June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 188 days remaining until the end of the year. [edit] Events - 363 – Roman Emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sassanid Empire. General Jovian is proclaimed Emperor by the troops on the battlefield.
- 1284 – the legendary Pied Piper leads 130 children out of Hamelin, Germany
- 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.
- 1483 – Richard III is crowned king of England.
- 1541 – Francisco Pizarro is assassinated in Lima by the son of his former companion and later antagonist, Diego Almagro the younger. Almagro is later caught and executed.
- 1718 – Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich 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.
- 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.
- 1909 – The Science Museum in London comes into existence as an independent entity.
- 1917 – The first U.S. troops arrive in France to fight alongside Britain, France, Italy, and Russia against Germany, and Austria-Hungary in World War I.
- 1918 – World War I, Western Front: Battle for Belleau Wood – Allied Forces under John J. Pershing and James Harbord defeat Imperial German Forces under Wilhelm, German Crown Prince.
- 1924 – American occupying forces leave the Dominican Republic.
- 1927 – The Cyclone roller coaster opens on Coney Island.
- 1934 – 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.
- 1942 – The first flight of the Grumman F6F Hellcat.
- 1945 – The United Nations Charter is signed in San Francisco.
- 1948 – The Western allies begin an airlift to Berlin after the Soviet Union blockades West Berlin.
- 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 statewise labour parties.
- 1959 – The Saint Lawrence Seaway opens, opening North America's Great Lakes to ocean-going ships.
- 1960 – The former British Protectorate of British Somaliland gains its independence as Somaliland .
- 1960 – Madagascar gains its independence from France.
- 1963 – John F. Kennedy speaks the famous words "Ich bin ein Berliner" on a visit to West Berlin.
- 1973 – At Plesetsk Cosmodrome 9 people are killed in an explosion of a Cosmos 3-M rocket.
- 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 – Indira Gandhi establishes emergency rule in India.
- 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.
- 1976 – The CN Tower, the world's tallest free-standing structure on land, is opened to general public.
- 1977 – The Yorkshire Ripper kills 16 year old shop assistant Jayne MacDonald in Leeds, changing public perception of the killer as she is the first victim who is not a prostitute.
- 1978 – Air Canada Flight 189 to Toronto overruns the runway and crashes into the Etobicoke Creek ravine. Two of 107 passengers on board perish.
- 1991 – Ten-Day War: the Yugoslav people's army begins the Ten-Day War in Slovenia.
- 1993 – The United States launches a missile attack targeting Baghdad intelligence headquarters in retaliation for a thwarted assassination attempt against former President George H.W. Bush in April in Kuwait.
- 1994 – Microsoft no longer supports MS-DOS and the development of FreeDOS begins.
- 1995 – Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani deposes his father Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar, in a bloodless coup.
- 1996 – Irish Journalist Veronica Guerin is shot in her car while in traffic in the outskirts of Dublin
- 1997 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Communications Decency Act violates the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
- 2003 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Lawrence v. Texas that gender-based sodomy laws are unconstitutional.
- 2008 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules in District of Columbia v. Heller that the ban on handguns in the District of Columbia is unconstitutional.
[edit] Births - 1575 – Anne Catherine of Brandenburg, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1612)
- 1681 – Hedwig Sophia, duchess of Holstein-Gottorp, Swedish writer (d. 1708)
- 1689 – Edward Holyoke, American academic (d. 1769)
- 1694 – Georg Brandt, Swedish chemist and mineralogist (d. 1768)
- 1702 – Philip Doddridge, English religious leader (d. 1751)
- 1703 – Thomas Clap, American academic (d. 1767)
- 1730 – Charles Messier, French Astronomer (d. 1817)
- 1798 – Wolfgang Menzel, German writer (d. 1873)
- 1817 – Branwell Bronte, British painter and poet (d. 1848)
- 1819 – Abner Doubleday, American Major General (d. 1893)
- 1824 – Lord Kelvin, Irish-born physicist (d. 1907)
- 1835 – Thomas W. Knox, American author (d. 1896)
- 1838 – Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Bengali Novelist (d. 1894)
- 1854 – Robert Laird Borden, Canadian politician (d. 1937)
- 1865 – Bernard Berenson, American art historian (d. 1959)
- 1866 – George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, English financier of Egyptian excavations (d. 1923)
- 1869 – Martin Andersen Nexø, Danish writer (d. 1954)
- 1880 – Natalia, Princess Brassova (d. 1952)
- 1892 – Pearl S. Buck, American writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1973)
- 1895 – George Hainsworth, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1950)
- 1898 – Willy Messerschmitt, German aircraft designer (d. 1978)
- 1898 – Chesty Puller, the most decorated Marine in history (d. 1971)
- 1899 – Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (d. 1918)
- 1901 – Stuart Symington, American politician (d. 1988)
- 1902 – Hugues Cuénod, Swiss Tenor
- 1904 – Frank Scott Hogg, Canadian astronomer (d. 1951)
- 1904 – Peter Lorre, Hungarian-born actor (d. 1964)
- 1906 – Alberto Rabagliati, Italian singer (d. 1974)
- 1906 – Viktor Schreckengost, American industrial designer (d. 2008)
- 1907 – Debs Garms, American baseball player (d. 1984)
- 1908 – Salvador Allende, Former President of Chile (1970-1973) (d. 1973)
- 1909 – Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's manager (d. 1997)
- 1911 – Babe Didrikson Zaharias, American athlete (d. 1956)
- 1913 – Aimé Césaire, French Martinican poet and politician (d. 2008)
- 1913 – Maurice Wilkes, British computer scientist
- 1914 – Kathryn Johnston, US victim of police shooting (d. 2006)
- 1914 – Laurie Lee, British writer (d. 1997)
- 1915 – Paul Castellano, American mafia boss (d. 1985)
- 1915 – Charlotte Zolotow, American author
- 1916 – Giuseppe Taddei, Italian opera singer
- 1919 – Richard Neustadt, American political historian (d. 2003)
- 1921 – Violette Szabo, French WWII secret agent (d. 1945)
- 1922 – Eleanor Parker, American actress
- 1923 – Barbara Graham, American murderer (d. 1955)
- 1924 – Costas Axelos, Greek philosopher
- 1925 – Pavel Belyayev, Soviet cosmonaut (d. 1970)
- 1928 – Jacob Druckman, American composer (d. 1996)
- 1928 – Yoshiro Nakamatsu, Japanese inventor
- 1929 – Milton Glaser, American Designer
- 1933 – Claudio Abbado, Italian conductor
- 1933 – Gene Green, American baseball player (d. 1981)
- 1934 – Jeremy Wolfenden, British journalist (d. 1965)
- 1934 – Dave Grusin, American jazz pianist
- 1936 – Robert Maclennan, British politician
- 1936 – Jean-Claude Cardinal Turcotte, Archbishop of Montreal
- 1937 – Sombat Metanee, Thai film actor
- 1937 – Robert Coleman Richardson, American physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1938 – Gerald North, American climatologist
- 1940 – Billy Davis, Jr., American singer (The 5th Dimension)
- 1941 – Yves Beauchemin, Canadian novelist
- 1942 – Gilberto Gil, Brazilian singer and Minister of Culture
- 1942 – James J. Dillon, American professional wrestling manager
- 1943 – John Beasley, American actor
- 1943 – Georgie Fame, British singer
- 1943 – Warren Farrell, Men's Rights Activist
- 1945 – Malachi York, Nuwaubian leader
- 1951 – Gary Gilmour, Australian cricketer
- 1953 – Robert Davi, American actor
- 1954 – Steve Barton, American actor (d. 2001)
- 1955 – Mick Jones, British guitarist (The Clash, Big Audio Dynamite)
- 1956 – Chris Isaak, American singer
- 1957 – Patty Smyth, American singer (Scandal)
- 1957 – Philippe Couillard, Quebec neurosurgeon and politician
- 1959 – Mark McKinney, Canadian actor
- 1960 – Zachary Breaux, American jazz guitarist (d. 1997)
- 1961 – Greg LeMond, American cyclist
- 1961 – Terri Nunn, American singer (Berlin)
- 1962 – Preston A. Whitmore II, American screenwriter and film director
- 1963 – Harriet Wheeler, British singer (The Sundays)
- 1963 – Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, Russian businessman
- 1963 – Richard Garfield, American game designer
- 1966 – Minaguchi Yuko, Japanese voice actress
- 1967 – Todd Pletcher, American horse trainer
- 1968 – Paolo Maldini, Italian footballer
- 1968 – Shannon Sharpe, American football player
- 1969 – Colin Greenwood, British musician
- 1969 – Ingrid Lempereur, Belgian swimmer
- 1969 – Mike Myers, American baseball player
- 1970 – Paul Thomas Anderson, American filmmaker
- 1970 – Irv Gotti, American record producer
- 1970 – Sean Hayes, American actor
- 1970 – Matt Letscher, American actor
- 1970 – Chris O'Donnell, American actor
- 1970 – Nick Offerman, American actor
- 1971 – Max Biaggi, Italian motorcycle racer
- 1972 – Garou, Canadian singer
- 1972 – Jai Taurima, Australian long jumper
- 1973 – Gretchen Wilson, American singer
- 1973 – Rebecca Budig, American actress
- 1973 – Paweł Małaszyński, Polish actor
- 1973 – Jussi Sydänmaa, Finnish musician (Lordi)
- 1974 – Matt Striker, American professional wrestler
- 1974 – Derek Jeter, American baseball player
- 1974 – Jeff Frankenstein, American musician (Newsboys)
- 1974 – Jason Kendall, American baseball player
- 1974 – Nicole Saba, Lebanese singer
- 1975 – Jonah Sorrentino, American hip hop artist
- 1975 – Terry Skiverton, English football player
- 1976 – Ed Jovanovski, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1976 – Chad Pennington, American football player
- 1977 – Kubo Tite, Japanese cartoonist
- 1977 – Mark Jindrak,American Professional Wrestler
- 1978 – Alexandra, French singer, L5's singer
- 1979 – Wálter Herrmann, Argentinian basketball player
- 1979 – Andy O'Brien, English footballer
- 1979 – Ryo Fukuda, Japanese racing driver
- 1979 – Ryan Tedder, American Musician
- 1980 – Jason Schwartzman, American actor
- 1980 – Michael Vick, American football player
- 1980 – Chris Shelton, American baseball player
- 1980 – Sinik, French singer and rapper
- 1980 – Hamílton, naturalized Togolese footballer
- 1981 – Damien Sargue, French singer
- 1984 – Elijah Dukes, American baseball player
- 1984 – Raymond Felton, American basketball player
- 1984 – Deron Williams, American basketball player
- 1984 – Jose Juan Barea, American basketball player
- 1984 – Aubrey Plaza, American comedian, writer and actress
- 1984 – Gabrielle Walcott, winner of Miss Trinidad & Tobago World 2008
- 1985 – Urgyen Trinley Dorje, Tibetan spiritual leader
- 1987 – Carlos Iaconelli, Brazilian racing driver
- 1987 – Samir Nasri, French footballer
- 1992 – Jennette McCurdy, American actress
- 2005 – Princess Alexia of the Netherlands
[edit] Deaths - 363 – Julian the Apostate, Roman Emperor (b. 331)
- 1291 – Eleanor of Provence, wife of Henry III of England
- 1541 – Francisco Pizarro, Spanish conqueror of Peru
- 1688 – Ralph Cudworth, English philosopher (b. 1617)
- 1784 – Caesar Rodney, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1728)
- 1793 – Gilbert White, English ornithologist (b. 1720)
- 1810 – Joseph Michel Montgolfier, French inventor (b. 1740)
- 1836 – Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, French composer (La Marseillaise) (b. 1760)
- 1856 – Max Stirner, German philosopher (b. 1806)
- 1878 – Mercedes of Orleans, queen of Spain (b. 1860)
- 1918 – Peter Rosegger, Austrian poet (b. 1843)
- 1922 – Albert I, Prince of Monaco (b. 1848)
- 1939 – Ford Madox Ford, English writer (b. 1873)
- 1943 – Karl Landsteiner, Austrian biologist and physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1868)
- 1945 – Emil Hácha, President of Czechoslovakia (b. 1872)
- 1946 – Yosuke Matsuoka, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan (b. 1880)
- 1946 – Max Kögel, SS officer (b. 1895)
- 1947 – Richard Bedford Bennett, eleventh Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1870)
- 1948 – Lilian Velez, Filipino actress (b. 1924)
- 1949 – Kim Gu, President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (b. 1876)
- 1955 – Engelbert Zaschka, German helicopter pioneer (b. 1896)
- 1956 – Clifford Brown, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1930)
- 1957 – Alfred Döblin, German writer (b. 1878)
- 1958 – George Orton, Canadian athlete (b. 1873)
- 1958 – Andrija Štampar, Croatian physician and United Nations diplomat (b. 1888)
- 1964 – Leo Dandurand, American-born Canadian sports executive (b. 1889)
- 1964 – Gerrit Rietveld, Dutch architect (b. 1888)
- 1967 – Françoise Dorléac, French actress (b. 1942)
- 1975 – St. Josemaría Escrivá, Spanish Catholic priest (b. 1902)
- 1990 – Anni Blomqvist, Finnish novelist (b. 1909)
- 1992 – Herman Rohde, professional wrestler (b. 1921)
- 1993 – William H. Riker, American political scientist (b. 1920)
- 1993 – Roy Campanella, American baseball player (b. 1921)
- 1994 – Jahanara Imam, Bangladeshi writer and activist (b. 1929)
- 1996 – Veronica Guerin, Irish journalist (b. 1958)
- 1997 – Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, Hawaiian singer (b. 1959)
- 2001 – Soccer (dog actor) (b. 1988)
- 2002 – Arnold Brown, the 11th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1913)
- 2002 – Jay Berwanger, American football player (b. 1914)
- 2003 – Marc-Vivien Foé, Cameroon footballer (b. 1975)
- 2003 – Denver Randleman, U.S. Army Seargent (b. 1920)
- 2003 – Strom Thurmond, U.S. Senator (b. 1902)
- 2003 – Sir Dennis Thatcher MBE, husband of Margaret Thatcher (b. 1915)
- 2004 – Yash Johar, Indian film producer (b. 1929)
- 2004 – Naomi Shemer, Israeli singer and song-writer (b. 1930)
- 2005 – Richard Whiteley, British television game show host (b. 1943)
- 2006 – Tommy Wonder, Dutch magician (b. 1953)
- 2007 – Liz Claiborne, Belgian-born American fashion designer (b. 1929)
- 2007 – Joey Sadler, All Black rugby player (b. 1914)
- 2007 – Natasja Saad, Danish Reggae singer (b. 1974)
[edit] Holidays and observances [edit] External links
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