Today, I will be reveling in the day of my birth by writing and generally doing only things that I enjoy. Which isn’t much different than other days, except that I’m not going to the day-job…which in itself is a wonderful gift. So, while I’m off doing whatever, here is some trivia about this day to enjoy. Happy!
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.
- 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: Siege of Petersburg begins.
- 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 – Crown Prince Wilhelm becomes Kaiser Wilhelm II and is the last emperor of the German Empire
- 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 Lord’s and form the Imperial Cricket Conference.
- 1911 – Tabulating Computing Recording Corporation (IBM) is incorporated.
- 1913 – The Battle of Bud Bagsak in the Philippine 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 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.
- 1978 – King Hussein of Jordan weds American Lisa Halaby, who takes the name Queen Noor.
- 1991 – Birth of the first federal political party in Canada that supports Quebec nationalism, the Bloc Québécois.
- 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.
- 2002 – Near earth asteroid 2002 MN misses our planet by 75,000 miles (120,000 km) about one third the distance to the moon
Holidays and observances
- Commemoration of Evelyn Underhill (Anglican mystic and poet)
- Roman Empire – ninth and final day of the Vestalia in honor of Vesta
- 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
- Malawi Freedom Day
- Elder Abuse Awareness Day
Born On This Day:
| Name | Occupation | Birth | Death | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| J. Lindsay Almond, Jr. | Politician | 15-Jun-1898 | 15-Apr-1986 | Governor of Virginia, 1958-62 |
| Ion Antonescu | Head of State | 15-Jun-1882 | 1-Jun-1946 | Pro-Nazi dictator of Romania |
| Bill Arp | Columnist | 15-Jun-1826 | 24-Aug-1903 | Columnist for Atlanta Constitution |
| Jim Belushi | Comic | 15-Jun-1954 | According to Jim | |
| Wade Boggs | Baseball | 15-Jun-1958 | Boston Red Sox | |
| Jake Busey | Actor | 15-Jun-1971 | Identity | |
| Mary Carey | Pornstar | 15-Jun-1980 | Porn star, ran for California Governor | |
| Edward Channing | Historian | 15-Jun-1856 | 7-Jan-1931 | A History of the United States |
| Tony Coelho | Politician | 15-Jun-1942 | Congressman from California, 1979-89 | |
| Ward Connerly | Activist | 15-Jun-1939 | Connerly & Associates | |
| Courteney Cox | Actor | 15-Jun-1964 | Friends | |
| Ice Cube | Musician | 15-Jun-1969 | N.W.A., Boyz N the Hood | |
| Mario Cuomo | Politician | 15-Jun-1932 | Governor of New York, 1983-95 | |
| Erik Erikson | Psychologist | 15-Jun-1902 | 12-May-1994 | Eight Stages of Childhood |
| John B. Fenn | Chemist | 15-Jun-1917 | Electrospray ionization | |
| Antoine François Fourcroy | Chemist | 15-Jun-1755 | 16-Dec-1809 | French adherent to Lavoisier |
| Edvard Grieg | Composer | 15-Jun-1843 | 4-Sep-1907 | Norway’s greatest composer |
| Julie Hagerty | Actor | 15-Jun-1955 | Airplane! | |
| Johnny Hallyday | Musician | 15-Jun-1943 | French rock star, Souvenirs, Souvenirs | |
| Neil Patrick Harris | Actor | 15-Jun-1973 | Doogie Howser | |
| Eric Heiden | Skating | 15-Jun-1958 | Olympic speed skater, 5 gold medals | |
| Russell Hitchcock | Musician | 15-Jun-1949 | Lead singer for Air Supply | |
| Xaviera Hollander | Author | 15-Jun-1943 | The Happy Hooker | |
| Trevor Huddleston | Religion | 15-Jun-1913 | 20-Apr-1998 | Anti-Apartheid activist |
| Helen Hunt | Actor | 15-Jun-1963 | As Good As It Gets | |
| Waylon Jennings | Country Musician | 15-Jun-1937 | 13-Feb-2002 | Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys |
| James Robertson Justice | Actor | 15-Jun-1907 | 2-Jul-1975 | Doctor in the House |
| Harry Langdon | Actor | 15-Jun-1884 | 22-Dec-1944 | The Strong Man |
| Rick Larsen | Politician | 15-Jun-1965 | Congressman, Washington 2nd | |
| Belinda Lee | Actor | 15-Jun-1935 | 12-Mar-1961 | Who Done It? |
| Billy Martin | Musician | 15-Jun-1981 | Guitar, Keyboards for Good Charlotte | |
| John E. McLaughlin | Government | 15-Jun-1942 | Deputy Director CIA, 2000-04 | |
| Princess Michael of Kent | Royalty | 15-Jun-1945 | Wife of Prince Michael of Kent | |
| Lakshmi Mittal | Business | 15-Jun-1950 | World’s richest non-American | |
| Harry Nilsson | Singer/Songwriter | 15-Jun-1941 | 15-Jan-1994 | Me and My Arrow |
| Tony Oxley | Musician | 15-Jun-1938 | Free improv pioneer | |
| Edward the Black Prince | Royalty | 15-Jun-1330 | 8-Jun-1376 | Eldest son of King Edward III |
| Riki Rachtman | TV Personality | 15-Jun-1965 | Hosted MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball | |
| Leah Remini | Actor | 15-Jun-1970 | Old School | |
| Herbert A. Simon | Economist | 15-Jun-1916 | 9-Feb-2001 | Administrative Behavior |
| Adam Smith | Politician | 15-Jun-1965 | Congressman, Washington 9th | |
| Alberto Sordi | Actor | 15-Jun-1920 | 25-Feb-2003 | I Vitelloni |
| Todd Tiahrt | Politician | 15-Jun-1951 | Congressman, Kansas 4th | |
| Mo Udall | Politician | 15-Jun-1922 | 12-Dec-1998 | Congressman from Arizona, 1961-91 |
| Jim Varney | Actor | 15-Jun-1949 | 10-Feb-2000 | Played annoyant Ernest P. Worrell |
| Ezer Weizman | Head of State | 15-Jun-1924 | 24-Apr-2005 | President of Israel, 1993-2000 |
| Thomas H. Weller | Scientist | 15-Jun-1915 | Cultured the polio virus | |
| Billy Williams | Baseball | 15-Jun-1938 | Chicago Cubs hitter |
CHRISTIAN
