June 15

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.

Events

Up to 1900

763 BC – The 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 Charles the Simple is arrested by supporters of Duke Rudolph of Burgundy.
1184 – King Magnus V of Norway is killed in battle.
1215 – King John of England puts his seal to Magna Carta.
1219 – Northern Crusades: Danish victory at Battle of Lyndanisse (present-day Tallinn) leads to the Danish Duchy of Estonia being established. In Legend, it was also the first time that the Dannebrog was used.
1300 – The city of Bilbao in the Basque Country is founded.
1389 – Battle of Kosovo: The Ottoman Empire defeats the Serbs and Bosnians.
1502 – Christopher Columbus reaches the island of Martinique.
1520 – Pope Leo X threatens to excommunicate Martin Luther.
1580 – Philip II of Spain declares William the Silent an outlaw.
1667 – The first blood transfusion is administered by Doctor Jean-Baptiste Denys.
1741 – Vitus Bering sets sail on his voyage from Petropavlovsk, Russia that will lead him to Alaska.
1775 – American Revolutionary War: George Washington is appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army.
1776 – Delaware votes to suspend government under the British crown, and separates from Pennsylvania.
1785 – Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier, co-pilot of the first-ever manned flight (in 1783), and his companion, Pierre Romain, become the first-ever air crash casualties when their hot-air balloon explodes during their attempt to cross the English Channel.
1804 – New Hampshire ratifies the United States Constitution, after approving the 12th Amendment.
1808 – Joseph Bonaparte becomes King of Spain.
1836 – Arkansas becomes the 25th State of the United States.
1844 – Charles Goodyear receives a patent for vulcanization, a process to strengthen rubber.
1846 – The Oregon Treaty establishes the 49th parallel as being the longest part of the Canada–United States border.
1859 – The shooting of a pig in the San Juan Islands on the Pacific Ocean coast of North America leads to the so-called "Pig War" between the United States and Canada, which was then under British control.
1862 – Australian bushranger Frank Gardiner and his gang, hold up a coach carrying gold at Eugowra, New South Wales. This is the biggest robbery in Australian history.
1864 – Arlington National Cemetery is established in the United States.
1877 – Henry Ossian Flipper becomes the first African American cadet to graduate from the United States Military Academy.
1878 – Eadward Muybridge takes a series of photographs that prove that all four of a horse's legs leave the ground when it is running. This is also a key milestone in the development of moving pictures.
1888 – Wilhelm II becomes Kaiser of Germany.
1896 – A tsunami in Japan kills more than 22,000 people.

1901 – 2000

1904 – The paddle stramer General Slocum sinks on the East River in New York City, killing 1,388 people.
1910 – Robert Falcon Scott's ill-fated expedition to Antarctica leaves Cardiff.
1916 – Woodrow Wilson signs a bill incorporating the Boy Scouts of America.
1919 – John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown complete the first trans-Atlantic flight when they land in Ireland.
1920 – A border treaty between Germany and Denmark gives northern Schleswig to Denmark.
1934 – Great Smoky Mountains National Park is established in the Appalachian Mountains.
1937 – A German expedition led by Karl Wien loses 16 members in an avalanche on Nanga Parbat in the Himalayas.
1940 – World War II: Allied troops start to evacuate Paris, following the German take-over.
1944 – World War II: The US invades the Japanese-occupied island of Saipan.
1954 – UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) is founded.
1969 – Georges Pompidou is elected President of France.
1970 – Charles Manson goes on trial for the Sharon Tate murders.
1972 – Red Army Faction co-founder Ulrike Meinhof is captured by police in Langenhagen.
1977 – In the first Spanish election since the Francisco Franco dictatorship, Adolfo Suarez is elected Prime Minister of Spain.
1978 – King Hussein of Jordan marries American Lisa Halaby, who chooses to be known as Queen Noor of Jordan.
1991 – After showing activity since April 2, the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines enters its most destructive phase.
1994 – Formal relations between Israel and Vatican City are officially established.
1996 – The Provisional IRA explode a large bomb in the centre of Manchester.

From 2001

2002 – A near-Earth asteroid misses the Earth by 121,000 kilometres.
2006 – Microsoft announces the resignation of its "Chief Software Architect" Bill Gates.
2008 – Kosovo's Constitution takes effect, following the declaration of independence in February, which Serbia disagrees with.
2011 – 2011 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot: Rioting occurs in Vancouver, Canada, following the Vancouver Canucks ice hockey team's defeat in the final of the Stanley Cup.
2012 – Nik Wallenda successfully walks on a tightrope across Niagara Falls.
2013 – The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup begins with the Brazil national football team defeating the Japan national football team 3–0.
2018 – The Glasgow School of Art's Mackintosh building is hit by a second fire in just over four years, causing a lot of damage to it.

Births

Up to 1900

1330 – Edward, the Black Prince, heir to the throne of England (d. 1376)
1479 – Lisa del Giocondo, Italian model (d. 1542)
1519 – Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset, son of Henry VIII of England (d. 1536)
1534 – Henri I de Montmorency, French nobleman (d. 1614)
1542 – Richard Grenville, English captain and explorer (d. 1591)
1594 – Nicolas Poussin, French painter (d. 1665)
1623 – Cornelis de Witt, Dutch politician (d. 1672)
1640 – Bernard Lamy, French mathematician (d. 1715)
1749 – Georg Joseph Vogler, German composer, organist and theorist (d. 1814)
1763 – Franz Danzi, German cellist, composer and conductor (d. 1826)
1765 – Martin Baum, American businessman and politician (d. 1831)
1765 – Johann Gottlieb Friedrich von Bonnenberger, German mathematician (d. 1831)
1767 – Rachel Jackson, wife of Andrew Jackson before he became US President (d. 1828)
1792 – Thomas Livingstone Mitchell, Australian explorer (d. 1855)
1798 – Alexander Gorchakov, Russian diplomat (d. 1883)
1801 – Benjamin Wright Raymond, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1883)
1805 – William Butler Ogden, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1877)
1835 – Adah Isaacs Menken, American actress, painter and poet (d. 1868)
1843 – Edvard Grieg, Norwegian composer (d. 1907)
1848 – Gheevarghese Mar Gregorios of Parumala, Indian bishop and saint (d. 1902)
1867 – Konstantin Balmont, Russian songwriter (d. 1942)
1875 – Herman Smith-Johannsen, Norwegian-born cross country skier and supercentenarian (d. 1987)
1876 – Margaret Abbott, American golfer (d. 1955)
1882 – Ion Antonescu, Romanian military leader (d. 1946)
1882 – Morgan Foster Larson, Governor of New Jersey (d. 1961)
1884 – Harry Langdon, American actor (d. 1944)
1888 – Ramón López Velarde, Mexican poet (d. 1921)
1890 – Wilhelm Leuschner, German political activist and member of the Resistance (d. 1944)
1894 – Trygve Gulbranssen, Norwegian writer (d. 1962)
1894 – Robert Russell Bennett, American composer and arranger (d. 1981)
1894 – Nikolai Chebotaryov, Ukrainian mathematician (d. 1947)
1900 – Otto Luening, German-born American composer (d. 1996)

1901 – 1950

1902 – Erik Erikson, German-born psychoanalyst (d. 1994)
1906 – Gordon Welchman, British mathematician (d. 1985)
1908 – Sam Giancana, American mafioso (d. 1975)
1910 – David Rose, American songwriter, composer and orchestra leader (d. 1990)
1911 – Wilbert Awdry, British children's writer (d. 1997)
1914 – Yuri Andropov, Soviet political leader (d. 1984)
1915 – Thomas Huckle Weller, American virologist (d. 2008)
1916 – Horacio Salgan, Argentine pianist, composer, orchestra leader and arranger
1916 – Herbert Simon, American economist (d. 2001)
1917 – John Bennett Fenn, American chemist (d. 2010)
1920 – Alberto Sordi, Italian actor and director (d. 2003)
1923 – Erland Josephson, Swedish actor (d. 2012)
1923 – Ninian Stephen, 20th Governor-General of Australia (d. 2017)
1923 – Erroll Garner, American jazz pianist and composer (d. 1977)
1924 – Ezer Weizman, President of Israel (d. 2005)
1925 – Richard Baker, English broadcaster (d. 2018)
1926 – Shigeru Kayano, Japanese activist (d. 2006)
1927 – Hugo Pratt, Italian writer and artist (d. 1995)
1930 – John Fretwell, English diplomat (d. 2017)
1930 – Marcel Pronovost, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2015)
1932 – Mario Cuomo, American politician, former Governor of New York (d. 2015)
1933 – Mohammad-Ali Rajai, 2nd President of Iran (d. 1981)
1933 – Yasukazu Tanaka, Japanese footballer
1934 – Rubén Aguirre, Mexican actor (d. 2016)
1934 – Mikel Laboa, Basque singer and songwriter (d. 2008)
1936 – Claude Brasseur, French actor
1936 – William Levada, American cardinal (d. 2019)
1937 – Waylon Jennings, American musician (d. 2002)
1937 – Anna Hazare, Indian activist
1938 – Billy Williams, American baseball player
1939 – Brian Jacques, British writer (d. 2011)
1941 – Harry Nilsson, American singer and composer (d. 1994)
1942 – John E. McLaughlin, American deputy director of the CIA
1943 – Johnny Hallyday, French rock musician and singer (d. 2017)
1943 – Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, former Prime Minister of Denmark
1943 – Muff Winwood, English musician
1945 – Robert Sarah, Guinean cardinal
1945 – Miriam Defensor Santiago, Filipina politician (d. 2016)
1946 – Brigitte Fossey, French actress
1946 – Noddy Holder, British singer (Slade)
1946 – Demis Roussos, Greek singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
1948 – Henry McLeish, 2nd First Minister of Scotland
1948 – Alan Huckle, English politician and diplomat, Governor of Anguilla
1948 – José Huerta, Peruvian politician (d. 2019)
1949 – Simon Callow, English actor
1949 – Simone Rethel, German actress
1949 – Jim Varney, American actor (d. 2000)
1950 – Lakshmi Mittal, Indian industrialist

1951 – 1975

1951 – John Redwood, English politician
1953 – Rita Lee, American model
1953 – Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China
1954 – James Belushi, American actor
1954 – Beverley Whitfield, Australian swimmer (d. 1996)
1955 – Julie Hagerty, American actress
1955 – David Kennedy, son of Robert F. Kennedy (d. 1984)
1955 – Mauril Bélanger, Canadian politician
1956 – Robin Curtis, American actress
1956 – Yevgeny Kiselyov, Russian journalist
1958 – Wade Boggs, American baseball player
1958 – Riccardo Paletti, Italian racing driver (d. 1982)
1959 – Alan Brazil, Scottish footballer
1959 – Eileen Davidson, American actress
1961 – Laurent Cantet, French director
1963 – Mario Gosselin, Canadian ice hockey player
1963 – Helen Hunt, American actress
1963 – Blanca Portillo, Spanish actress
1963 – Nigel Walker, Welsh rugby player
1964 – Courteney Cox, American actress
1964 – Michael Laudrup, Danish footballer
1964 – Gavin Greenaway, English composer and conductor
1965 – Karim Massimov, 7th Prime Minister of Kazakhstan
1966 – Raimonds Vejonis, 9th President of Latvia
1968 – Samira Ahmed, British journalist and presenter
1969 – Oliver Kahn, German goalkeeper
1969 – Ice Cube, American rapper
1969 – Bashar Warda, Iraqi archbishop
1970 – Leah Remini, American actress
1971 – Edwin Brienen, Dutch-German actor, director and producer
1971 – Bif Naked, Indian-Canadian singer-songwriter, actress and poet
1972 – Marcus Hahnemann, American goalkeeper
1973 – Neil Patrick Harris, American actor, singer and director
1973 – Tore André Flo, Norwegian footballer
1973 – Greg Vaughan, American actor
1974 – Chakri, Indian movie composer and singer (d. 2014)

From 1976

1976 – Gary Lightbody, Northern Irish singer (Snow Patrol)
1977 – Michael Doleac, American basketball player
1978 – Wilfred Bouma, Dutch footballer
1979 – Danielle Lineker, British model
1979 – Yulia Nesterenko, Belarussian athlete
1980 – Iker Romero, Spanish handball player
1980 – Almudena Cid Tastado, Spanish rhythmic gymnast
1980 – Mary Carey, American pornographic actress
1981 – John Paintsil, Ghanaian footballer
1981 – Emma Snowsill, Australian triathlete
1981 – Billy Martin, American musician (Good Charlotte)
1982 – Mike Delany, New Zealand rugby player
1982 – Katie Chapman, English footballer
1982 – Atli Gregersen, Faroese footballer
1983 – Laura Imbruglia, Australian musician
1984 – Amber Coffman, American musician
1984 – Tim Lincecum, American baseball player
1985 – Nadine Coyle, Northern Irish singer (Girls Aloud)
1986 – Stoya, American pornographic actress, writer and model
1988 – Barakat Al-Hartini, Omani sprinter
1988 – Miku Ishida, Japanese singer and actress
1990 – Miwa, Japanese singer-songwriter and musician
1990 – Denzel Whitaker, American actor
1992 – Mohamed Salah, Egyptian footballer
1992 – Dafne Schippers, Dutch heptathlete and sprinter
1993 – Kanna Arihara, Japanese singer (Cute)
1994 – Rina Hidaka, Japanese voice actress
1994 – Iñaki Williams, Spanish footballer

Deaths

Up to 1900

707 – Emperor Mommu of Japan
923 – King Robert I of France (b. 866)
991 – Theophanu, consort of Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 960)
1073 – Emperor Go-Sanjo of Japan (b. 1073)
1184 – King Magnus V of Norway (b. 1156)
1189 – Minamoto no Yoritomo, Japanese warrior (b. 1159)
1246 – Frederick II of Austria (b. 1219)
1381 – Wat Tyler, English peasant leader (b. 1341)
1383 – John VI Cantacuzenus, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1292)
1389 – Murad I, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1326)
1389 – Lazar of Serbia, Serbian saint (b. 1329)
1416 – John, Duke of Berry (b. 1340)
1467 – Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1396)
1586 – Primoz Trubar, Slovenian religious reformer (b. 1508)
1768 – James Short, Scottish mathematician and optician (b. 1710)
1772 – Louis-Claude Daguin, French composer (b. 1694)
1785 – Jean Francois Pilatre de Rozier, French physicist and balloonist (b. 1757)
1849 – James K. Polk, 11th President of the United States (b. 1795)
1888 – Kaiser Friedrich III of Germany (b. 1831)
1889 – Mihai Eminescu, Romanian poet (b. 1850)
1890 – Unryu Kyukichi, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1822)

1901 – 2000

1917 – Kristian Birkeland, Norwegian physicist (b. 1867)
1934 – Alfred Bruneau, French composer (b. 1857)
1938 – Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, German painter and printmaker (b. 1880)
1945 – Carl Gustaf Ekman, Swedish politician (b. 1872)
1961 – Giulio Cabianca, Italian racing driver (b. 1923)
1962 – Alfred Cortot, French-Swiss pianist (b. 1877)
1971 – Wendell Meredith Stanley, American chemist (b. 1904)
1976 – Jimmy Dykes, American baseball player and manager (b. 1896)
1982 – Art Pepper, American saxophonist (b. 1925)
1989 – Maurice Bellemare, Canadian politician (b. 1912)
1991 – Arthur Lewis, British economist (b. 1915)
1991 – Happy Chandler, 44th and 49th Governor of Kentucky and Commissioner of Baseball (b. 1898)
1993 – John Connally, Governor of Texas (b. 1917)
1993 – James Hunt, English racing driver (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 – Fitzroy MacLean, Scottish soldier, writer and politician (b. 1911)

From 2001

2001 – Jay Moriarty, American surfer (b. 1978)
2002 – Choi Hong Hi, founder of Taekwondo (b. 1918)
2003 – Hume Cronin, Canadian actor (b. 1911)
2005 – Suzanne Flon, French actress (b. 1918)
2007 – Sherri Martel, American professional wrestler (b. 1958)
2008 – Stan Winston, American filmmaker (b. 1946)
2010 – Heidi Kabel, German actress (b. 1914)
2013 – Heinz Flohe, German footballer (b. 1948)
2013 – Kenneth G. Wilson, American physicist (b. 1936)
2013 – José Froilán González, Argentine racing driver (b. 1922)
2014 – Ray Fox, American NASCAR engine builder and team owner (b. 1916)
2014 – Casey Kasem, American radio presenter, DJ and voice actor (b. 1932)
2014 – Daniel Keyes, American author (b. 1927)
2015 – Jean Doré, Canadian politician, 39th Mayor of Montreal (b. 1944)
2015 – Kirk Kerkorian, American businessman (b. 1917)
2015 – Blaze Starr, American burlesque dancer, stripper and model (b. 1932)
2015 – Jeanna Friske, Russian actress, singer and socialite (b. 1974)
2015 – Harry Rowohlt, German writer (b. 1945)
2015 – Mighty Sam McClain, American soul-blues singer (b. 1943)
2016 – Lois Duncan, American writer (b. 1934)
2016 – Claude Confortès, French actor (b. 1928)
2017 – Aleksey Batalov, Russian actor (b. 1928)
2017 – Ibrahim Abouleish, Egyptian pharmacologist (b. 1937)
2017 – Ajmer Singh Aulakh, Indian playwright (b. 1942)
2017 – P. N. Bhagwati, Indian judge (b. 1921)
2017 – Wilma de Faria, Brazilian politician (b. 1945)
2017 – Bill Dana, American comedian, actor and screenwriter (b. 1924)
2018 – Leslie Grantham, English actor (b. 1947)
2018 – Enoch zu Guttenberg, German conductor (b. 1946)
2018 – Matt Murphy, American blues guitarist (b. 1929)
2019 – Marta Harnecker, Chilean sociologist, political scientist, journalist and activist (b. 1937)
2019 – Wilhelm Holzbauer, Austrian architect (b. 1930)
2019 – Kevin Killian, American poet, author and playwright (b. 1952)
2019 – Franco Zeffirelli, Italian film director (b. 1923)
2020 – Giulio Giorello, Italian philosopher and mathematician (b. 1945)
2020 – Nagendra Nath Jha, Indian politician (b. 1935)
2020 – Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran, Bangladeshi politician (b. 1951)
2020 – Marinho, Brazilian footballer (b. 1957)
2020 – Anton Schlembach, German Roman Catholic prelate (b. 1932)

Observances

Separation Day (Delaware)
Statehood Day (Arkansas)
Arbor Day (Costa Rica)
Flag Day (Denmark)
National Salvation Day (Azerbaijan)
Engineers' Day (Italy)
Global Wind Day
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
Saint Vitus' Day