June 15 is the 166th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (167th in leap years), with 199 days remaining.
Events
- 763 BC - Assyrians record a solar eclipse that will be 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.
- 1219 - Dannebrog - oldest national flag in the world - and flag of Denmark. According to legend, fell from the sky during the Battle of Lyndanisse (now Tallinn) in Estonia, and turned the Danes' luck.
- 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.
- 1667 - The first human blood transfusion is administered by Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys. He transfuses 12 fluid ounces (350 ml) of sheep blood to a 15-year-old boy. The boy later dies and Baptiste is accused of murder.
- 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: Siege of Petersburg.
- 1864 - Arlington National Cemetery is established when 200 acres (0.8 km²) around Arlington Mansion are officially set aside as a military cemetery by U.S. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton.
- 1877 - Henry Ossian Flipper becomes the first African American cadet to graduate from the United States Military Academy.
- 1888 - Prince Wilhelm II becomes Kaiser Wilhelm II and is the last emperor of the second reich
- 1904 - A fire aboard the steamboat General Slocum in New York City's East River kills 1000.
- 1905 - Princess Margaret of Connaught marries Gustav, Crown Prince of Sweden.
- 1909 - Representatives from England, Australia and South Africa meet at Lords and form the Imperial Cricket Conference.
- 1911 - Tabulating Computing Recording Corporation (IBM) is incorporated.
- 1913 - US troops under General John 'Black Jack' Pershing massacre at least 2,000 Philippine men, women and children at Bud Bagsak.
- 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 first nonstop transatlantic flight at Clifden, County Galway, Ireland.
- 1920 - Duluth lynchings in Minnesota
- 1924 - Native Americans are proclaimed United States citizens.
- 1934 - The U.S.'s Great Smoky Mountains National Park is founded.
- 1944 - World War II: Battle of Saipan: The United States invades Saipan.
- 1944 - In the Saskatchewan general election, 1944, 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 (the 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.
- 1962 - Students for a Democratic Society complete the Port Huron Statement.
- 1992 - The United States Supreme Court rules in US vs. Alvarez-Machain that it is permissible for the USA to abduct suspects in foreign countries and bring them to the USA for trial, without approval from those other countries. No reciprocal right is recognized for the reverse to happen in the USA.
- 1994 - Israel and Vatican City establish full diplomatic relations.
- 1996 - In Manchester, UK, a terrorist bomb injures over 200 people and devastates a large part of the city centre.
Births
- 1330 - Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales (d. 1376)
- 1594 - Nicolas Poussin, French painter (d. 1665)
- 1623 - Cornelis de Witt, Dutch politician (d. 1672)
- 1624 - Hiob Ludolf, German orientalist (d. 1704)
- 1755 - Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy, French chemist (d. 1809)
- 1767 - Rachel Donelson Jackson, First Lady of the United States
- 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)
- 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)
- 1900 - Gotthard Günther, German philosopher (d. 1984)
- 1902 - Erik Erikson, psychoanalyst (d. 1994)
- 1906 - Léon Degrelle, Belgian SS officer (d. 1994)
- 1910 - David Rose, American songwriter, composer and orchestra leader (d. 1990)
- 1911 - W.V. Awdry, British children's writer (d. 1997)
- 1914 - Yuri Andropov, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (d. 1984)
- 1914 - Saul Steinberg, Romanian-American cartoonist (d. 1999)
- 1915 - Thomas Huckle Weller, American virologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- 1916 - Herbert Simon, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2001)
- 1917 - John Fenn, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1917 - Lash La Rue, American actor (d. 1996)
- 1918 - Ralph C. Wilson, Jr., owner of the Buffalo Bills
- 1920 - Alberto Sordi, Italian actor and director (d. 2003)
- 1921 - Errol Garner, American musician (d. 1977)
- 1926 - Shigeru Kayano, Japanese Ainu activist (d. 2006)
- 1930 - Marcel Pronovost, Professional ice hockey player
- 1932 - Mario Cuomo, Governor of New York
- 1933 - Sergio Endrigo, Italian singer (d. 2005)
- 1936 - William Joseph Levada, American Catholic prelate
- 1937 - Waylon Jennings, American singer (d. 2002)
- 1938 - Billy Williams, baseball player
- 1939 - Brian Jacques, British author
- 1941 - Harry Nilsson, American singer and composer (d. 1994)
- 1943 - Xaviera Hollander, Dutch author
- 1943 - Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, Prime Minister of Denmark
- 1943 - Johnny Hallyday, French singer
- 1943 - Muff Winwood, British songwriter, producer and bassist (Spencer Davis Group)
- 1945 - Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Philippine senator
- 1946 - Noddy Holder, English singer (Slade)
- 1946 - Demis Roussos, Greek singer
- 1947 - John Hoagland, American photographer
- 1948 - Mike Holmgren, American football coach
- 1949 - Dusty Baker, baseball player and manager
- 1949 - Simon Callow, British actor
- 1949 - Russell Hitchcock, Member of pop duo (Air Supply)
- 1949 - Jim Varney, American actor (d. 2000)
- 1954 - James Belushi, American actor
- 1954 - Paul Rusesabagina, Manager of hotel des diplomates during the Rwandan genocide
- 1958 - Wade Boggs, baseball player
- 1960 - Michèle Laroque, French actress
- 1961 - Dave McAuley, Northern Irish boxer
- 1963 - Helen Hunt, American actress
- 1964 - Courteney Cox, American actress
- 1964 - Michael Laudrup, Danish footballer
- 1965 - Bernard Hopkins, American boxer
- 1967 - Eric Stefani, American musician and animator
- 1967 - Yuji Ueda, Japanese seiyu (voice actor)
- 1969 - Ice Cube, American singer and actor
- 1969 - Oliver Kahn, German footballer
- 1970 - Leah Remini, actress
- 1971 - Edwin Brienen, Dutch director
- 1972 - Andy Pettitte, baseball player
- 1973 - Neil Patrick Harris, American actor
- 1973 - Tore André Flo, Norwegian footballer
- 1978 - Wilfred Bouma, Dutch footballer
- 1980 - Cara Zavaleta, American model
- 1980 - Mary Carey, American actress
- 1981 - Billy Martin, American musician
- 1983 - Julia Fischer, German violinist
- 1985 - Nadine Coyle, Northern Irish singer (Girls Aloud)
Deaths
- 923 - Robert I of France (b. c. 865)
- 1073 - Emperor Go-Sanjō of Japan (b. 1034)
- 1246 - Duke Frederick II of Austria (b. 1219)
- 1341 - Andronicus III Palaeologus, Eastern Roman Emperor (b. 1297).
- 1381 - John Cavendish, Lord Chief Justice of England
- 1381 - Wat Tyler, English rebel
- 1383 - John VI Cantacuzenus, Byzantine Emperor
- 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)
- 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 (d. 1857)
- 1941 - Evelyn Underhill, British writer (b. 1875)
- 1941 - Otfrid Foerster, German neurologist (b. 1873)
- 1962 - Alfred Cortot, Swiss pianist (b. 1877)
- 1965 - E. A. Speiser, American Bible scholar (b. 1902)
- 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)
- 1984 - Meredith Willson, American composer (b. 1902)
- 1985 - Andy Stanfield, American athlete (b. 1927)
- 1989 - Victor French, American actor (b. 1934)
- 1991 - Arthur Lewis, British economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
- 1993 - John Connally, American politican (b. 1917)
- 1993 - James Hunt, English race car driver (b. 1947)
- 1995 - John Vincent Atanasoff, American computer pioneer (b. 1903)
- 1996 - Ella Fitzgerald, American singer (b. 1917)
- 2003 - Hume Cronyn, Canadian actor (b. 1911)
- 2006 - Raymond Devos, Belgian humorist (b. 1922)
Holidays and observances
- Commemoration of Evelyn Underhill (Anglican mystic and poet)
- Roman Empire – ninth and final day of the Vestalia in honor of Vesta
- Roman Catholic Church – Feast of Saint Germaine Cousin, patron of shepherdesses and of victims of child abuse
- Roman Catholic Church and some Anglican churches: Corpus Christi (moveable feast, 2006)
- Saint Vitus' Day – Vitus Diena held in medieval Latvia
- Malawi's Freedom Day
- Commemoration of William Adams (Miura Anjin 三浦按針) a man shipwrecked in Japan in the 1600s, and whom James Clavell's "Shogun" was based upon
- Flag Day in Denmark
- Roman Catholic Church and some Anglican churches: Corpus Christi (moveable feast, 2006)
External links
June 14 - June 16 - May 15 - July 15 – listing of all days