June 16 is the 167th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (168th in leap years), with 198 days remaining.
Events
- 1487 - Battle of Stoke Field, the last dying breath of the Wars of the Roses
- 1586 - Mary Queen of Scots recognizes Philip II of Spain as her heir
- 1716 - The first volume of Alexander Pope's* translation of the lliad is published. Admonishes classical scholar Richard Bentley: "It is a pretty poem, Mr. Pope, but you must not call it Homer."
- 1745 - British troops take Cape Breton Island at the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River
- 1745 - Sir William Pepperell captures the French Fortress Louisbourg in Louisbourg, Nova Scotia during the War of the Austrian Succession.
- 1746 - War of Austrian Succession: Austria and Sardinia defeat a Franco-Spanish army at the Battle of Piacenza
- 1755 - French and Indian War: French surrender Fort Beauséjour to the British, leading to the expulsion of the Acadians
- 1774 - Formation of Harrodsburg, Kentucky.
- 1779 - Spain declares war on Britain and the siege of Gibraltar begins
- 1815 - Battle of Ligny and Battle of Quatre Bras, two days before Waterloo.
- 1836 - Formation of the London Working Men's Association begins the Chartist Movement
- 1846 - The Papal conclave of 1846 concludes. Pope Pius IX is elected pope, beginning the longest reign in the history of the post-apostolic papacy.
- 1858 - Abraham Lincoln's House Divided speech in Springfield, Illinois
- 1858 - Battle of Morar, during the Indian Mutiny.
- 1871 - University Tests Act allow students to enter the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Durham without religious tests, except for courses in theology.
- 1884 - The first roller coaster in the United States begins operation at Coney Island, New York
- 1891 - John Abbott becomes Canada's third prime minister.
- 1902 - Australia: Female British subjects (with the glaring exception of Asians, Aborigines and Africans) won the vote with the Uniform Franchise Act.
- 1903 - Ford Motor Company incorporates.
- 1903 - Roald Amundsen commences first east-west navigation of the Northwest Passage by leaving Oslo, Norway.
- 1904 - Eugen Schauman assassinates Nikolai Bobrikov, Governor-General of Finland.
- 1904 - Leopold Bloom walks around Dublin. (see Ulysses)
- 1911 - A 772 gram stony meteorite struck earth near Kilbourn, Columbia County, Wisconsin damaging a barn.
- 1915 - foundation of the British Women's Institute
- 1922 - General election in Irish Free State: large majority to pro-Treaty Sinn Féin
- 1924 - Whampoa Military Academy is founded
- 1925 — The most famous Young Pioneer camp of the USSR, Artek established.
- 1940 - World War II: Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain becomes Premier of Vichy France
- 1940 - A Communist government is installed in Lithuania
- 1948 - The storming of the cockpit of the Miss Macao passenger seaplane, operated by the Cathay Pacific airline, marks the first skyjacking of a commercial plane.
- 1955 - Pope Pius XII excommunicates Juan Perón
- 1956 - Ted Hughes marries Sylvia Plath
- 1960 - Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho opens in New York
- 1961 - Rudolf Nureyev defects at Le Bourget airport in Paris
- 1963 - Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space
- 1972 - Burglars are caught breaking into the United States Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate building
- 1972 - Red Army Faction member Ulrike Meinhof is captured by police in Langenhagen.
- 1972 - Opening of the New York Jazz Museum
- 1972 - Largest single-site hydro-electric power project starts at Churchill Falls Newfoundland
- 1976 - Apartheid: A non-violent march by 15000 students in Soweto, South Africa turns into days of rioting when police open fire on the crowd and kill 566 children.
- 1977 - Leonid Brezhnev becomes president of the USSR
- 1981 - Ken Taylor honoured for helping six Americans escape from Iran during hostage crisis
- 1983 - Yuri Andropov becomes president of the USSR
- 1994 - A Chinese operated Northwest Airlines Tupolev TU-154 crashes 10 minutes after takeoff killing 160
- 1995 - The APOD was born
- 1996 - First round of voting in the Russian presidential election
- 1997 - Dairat Labguer massacre in Algeria; some 50 people killed.
- 1999 - Thabo Mbeki elected President of South Africa.
- 2001 - George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin meet in Brdo pri Kranju, Slovenia
- 2002 - Politically Incorrect is cancelled (from sponsors dropping the show) after host Bill Maher makes controversial comments on air regarding the integrity of President George W. Bush.
- 2003 - The Hatfields and McCoys sign a formal truce.
Births
- 1313 - Giovanni Boccaccio, Italian writer (d. 1375)
- 1514 - John Cheke, English classical scholar (d. 1557)
- 1583 - Axel Oxenstierna, Swedish statesman (d. 1654)
- 1613 - John Cleveland, English poet (d. 1658)
- 1644 - Henrietta Anne Stuart, Princess of Scotland, England and Ireland and Duchess of Orléans (d. 1670)
- 1738 - Mary Katharine Goddard, American printer and publisher (d. 1816)
- 1792 - John Linnell, English artist (d. 1882)
- 1792 - Sir Thomas Mitchell, Australian explorer (d. 1855)
- 1801 - Julius Plücker, German mathematician and physicist (d. 1868)
- 1806 - Edward Davy, English physician, chemist, and inventor (d. 1885)
- 1813 - Otto Jahn, German archaeologist (d. 1869)
- 1820 - Athanase Coquerel, French protestant preacher (d. 1875)
- 1826 - Constantin von Ettingshausen, Austrian geologist and botanist (d. 1897)
- 1829 - Geronimo, Apache warrior and leader (d. 1909)
- 1836 - Wesley Merritt, soldier (d. 1910)
- 1837 - Ernst Laas, German philosopher (d. 1885)
- 1838 - Cushman Davis, politician (d. 1900)
- 1840 - Ernst Otto Schlick, engineer (d. 1913)
- 1858 - King Gustav V of Sweden (d. 1950)
- 1874 - Arthur Meighen, ninth Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1960)
- 1880 - Otto Eisenschiml, Austrian-American chemist and historian (d. 1963)
- 1890 - Stan Laurel, British-born actor and comedian (d. 1965)
- 1897 - Georg Wittig, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
- 1902 - Barbara McClintock, geneticist (d. 1992)
- 1902 - George Gaylord Simpson, paleontologist (d. 1984)
- 1903 - Helen Traubel, American soprano (d. 1972)
- 1907 - Jack Albertson, actor (d. 1981)
- 1909 - Archie Fairley Carr, biologist and expert on turtles (d. 1987)
- 1910 - Juan Velasco, President of Peru from 1968 to 1975 (d. 1977)
- 1912 - Enoch Powell, British politician (d. 1998)
- 1914 - Babe Didrikson Zaharias, athlete (d. 1956)
- 1916 - Hank Luisetti, baseball player (d. 2002)
- 1917 - Katharine Graham, Washington Post publisher (d. 2001)
- 1917 - Irving Penn, photographer
- 1920 - José López Portillo, President of Mexico from 1976 to 1982 (d. 2004)
- 1920 - John Howard Griffin, writer (d. 1980)
- 1927 - Tom Graveney, English cricketer
- 1927 - Herbert Lichtenfeld, author and playwright (d. 2001)
- 1930 - Vilmos Zsigmond, cinematographer
- 1934 - Dame Eileen Atkins, English actress
- 1935 - Jim Dine, artist
- 1937 - Erich Segal, author
- 1938 - James Bolam, English actor
- 1938 - Joyce Carol Oates, novelist
- 1940 - Neil Goldschmidt, governor of Oregon
- 1941 - Lamont Dozier, record company executive
- 1942 - Giacomo Agostini, Italian motorcyclist
- 1942 - Eddie Levert, R&B singer
- 1947 - -minu, Swiss columnist and writer
- 1951 - Roberto Durán, boxer
- 1952 - Michel Blanc, French actor
- 1952 - George Papandreou, junior, Greek politician
- 1952 - Gino Vannelli, vocalist, songwriter
- 1955 - Laurie Metcalf, actress Dennis Lippincott, Printer
- 1966 - Jan Zelezný, Czech athlete
- 1967 - John Franklin, actor
- 1970 - Phil Mickelson, golfer
- 1971 - Tupac Shakur, musician (d. 1996)
- 1977 - Kerry Wood, baseball pitcher
- 1980 - Joey Yung, Hong Kong singer
- 1988 - Marinó Sigurðsson, Iceland actor/director
- 1988 - Keshia Chanté, Canadian R&B Singer
- 1992 - Richard Lee Drees Jr., Millionare Etrepreneur
Deaths
- 1750 BC - King Hammurabi of Babylon
- AD 1216 - Pope Innocent III
- 1464 - Roger van der Weyden, Flemish painter (b. 1399)
- 1468 - Jean Le Fevre, Burgundian chronicler (b. ca. 1395)
- 1622 - Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline, chancellor of Scotland (b. ca. 1555)
- 1626 - Christian the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Wolfenbüttel, Protestant military commander (b. 1599)
- 1666 - Richard Fanshawe, English poet, translator and diplomat (b. 1608)
- 1671 - Stenka Razin, Cossack rebel leader (executed) (b. ca. 1630)
- 1707 - Marie d'Orleans-Longueville, Duchess de Nemours, sovereign princess of Neuchâtel, best known for her Mémoires (b. 1625)
- 1722 - John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, English general (b. 1650)
- 1752 - Giulio Alberoni, Spanish cardinal (b. 1664)
- 1752 - Joseph Butler, English philosopher (b. 1692)
- 1777 - Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gresset, French poet and dramatist (b. 1709)
- 1778 - Konrad Ekhof, German actor (b. 1720)
- 1779 - Sir Francis Bernard, Governor of New Jersey and Massachusetts (b. 1712)
- 1804 - Johann Hiller, German composer (b. 1728)
- 1817 - Alexander J. Dallas, statesman and financier (b. 1759)
- 1848 - Ludwig II, Grand-Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, (b. 1777)
- 1849 - Wilhelm Martin Leberecht de Wette, German theologian (b. 1780)
- 1855 - John Gorrie, physician, early pioneer in refrigeration (b. 1803)
- 1858 - John Snow, English obstetrician (b. 1813)
- 1866 - Auguste Barthelemy, French satirical poet (b. 1796)
- 1869 - Charles Sturt, English explorer (b. 1795)
- 1872 - Norman MacCleod, Scottish clergyman to Queen Victoria (b. 1812)
- 1878 - Crawford Long, physician (b. 1815)
- 1881 - Sir Josiah Mason, English pen-manufacturer (b. 1795)
- 1885 - Wilhelm Camphausen, German painter (b. 1818)
- 1894 - William Calder Marshall, Scottish sculptor (b. 1813)
- 1900 - Prince François, Duke of Joinville, third son of Louis-Philippe of France (b. 1818)
- 1925 - Chittaranjan Das, Indian patriot and freedom fighter (b. 1870)
- 1925 - Emmett Hardy, jazz musician (b. 1903)
- 1930 - Elmer Ambrose Sperry, inventor (b. 1860)
- 1940 - DuBose Heyward, writer
- 1944 - Marc Bloch, French historian (executed) (b. 1886)
- 1953 - Margaret Bondfield, English politician and feminist (b. 1873)
- 1958 - Imre Nagy, former Premier of Hungary (b. 1895)
- 1959 - George Reeves, actor, played Superman (b. 1914)
- 1969 - Harold Alexander, British military commander (b. 1891)
- 1970 - Brian Piccolo, American football player
- 1971 - Lord Reith, first Director-General of the BBC (b. 1889)
- 1976 - Hector Pieterson, one of the first children (566 in all) killed during the Soweto Uprising.
- 1977 - Wernher von Braun, rocket scientist (b. 1912)
- 1979 - Vernon Presley, father of Elvis Presley (b. 1916)
- 1979 - Nicholas Ray, film director (b. 1911)
- 1981 - Jule Gregory Charney, meteorologist
- 1986 - Maurice Duruflé, French composer and organist (b. 1902)
- 1988 - Kim Milford, actor (b. 1951)
- 1993 - Lindsay Hassett, Australian cricketer (b. 1913)
- 1996 - Mel Allen, baseball announcer
- 1999 - Screaming Lord Sutch, founder of Britain's Official Monster Raving Loony Party (b. 1940)
- 2000 - Dowager Empress Nagako of Japan, consort of Emperor Hirohito (b. 1903)
- 2003 - Enrico Baj, Italian avantgarde artist
- 2003 - Georg Henrik von Wright, Finland-Swedish philosopher (b. 1916)
Holidays and observances
- South Africa - Youth Day
- Roman Catholic Church - Feast of Saint John Regis, patron of medical social workers
- Bloomsday, in honour of James Joyce's Ulysses
External links
June 15 - June 17 - May 16 - July 16 -- listing of all days