boxer
- 1961 – Yoshimi Iwasaki, Japanese singer/actress
- 1961 – Scott Norton, American professional wrestler
- 1962 – Andrea Rost, Hungarian soprano
- 1963 – Mario Gosselin, Quebec ice hockey player
- 1963 – Helen Hunt, American actress
- 1963 – Blanca Portillo, Spanish actress
- 1963 – Nigel Walker, Welsh athlete and rugby union player
- 1964 – Courteney Cox, American actress
- 1964 – Gavin Greenaway, British composer
- 1964 – Michael Laudrup, Danish footballer
- 1965 – Annelies Bredael, Belgian rower
- 1965 – Adam Smith, American politician
- 1966 – Idalis DeLeon, American actress/singer
- 1967 – Yūji Ueda, Japanese voice actor
- 1968 – Oh Dal-su, South Korean actor
- 1969 – Ice Cube, American rapper 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 musician
- 1971 – Nathan Astle, New Zealand cricketer
- 1972 – Justin Leonard, American golfer
- 1972 – Andy Pettitte, American baseball player
- 1972 – Marcus Hahnemann, American soccer player
- 1972 – Hank Von Helvete, Turbonegro Frontman
- 1972 – Chloe Dao, American designer and winner of Project Runway (season 2)
- 1973 – Neil Patrick Harris, American actor
- 1973 – Tore André Flo, Norwegian footballer
- 1973 – Pia Miranda, Australian actress
- 1973 – Greg Vaughan, American actor
- 1975 – Elizabeth Reaser, American actress
- 1975 – Rachel Wacholder, American beach volleyballer
- 1976 – Gary Lightbody, Northern Irish musician (Snow Patrol)
- 1977 – 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
- 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
- 1985 – Nadine Coyle, Northern Irish singer (Girls Aloud)
- 1988 – Miku Ishida, Japanese teen idol
- 1990 – Denzel Whitaker, American actor
[edit] Deaths - 923 – Robert I of France (b. 866)
- 991 – Empress Theophanu (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
- 1381 – Wat Tyler, English rebel (b. 1341)
- 1383 – John VI Cantacuzenus, Byzantine Emperor
- 1389 – Murad I, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1326)
- 1389 – Prince Lazar, Serbian Orthodox saint (b. 1329)
- 1467 – Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1396)
- 1521 – Tamás Bakócz. Hungarian Catholic cardinal and statesman (b. 1442)
- 1614 – Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton, English politician (b. 1540)
- 1679 – Guillaume Courtois, French painter (b. 1628)
- 1724 – Henry Sacheverell, English churchman and politician (b. 1674)
- 1750 – Marguerite De Launay, Baronne Staal, French writer (b. 1684)
- 1768 – James Short, Scottish mathematician and optician (b. 1710)
- 1772 – Louis-Claude Daquin, French composer (b. 1694)
- 1844 – Thomas Campbell, Scottish poet (b. 1777)
- 1849 – James Knox Polk, 11th President of the United States (b. 1795)
- 1858 – Ary Scheffer, Dutch-French painter (b. 1795)
- 1888 – Emperor Friedrich III of Germany (b. 1831)
- 1889 – Mihai Eminescu, Romanian poet (b. 1850)
- 1917 – Kristian Birkeland, Norwegian physicist (b. 1867)
- 1934 – Alfred Bruneau, French composer (b. 1857)
- 1941 – Evelyn Underhill, British writer (b. 1875)
- 1941 – Otfrid Foerster, German neurologist (b. 1873)
- 1961 – Giulio Cabianca, Italian racing driver (b. 1923)
- 1962 – Alfred Cortot, Franco-Swiss pianist (b. 1877)
- 1965 – E. A. Speiser, American Bible scholar (b. 1902)
- 1965 – Steve Cochran, American actor (b. 1917)
- 1968 – Sam Crawford, baseball player (b. 1880)
- 1968 – Wes Montgomery, American jazz guitarist (b. 1925)
- 1971 – Wendell Meredith Stanley, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
- 1976 – Jimmy Dykes, baseball player and manager (b. 1896)
- 1983 – Srirangam Srinivasarao, also known as Sri Sri, Telugu poet (b. 1910)
- 1984 – Meredith Willson, American composer (b. 1902)
- 1985 – Andy Stanfield, American athlete (b. 1927)
- 1985 – Robert Stethem, U.S. Navy Seabee diver murdered by terrorists on TWA Flight 847 (b. 1961)
- 1989 – Victor French, American actor (b. 1934)
- 1989 – Maurice Bellemare, Canadian politician (b. 1912)
- 1991 – Arthur Lewis, British economist, Nobel laureate (b. 1915)
- 1991 – Happy Chandler, American politician and Commissioner of Baseball (b. 1898)
- 1993 – John Connally, American politician (b. 1917)
- 1993 – James Hunt, English racing driver and 1976 F1 world champion (b. 1947)
- 1994 – Manos Hadjidakis, Greek composer (b. 1925)
- 1995 – John Vincent Atanasoff, American computer pioneer (b. 1903)
- 1996 – Ella Fitzgerald, American singer (b. 1917)
- 1996 – Dick Murdoch, professional wrestler (b. 1946)
- 2000 – Jules Roy, French writer (b. 1907)
- 2001 – Henri Alekan, French cinematographer (b. 1909)
- 2002 – Choi Hong Hi, founder of Taekwon-Do (b. 1918)
- 2003 – Hume Cronyn, Canadian actor (b. 1911)
- 2005 – Suzanne Flon, French actress (b. 1918)
- 2006 – Raymond Devos, French humourist (b. 1922)
- 2006 – Herb Pearson, New Zealand cricketer (b. 1910)
- 2007 – Claudia Cohen, American gossip columnist and socialite (b. 1950)
- 2007 – Sherri Martel, American professional wrestler and valet (b. 1958)
- 2008 – Stan Winston, American special effects and makeup artist, and film director (b. 1946)
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