This Day In History

22 June Deaths

1276 – Pope Innocent V (b. 1225)
1429 – Jamshīd al-Kāshī, Persian astronomer and mathematician (b. 1380)
1535 – John Fisher, English bishop (b. 1469)
1632 – James Whitelocke, English judge (b. 1570)
1634 – Johann von Aldringen, Austrian field marshal (b. 1588)
1699 – Josiah Child, English merchant, economist, and politician (b. 1630)
1714 – Matthew Henry, English minister (b. 1662)
1868 – Heber C. Kimball, American religious leader (b. 1801)
1872 – Rudecindo Alvarado, Argentinian general (b. 1792)
1874 – Howard Staunton, English chess player (b. 1810)
1892 – Pierre Ossian Bonnet, French mathematician (b. 1819)
1894 – Alexandre-Antonin Taché, Canadian archbishop (b. 1823)
1905 – Francis Lubbock, American politician, 9th Governor of Texas (b. 1815)
1913 – Ștefan Octavian Iosif, Romanian poet (b. 1875)
1925 – Felix Klein, German mathematician (b. 1849)
1928 – A. B. Frost, American illustrator (b. 1851)
1931 – Armand Fallières, French politician, 9th President of France (b. 1841)
1933 – Henry Birkin, English race car driver (b. 1896)
1935 – Szymon Askenazy, Polish historian and diplomat (b. 1866)
1936 – Moritz Schlick, German-Austrian physicist and philosopher (b. 1882)
1938 – C. J. Dennis, Australian poet (b. 1876)
1942 – August Froehlich, German priest (b. 1891)
1945 – Isamu Chō, Japanese general (b. 1895)
1945 – Mitsuru Ushijima, Japanese general (b. 1887)
1956 – Walter de la Mare, English poet and author (b. 1873)
1959 – Hermann Brill, German politician (b. 1895)
1961 – Maria of Yugoslavia (b. 1900)
1963 – Maria Tănase, Romanian singer and actress (b. 1913)
1964 – Havank, Dutch journalist (b. 1904)
1965 – David O. Selznick, American film producer (b. 1902)
1966 – Thaddeus Shideler, American hurdler (b. 1883)
1969 – Judy Garland, American actress and singer (b. 1922)
1970 – Dang Thuy Tram, Vietnamese surgeon (b. 1942)
1974 – Darius Milhaud, French composer (b. 1892)
1977 – Jacqueline Audry, French director and screenwriter (b. 1908)
1977 – Peter Laughner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Rocket From the Tombs and Pere Ubu) (b. 1952)
1979 – Louis Chiron, Monegasque race car driver (b. 1899)
1980 – Dimitrios Partsalidis, Greek politician (b. 1905)
1984 – Joseph Losey, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1909)
1987 – Fred Astaire, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1899)
1988 – Dennis Day, American singer and actor (b. 1916)
1989 – Lucien Saulnier, Canadian politician (b. 1916)
1990 – Ilya Frank, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1908)
1990 – Kripp Johnson, American singer (The Del-Vikings) (b. 1936)
1992 – Chuck Mitchell, American actor (b. 1927)
1993 – Pat Nixon, American economist and educator, 44th First Lady of the United States (b. 1912)
1993 – Michel Noël, Canadian actor (b. 1922)
1995 – Leonid Derbenyov, Russian poet and songwriter (b. 1931)
1995 – Al Hansen, American sculptor (b. 1927)
1997 – Ted Gärdestad, Swedish singer-songwriter (b. 1956)
1997 – Don Henderson, English actor (b. 1932)
1997 – Gérard Pelletier, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1919)
2002 – Darryl Kile, American baseball player (b. 1968)
2002 – Ask Ann Landers, American journalist (b. 1918)
2004 – Bob Bemer, American computer scientist (b. 1920)
2004 – Mattie Stepanek, American poet (b. 1990)
2007 – Nancy Benoit, American wrestler and manager (b. 1964)
2007 – Erik Parlevliet, Dutch field hockey player (b. 1964)
2008 – George Carlin, American comedian, actor, and author (b. 1937)
2008 – Dody Goodman, American actress (b. 1914)
2008 – Jane McGrath, English-Australian activist, co-founded the McGrath Foundation (b. 1966)
2011 – Harley Hotchkiss, Canadian businessman (b. 1927)
2011 – Fanny de Sivers, Estonian linguist, literature researcher and essayist (b. 1920)
2012 – Obaidullah Baig, Pakistani journalist and author (b. 1926)
2012 – María Teresa Castillo, Venezuelan journalist, politician, and activist (b. 1908)
2012 – Mary Fedden, English painter (b. 1915)
2012 – Fernie Flaman, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1927)
2012 – Juan Luis Galiardo, Spanish actor (b. 1922)
2012 – Sergio Goretti, Italian bishop (b. 1929)
2012 – Jackie Neilson, Scottish footballer (b. 1929)
2012 – Rolly Tasker, Australian sailor (b. 1926)
2012 – Hans Villius, Swedish historian (b. 1923)
2013 – Leandro Díaz, Colombian composer (b. 1928)
2013 – Sergio Focardi, Italian physicist (b. 1932)
2013 – Peter Fraser, Baron Fraser of Carmyllie, Scottish politician (b. 1945)
2013 – Gary David Goldberg, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1944)
2013 – Henning Larsen, Danish architect, designed the Copenhagen Opera House (b. 1925)
2013 – Deric Longden, English author and screenwriter (b. 1936)
2013 – Allan Simonsen, Danish race car driver (b. 1978)
2013 – Soccor Velho, Indian footballer (b. 1983)


H
 
23 June Events

1180 – First Battle of Uji, starting the Genpei War in Japan.
1280 – The Battle of Moclín takes place in the context of the Spanish Reconquista pitting the forces of the Kingdom of Castile against the Emirate of Granada. The battle resulted in a Granadian victory.
1305 – A peace treaty between the Flemish and the French is signed at Athis-sur-Orge.
1314 – First War of Scottish Independence: The Battle of Bannockburn (south of Stirling) begins.
1532 – Henry VIII and François I sign a secret treaty against Emperor Charles V.
1565 – Turgut Reis (Dragut), commander of the Ottoman navy, dies during the Siege of Malta.
1611 – The mutinous crew of Henry Hudson's fourth voyage sets Henry, his son and seven loyal crew members adrift in an open boat in what is now Hudson Bay; they are never heard from again.
1661 – Marriage contract between Charles II of England and Catherine of Braganza.
1683 – William Penn signs a friendship treaty with Lenni Lenape Indians in Pennsylvania.
1713 – The French residents of Acadia are given one year to declare allegiance to Britain or leave Nova Scotia, Canada.
1757 – Battle of Plassey – 3,000 British troops under Robert Clive defeat a 50,000 strong Indian army under Siraj Ud Daulah at Plassey.
1758 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Krefeld – British forces defeat French troops at Krefeld in Germany.
1760 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Landeshut – Austria defeats Prussia.
1780 – American Revolution: Battle of Springfield fought in and around Springfield, New Jersey (including Short Hills, formerly of Springfield, now of Millburn Township).
1794 – Empress Catherine II of Russia grants Jews permission to settle in Kiev.
1810 – John Jacob Astor forms the Pacific Fur Company.
1812 – War of 1812: Great Britain revokes the restrictions on American commerce, thus eliminating one of the chief reasons for going to war.
1848 – Beginning of the June Days Uprising in Paris, France.
1860 – The United States Congress establishes the Government Printing Office.
1865 – American Civil War: at Fort Towson in the Oklahoma Territory, Confederate, Brigadier General Stand Watie surrenders the last significant rebel army.
1868 – Typewriter: Christopher Latham Sholes received a patent for an invention he called the "Type-Writer."
1887 – The Rocky Mountains Park Act becomes law in Canada creating the nation's first national park, Banff National Park.
1894 – The International Olympic Committee is founded at the Sorbonne in Paris, at the initiative of Baron Pierre de Coubertin.
1913 – Second Balkan War: The Greeks defeat the Bulgarians in the Battle of Doiran.
1914 – Mexican Revolution: Pancho Villa takes Zacatecas from Victoriano Huerta.
1917 – In a game against the Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox pitcher Ernie Shore retires 26 batters in a row after replacing Babe Ruth, who had been ejected for punching the umpire.
1919 – Estonian War of Independence: the decisive defeat of the Baltische Landeswehr in the Battle of Cesis. This day is celebrated as Victory Day in Estonia.
1926 – The College Board administers the first SAT exam.
1931 – Wiley Post and Harold Gatty take off from Roosevelt Field, Long Island in an attempt to circumnavigate the world in a single-engine plane.
1938 – The Civil Aeronautics Act is signed into law, forming the Civil Aeronautics Authority in the United States.
1940 – World War II: German leader Adolf Hitler surveys newly defeated Paris in now occupied France.
1941 – The Lithuanian Activist Front declares independence from the Soviet Union and forms the Provisional Government of Lithuania; it lasts only briefly as the Nazis will occupy Lithuania a few weeks later.
1942 – World War II: the first selections for the gas chamber at Auschwitz take place on a train full of Jews from Paris.
1942 – World War II: Germany's latest fighter, a Focke-Wulf Fw 190, is captured intact when it mistakenly lands at RAF Pembrey in Wales.
1943 – World War II: The British destroyers HMS Eclipse and HMS Laforey sink the Italian submarine Ascianghi in the Mediterranean after she torpedoes the cruiser HMS Newfoundland.
1946 – The 1946 Vancouver Island earthquake strikes Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.
1946 – The National Democratic Front wins a landslide victory in the municipal elections in French India.
1947 – The United States Senate follows the United States House of Representatives in overriding U.S. President Harry Truman's veto of the Taft-Hartley Act.
1956 – The French National Assembly takes the first step in creating the French Community by passing the Loi Cadre, transferring a number of powers from Paris to elected territorial governments in French West Africa.
1958 – The Dutch Reformed Church accepts women ministers.
1959 – Convicted Manhattan Project spy Klaus Fuchs is released after only nine years in prison and allowed to emigrate to Dresden, East Germany where he resumes a scientific career.
1959 – A fire in a resort hotel in Stalheim (Norway) kills 34 people.
1960 – The United States Food and Drug Administration declares Enovid to be the first officially approved combined oral contraceptive pill in the world.
1961 – Cold War: the Antarctic Treaty, which sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and bans military activity on the continent, comes into force after the opening date for signature set for the December 1, 1959.
1967 – Cold War: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson meets with Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin in Glassboro, New Jersey for the three-day Glassboro Summit Conference.
1969 – Warren E. Burger is sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court by retiring Chief Justice Earl Warren.
1969 – Software Industry IBM announced that effective January 1970 it would price its software and services separately from hardware thus creating the modern software industry.
1972 – Watergate Scandal: U.S. President Richard M. Nixon and White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman are taped talking about using the Central Intelligence Agency to obstruct the Federal Bureau of Investigation's investigation into the Watergate break-ins.
1972 – Title IX of the United States Civil Rights Act of 1964 is amended to prohibit sexual discrimination to any educational program receiving federal funds.
1973 – A fire at a house in Hull, England which kills a six year old boy is passed off as an accident; it later emerges as the first of 26 deaths by fire caused over the next seven years by arsonist Peter Dinsdale.
1982 – Chinese American Vincent Chin dies in a coma after being beaten in Highland Park, Michigan on June 19, by two auto workers who had mistaken him for Japanese and who were angry about the success of Japanese auto companies.
1985 – A terrorist bomb aboard Air India Flight 182 brings the Boeing 747 down off the coast of Ireland killing all 329 aboard.
2012 – Ashton Eaton breaks the decathlon world record at the United States Olympic Trials.
2013 – Nik Wallenda becomes the first man to successfully walk across the Grand Canyon on a tight rope.


B
 
23 June Births

##47 BC – Caesarion, Egyptian king (d. 30 BC)
##1433 – Francis II, Duke of Brittany (d. 1488)
##1456 – Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland (d. 1486)
##1534 – Oda Nobunaga, Japanese warlord (d. 1582)
##1596 – Johan Banér, Swedish field marshal (d. 1641)
##1612 – André Tacquet, Flemish priest and mathematician (d. 1660)
##1668 – Giambattista Vico, Italian jurist, historian, and philosopher (d. 1744)
##1683 – Étienne Fourmont, French orientalist (d. 1745)
##1685 – Antonio Bernacchi, Italian soprano and composer (d. 1756)
##1703 – Marie Leszczyńska, Polish wife of Louis XV of France (d. 1768)
##1711 – Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, Italian instrument maker (d. 1786)
##1716 – Fletcher Norton, 1st Baron Grantley, English politician (d. 1789)
##1750 – Déodat Gratet de Dolomieu, French geologist (d. 1801)
##1763 – Joséphine de Beauharnais, French wife of Napoleon I (d. 1814)
##1799 – John Milton Bernhisel, American physician and politician (d. 1881)
##1800 – Karol Marcinkowski, Polish physician and activist (d. 1846)
##1824 – Carl Reinecke, German pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1910)
##1863 – Sándor Bródy, Hungarian author and journalist (d. 1924)
##1877 – Norman Pritchard, Indian-English hurdler and actor (d. 1929)
##1884 – Cyclone Taylor, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1979)
##1888 – Bronson M. Cutting, American publisher and politician (d. 1935)
##1888 – Lee Moran, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1961)
##1889 – Anna Akhmatova, Ukrainian-Russian poet (d. 1966)
##1894 – Alfred Kinsey, American entomologist and sexologist (d. 1956)
##1894 – Edward VIII of the United Kingdom (d. 1972)
##1897 – Alexandru Giugaru, Romanian actor (d. 1986)
##1902 – Mathias Wieman, German actor (d. 1969)
##1903 – Paul Joseph James Martin, Canadian politician, 35th Secretary of State for Canada (d. 1992)
##1905 – Jack Pickersgill, Canadian politician (d. 1997)
##1906 – Tribhuvan of Nepal (d. 1955)
##1907 – Dercy Gonçalves, Brazilian comedian and actress (d. 2008)
##1907 – James Meade, English economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
##1909 – David Lewis, Russian-Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1981)
##1909 – Georges Rouquier, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1989)
##1910 – Jean Anouilh, French playwright (d. 1987)
##1910 – Gordon B. Hinckley, American religious leader, 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 2008)
##1910 – Milt Hinton, American bassist and photographer (d. 2000)
##1910 – Bill King, English commander and author (d. 2012)
##1912 – Alan Turing, English mathematician and computer scientist (d. 1954)
##1913 – William P. Rogers, American commander, lawyer, and politician, 55th United States Secretary of State (d. 2001)
##1916 – Len Hutton, English cricketer (d. 1990)
##1918 – Madeleine Parent, Canadian activist (d. 2012)
##1919 – Mohamed Boudiaf, Algerian politician (d. 1992)
##1921 – Armand Russell, Canadian politician (d. 2012)
##1922 – Morris R. Jeppson, American lieutenant and physicist (d. 2010)
##1922 – Hal Laycoe, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1998)
##1923 – Elroy Schwartz, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
##1923 – Tedi Thurman, American model and actress (d. 2012)
##1923 – Giuseppina Tuissi, Italian activist (d. 1945)
##1925 – Miriam Karlin, English actress (d. 2011)
##1925 – Art Modell, American businessman (d. 2012)
##1926 – Lawson Soulsby, British veterinary pathologist
##1927 – Bob Fosse, American actor, dancer, choreographer, and director (d. 1987)
##1927 – John Habgood, British archbishop
##1928 – Jean Cione, American baseball player (d. 2010)
##1928 – Michael Shaara, American author (d. 1988)
##1929 – June Carter Cash, American singer-songwriter and actress (Carter Family and The Carter Sisters) (d. 2003)
##1930 – Donn F. Eisele, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1987)
##1930 – John Elliott, English historian
##1930 – Francis Newall, British politician and businessman
##1930 – Anthony Thwaite, British poet
##1931 – Gunnar Uusi, Estonian chess player (d. 1981)
##1932 – Peter Millett, British judge
##1934 – Keith Sutton, British bishop
##1934 – Bill Torrey, Canadian businessman
##1935 – Maurice Ferre, American politician, 32nd Mayor of Miami
##1935 – Keith Burkinshaw, English footballer and manager
##1936 – Richard Bach, American author
##1936 – Costas Simitis, Greek politician, 180th Prime Minister of Greece
##1937 – Martti Ahtisaari, Finnish politician, 10th President of Finland, Nobel Prize laureate
##1937 – Alan Haselhurst, British politician
##1937 – Niki Sullivan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Crickets) (d. 2004)
##1938 – John Hayes, English politician
##1940 – Adam Faith, English singer, actor, and journalist (d. 2003)
##1940 – Derry Irvine, Scottish lawyer, judge, and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
##1940 – Marcel Massé, Canadian politician and civil servant
##1940 – Wilma Rudolph, American runner (d. 1994)
##1940 – Stuart Sutcliffe, Scottish-English bass player (The Beatles) (d. 1962)
##1941 – Robert Hunter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Grateful Dead)
##1941 – Roger McDonald, Australian author
##1942 – Martin Rees, British cosmologist and astrophysicist
##1943 – Vint Cerf, American computer scientist
##1943 – James Levine, American pianist and conductor
##1944 – Rosetta Hightower, American singer (The Orlons)
##1945 – Kjell Albin Abrahamson, Swedish journalist and author
##1945 – John Garang, Sudanese politician, President of Southern Sudan (d. 2005)
##1946 – Julian Hipwood, British polo player and coach
##1946 – Ted Shackelford, American actor
##1947 – Bryan Brown, Australian actor and producer
##1947 – Anne Owers, British chief inspector of prisons for England and Wales
##1948 – Myles Goodwyn, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (April Wine)
##1948 – Luther Kent, American singer
##1948 – Darhyl S. Ramsey, American author
##1948 – Clarence Thomas, American judge
##1949 – Gordon Bray, Australian sportscaster
##1949 – Sheila Noakes, British politician
##1950 – Nicholas Cleobury, English conductor
##1951 – David Chillingworth, Irish bishop of Scottish Episcopalian Church
##1951 – Angelo Falcón, Puerto Rican-American political scientist, founded the National Institute for Latino Policy
##1951 – Jim Metzler, American actor
##1951 – Michèle Mouton, French race car driver
##1952 – Anthony Jackson, American bass player
##1953 – Andrew Moylan, British judge
##1955 – Pierre Corbeil, Canadian dentist and politician
##1955 – Glenn Danzig, American singer-songwriter and producer (Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig)
##1955 – Maggie Greenwald, American director and screenwriter
##1955 – Maggie Philbin, English television and radio presenter
##1955 – Pamela Rooke, English model and actress
##1955 – Jean Tigana, French footballer and manager
##1956 – Tony Hill, American football player and sportscaster
##1956 – Randy Jackson, American bass player and producer
##1957 – Frances McDormand, American actress
##1960 – Donald Harrison, American saxophonist, composer, and producer
##1960 – Tatsuya Uemura, Japanese composer and programmer
##1961 – Richard Arnold, British judge
##1961 – Zoran Janjetov, Serbian illustrator
##1961 – LaSalle Thompson, American basketball player, coach, and manager
##1962 – Chuck Billy, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Testament and Dublin Death Patrol)
##1962 – Andrew Bingham, English politician
##1962 – Steve Shelley, American drummer and producer (The Crucifucks, Sonic Youth, Dim Stars, and Disappears)
##1962 – Kari Takko, Finnish ice hockey player
##1962 – Kevin Yagher, American make-up artist
##1963 – Colin Montgomerie, Scottish golfer
##1963 – Wesley Warren, Jr., American elephantiasis victim (d. 2014)
##1964 – Yun Lou, Chinese gymnast
##1964 – Nicolas Marceau, Canadian economist and politician
##1964 – Joss Whedon, American director, producer, and screenwriter
##1965 – Paul Arthurs, English guitarist (Oasis and The Rain)
##1965 – Mitch Longley American actor and stuntman
##1966 – Chico DeBarge, American singer and pianist (DeBarge)
##1966 – Richie Ren, Taiwanese singer and actor
##1967 – Helen Geake, English archaeologist
##1969 – Martin Klebba, American actor
##1970 – Robert Brooks, American football player
##1970 – Martin Deschamps, Canadian singer-songwriter (Offenbach)
##1970 – Yann Tiersen, French composer
##1971 – Fred Ewanuick, Canadian actor
##1971 – Félix Potvin, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
##1972 – Selma Blair, American actress
##1972 – Ron Corning, American journalist
##1972 – Louis Van Amstel, Dutch-American dancer and choreographer
##1972 – Zinedine Zidane, French footballer and manager
##1973 – Marija Naumova, Latvian singer-songwriter
##1974 – Joel Edgerton, Australian actor, producer, and screenwriter
##1974 – Mark Hendrickson, American basketball and baseball player
##1975 – Jeffrey Carlson, American actor and singer
##1975 – Kevin Dyson, American football player and coach
##1975 – Mike James, American basketball player
##1975 – Mik Kersten, Polish-Canadian computer scientist
##1975 – Janika Sillamaa, Estonian singer
##1975 – KT Tunstall, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
##1976 – Wade Barrett, American soccer player and manager
##1976 – Joe Becker, American guitarist and composer
##1976 – Patrick Monahan, Iranian-Irish comedian
##1976 – Savvas Poursaitidis, Greek-Cypriot footballer
##1976 – Brandon Stokley, American football player
##1976 – Paola Suárez, Argentinian tennis player
##1976 – Emmanuelle Vaugier, Canadian actress and singer
##1976 – Patrick Vieira, French footballer and manager
##1977 – Miguel Ángel Angulo, Spanish footballer
##1977 – Hayden Foxe, Australian footballer and manager
##1977 – Jaan Jüris, Estonian ski jumper
##1977 – Jason Mraz, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
##1977 – Shaun O'Hara, American football player
##1978 – Memphis Bleek, American rapper, producer, and actor
##1978 – Frédéric Leclercq, French singer-songwriter and bass player (DragonForce and Heavenly)
##1978 – Matt Light, American football player and sportscaster
##1979 – LaDainian Tomlinson, American football player
##1980 – Becky Cloonan, American author and illustrator
##1980 – Melissa Rauch, American actress
##1980 – Ramnaresh Sarwan, Guyanese cricketer
##1980 – Francesca Schiavone, Italian tennis player
##1980 – Stephan Wojcikiewicz, Canadian badminton player
##1981 – Antony Costa, English singer-songwriter and actor (Blue)
##1981 – Rolf Wacha, German rugby player
##1982 – Rafael Bejarano, Peruvian-American jockey
##1982 – Derek Boogaard, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 2011)
##1983 – Jason Berrent, American actor and producer
##1983 – Brooks Laich, Canadian ice hockey player
##1983 – José Manuel Rojas, Chilean footballer
##1983 – Miles Fisher, American actor and singer
##1984 – Duffy, Welsh singer-songwriter and actress
##1984 – Tatjana Kivimägi, Russian-Estonian high jumper
##1984 – Takeshi Matsuda, Japanese swimmer
##1984 – Levern Spencer, Saint Lucian high jumper
##1984 – J. T. Thomas, American reality show contestant on Survivor: Tocantins
##1984 – Dave Walsh, American gamer
##1985 – Kristo Aab, Estonian basketball player
##1985 – Marcel Reece, American football player
##1987 – Alessia Filippi, Italian swimmer
##1988 – Isabella Leong, Hong Kong singer and actress
##1988 – Chellsie Memmel, American gymnast
##1989 – Lauren Bennett, English singer and dancer (Paradiso Girls)
##1989 – Marielle Jaffe, American model and actress
##1989 – Jordan Nolan, Canadian ice hockey player
##1989 – Ayana Taketatsu, Japanese voice actress and singer
##1991 – Katie Armiger, American singer
##1992 – Luiza Galiulina, Uzbekistani gymnast
##1993 – Marvin Grumann, German footballer


D
 
Jun 23, 2013:
Wallenda makes Grand Canyon crossing on high wire

On this day in 2013, 34-year-old aerialist Nik Wallenda becomes the first person to walk a high wire across the Little Colorado River Gorge near Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. Wallenda wasn’t wearing a safety harness as he made the quarter-mile traverse on a 2-inch-thick steel cable some 1,500 feet above the gorge. In June of the previous year, Wallenda, a member of the famous Flying Wallendas family of circus performers, became the first person to walk a tightrope over Niagara Falls.

Born in Sarasota, Florida, in 1979, Wallenda is part of a family that traces its history as circus performers back to the Austro-Hungarian empire in the late 18th century. His great-grandfather, Karl, who was born in Germany in 1905, developed an aerial act with several other performers in Europe in the early 1920s. By the late 1920s, the group, which eventually came to be known as the Flying Wallendas, was performing in America with Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. In 1947, Karl Wallenda invented the seven-person chair pyramid, a feat performed on a tightrope. After being performed for many years, the pyramid proved fatal in 1962, when two men died and one of Karl’s sons was paralyzed when the trick went wrong. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Karl turned his attention to “sky walks” between buildings and across stadiums on a high wire. In 1978, he fell to his death at age 73 while walking a cable between two structures in Puerto Rico.

Nik Wallenda learned to walk on a wire as a young boy, and made his professional debut as an aerialist at age 13. He went on to set a number of Guinness World Records, including the longest tightrope crossing on a bicycle and the highest eight-person tightrope pyramid. In 2011, Wallenda hung from a high-flying helicopter above Branson, Missouri, by his teeth. That same year, he and his mother successfully completed the high-wire walk in Puerto Rico that had killed Karl Wallenda.

On June 15, 2012, Nik Wallenda became the first person to walk directly over Niagara Falls on a high wire. He crossed an 1,800-foot-long, 7-ton wire from the U.S. side of the falls to the Canadian side at a height of around 200 feet in about 25 minutes. Because the event was televised around the world, broadcast officials required the famous funambulist to wear a safety tether in case he fell.

The following June, Wallenda made his Grand Canyon traverse. Wearing jeans and a T-shirt and holding a 43-pound balancing pole, he prayed out loud as he walked untethered across a 1,400-foot-long, 8.5-ton cable suspended 1,500 feet above the Little Colorado River. It was the highest walk of his career, and he completed it in just less than 23 minutes.


Jun 23, 1878:
Frontiersman Martin Sweeny is murdered

Martin Sweeny, a former Indian agent and Arizona mining entrepreneur, is murdered near Tombstone, Arizona, in a dispute over a mining property.

Though he would never become famous, Martin Sweeny's adventurous life and violent death is illustrative of the path many young men followed in the Wild West of the later 19th century. Born in Massachusetts in 1845, Sweeny heeded the siren call of the West at the age of 23. After bouncing around the Southwest for a time, he found a position as a blacksmith on an Apache Indian reservation in Arizona in 1868. There he learned the Apache language and absorbed their culture, and he developed a genuine appreciation for the Apache's ability to thrive in a desert climate that so many Euro-Americans found intolerable.

In 1874, Sweeny's sympathetic appreciation of Indian ways won him a position schooling some of the pro-government Apache in American military tactics. The Indians, who were used as soldiers in the ongoing conflict with other hostile Apache bands, reportedly became excellent soldiers under Sweeny's guidance. Three years later, when several bands of Apache under the chiefs Geronimo and Victorio reluctantly agreed to surrender, Sweeny was given the delicate diplomatic task of escorting the warriors to the reservation.

The head agent of the Apache reservation resigned suddenly that same year, leaving Sweeny temporarily in charge. Soon after, the government offered Sweeny the job permanently. That a 32-year-old former blacksmith from Massachusetts was a suitable candidate for such an important federal position was indicative of the opportunities a talented young man could find in the American West.

After careful consideration, however, Sweeny turned down the position. For the past several years, he had been taking advantage of another golden frontier opportunity: mining. In 1872, Sweeny began investing in several promising mines near the town of Tombstone, Arizona. By 1877, at least one of them, the Grand Central, was becoming a paying proposition. Sweeny decided he would do better as a mining entrepreneur than as an Indian agent.

Mining in Tombstone, however, proved to be more dangerous than dealing with the Apache. During the late 1870s, Tombstone was already becoming notorious for its lawlessness. The town soon became a haven for dangerous men, including such famous gunslingers as Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and John Ringo.

In 1878, Sweeny clashed with one of his partners in the Grand Central mine, a hotheaded man named Oliver Boyer. On this day in 1878, Boyer confronted Sweeny near the mine. An argument between the two men over the mine quickly became heated. Although Sweeny was a notoriously tough character and a dangerous man with his fists, he did not carry a gun. Boyer, however, carried a revolver. In a fit of rage, Boyer shot and killed the unarmed Sweeny.

Just as Sweeny's life reflected the unusual opportunities the West offered ambitious young men, his death reflected the harsh and decidedly unromantic deaths some of them suffered. For every famous face-to-face shoot-out like the one at the O.K. Corral, there were dozens of cowardly murders where the victims were shot in the back, ambushed, or otherwise caught defenseless like Martin Sweeny. For the crime, Boyer was sentenced to 25 years in prison.


Jun 23, 1973:
Haldeman encourages Nixon to ward off FBI

On this day in 1973, President Richard Nixon's advisor, H.R. Haldeman, tells the president to put pressure on the head of the FBI to "stay the hell out of this [Watergate burglary investigation] business." In essence, Haldeman was telling Nixon to obstruct justice, which is one of the articles Congress threatened to impeach Nixon for in 1974.

In audio tapes of that day's conversation in the Oval Office, Haldeman tells Nixon that the press and FBI investigators have come close to linking the men who burglarized the Democratic National Committee headquarters in 1972, housed in the Watergate building, to the White House. They specifically mention funds diverted to the burglars, many of whom were Cuban, by members of Nixon's re-election committee.

Nixon tells Haldeman to tell the FBI that the funds in question were intended for the CIA and concocted a story about covert plans regarding communist Cuba. "Don t lie to them," said Nixon, "to the extent to say there's no involvement [on the part of the president] but just say this is sort of a comedy of errors, bizarre, without getting into it."

The tapes of the hour-and-a-half conversation between Nixon and Haldeman eventually brought the down the Nixon administration and led to his resignation in August 1974. They were considered the "smoking gun" which proved Nixon's role in obstructing justice during the Watergate investigation.


Jun 23, 1915:
First Battle of the Isonzo

On June 23, 1915, exactly one month after Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary, the Italian army attacks Austro-Hungarian positions near the Isonzo River, in the eastern section of the Italian front; it will become the first of twelve Battles of the Isonzo fought during World War I.

Of all the fronts of the Great War, the Italian was the least well-suited not only for offensive operations but for any form of warfare at all. Four-fifths of Italy's 600-kilometer-long border with Austria-Hungary was mountainous, with several peaks rising above 3,000 meters. Despite this, the Italian chief of staff, Luigi Cadorna, desperately wanted to satisfy the demands of his government–as well as the other Allies–by making substantial gains of territory against Austria-Hungary upon Italy's declaration of war on May 23, 1915.

For its part, Austria-Hungary was surprisingly unconcerned with the Italian entry into the war, despite the fact that it opened a third front for an army whose resources were already stretched dangerously thin. In the years before the war, the Austrian commander in chief, Conrad von Hotzendorff, had often suggested a pre-emptive strike against Italy, as well as against Serbia; in 1915, the prospect of confronting an inferior Italian army seemed to lend a new burst of energy to the Dual Monarchy. Germany, though, pressured Austria-Hungary to fight defensively in Italy and not to divert resources from the Eastern Front against Russia. As a result, while the Italians plotted ambitious offensive operations, including surprise attacks across the Isonzo River, the Austrians settled into their positions in the mountains along the rapid-flowing Isonzo and planned to mount a solid and spirited defense.

After a series of preliminary operations on various sections of the front, Italian forces struck the Austrian positions at the Isonzo for the first time on June 23, 1915, after a one-week bombardment. Despite enjoying numerical superiority, the Italian forces were unable to break the Austro-Hungarian forces, Cadorna having failed to assemble adequate artillery protection to back up his infantry troops–a mistake similar to those made early in the war by commanders on the Western Front. Two Austro-Hungarian infantry divisions soon arrived to aid their comrades at the Isonzo and the Italians were prevented from crossing the river; Cadorna called off the attacks on July 7.

In the four battles fought on the Isonzo in 1915 alone, Italy made no substantial progress and suffered 235,000 casualties, including 54,000 killed. Cadorna's plans for a highly mobile Italian advance had definitively failed, and battle on the Italian front, as in the west, had settled into slow, excruciating trench warfare.
 
Jun 23, 1964:
Johnson announces new ambassador to South Vietnam

At a news conference, President Lyndon B. Johnson announces that Henry Cabot Lodge has resigned as ambassador to South Vietnam and that Gen. Maxwell Taylor will be his replacement. It was reliably reported that virtually every top official in the administration volunteered to serve as ambassador. Johnson made a point of insisting that this change would in no way affect the U.S. commitment to South Vietnam.

It was also announced that General Westmoreland was to become the "executive agent" to supervise the civilian advisory and assistance programs in three provinces around Saigon, the first stage of a plan to coordinate the entire U.S. military and civilian program in South Vietnam under the military command.

Lodge had left his ambassadorial post to pursue the Republican presidential nomination. Ultimately, Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona secured the nomination and was defeated by Johnson in the general election. Lodge returned to Saigon in 1965 for another two-year stint as ambassador.


Jun 23, 1972:
Title IX enacted

On this day in 1972, Title IX of the education amendments of 1972 is enacted into law. Title IX prohibits federally funded educational institutions from discriminating against students or employees based on sex. It begins: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." As a result of Title IX, any school that receives any federal money from the elementary to university level--in short, nearly all schools--must provide fair and equal treatment of the sexes in all areas, including athletics.


Before Title IX, few opportunities existed for female athletes. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which was created in 1906 to format and enforce rules in men’s football but had become the ruling body of college athletics, offered no athletic scholarships for women and held no championships for women’s teams. Furthermore, facilities, supplies and funding were lacking. As a result, in 1972 there were just 30,000 women participating in NCAA sports, as opposed to 170,000 men.


Title IX was designed to correct those imbalances. Although it did not require that women’s athletics receive the same amount of money as men’s athletics, it was designed to enforce equal access and quality. Women’s and men’s programs were required to devote the same resources to locker rooms, medical treatment, training, coaching, practice times, travel and per diem allowances, equipment, practice facilities, tutoring and recruitment. Scholarship money was to be budgeted on a commensurate basis, so that if 40 percent of a school’s athletic scholarships were awarded to women, 40 percent of the scholarship budget was also earmarked for women.


Since the enactment of Title IX, women’s participation in sports has grown exponentially. In high school, the number of girl athletes has increased from just 295,000 in 1972 to more than 2.6 million. In college, the number has grown from 30,000 to more than 150,000. In addition, Title IX is credited with decreasing the dropout rate of girls from high school and increasing the number of women who pursue higher education and complete college degrees.


Despite these advancements, Title IX has not been without controversy. Critics point out that while it may be helping female athletes, it can hurt male athletes when schools are forced to cancel smaller men’s programs to meet the strictures of the law.


Jun 23, 1934:
Even without the corpse, a murderer is uncovered

William Bayly is convicted of murder in New Zealand despite the fact that the body of one of his alleged victims was never found. Most of the evidence against Bayly consisted of trace amounts of human hair, bone, and tissue, representing a marked advance in the field of forensics.

Sam and Christobel Lakey disappeared from their farm in Ruawaro, New Zealand, in October 1933, along with their rifles. Christobel's body soon turned up in a pond on the farm with terrible bruising to her face and head, and investigators then discovered fresh bloodstains in both an old buggy and a barn, leading them to believe that Sam had been shot and transported somewhere else.

One of the first suspects was William Bayly, who owned a farm adjacent to the Lakey's, and who was known to have argued with his neighbors frequently. Years earlier, he had been suspected of killing his cousin, but was released due to insufficient evidence. Suggesting to police that Sam Lakey had probably fled after killing his wife, Bayly soon dropped out of sight himself.

Meanwhile, detectives found the missing rifles buried in a swamp on Lakey's property. Following up on a report that there had been thick smoke coming from a shed on Bayly's property on the day that the Lakeys disappeared, investigators found pieces of hair and bones, ash, and shotgun lead in a large oil drum inside the shed. It appeared that Bayly had cremated Sam Lakey's body in this drum.

Tests of the hair and bone fragments from the drum in the shed proved that they were human in origin. Baley was convicted and hanged at Mount Eden Jail in July.


Jun 23, 1944:
Tornadoes hit West Virginia and Pennsylvania

A spate of tornadoes across West Virginia and Pennsylvania kills more than 150 people on this day in 1944. Most of the twisters were classified as F3, but the most deadly one was an F4 on the Fujita scale, meaning it was a devastating tornado, with winds in excess of 207 mph.

It was a very hot afternoon when atmospheric conditions suddenly changed and the tornadoes began in Maryland. At about 5:30 p.m., an F3 tornado (with winds between 158 and 206 mph) struck in western Pennsylvania and killed two people. Forty-five minutes later, a very large twister began in West Virginia, moved into Pennsylvania, and then tracked back to West Virginia. By the time this F4 tornado ended, it had killed 151 people and leveled hundreds of homes.

Another tornado that afternoon struck at a YMCA camp in Washington, Pennsylvania. A letter written by a camper was later found 100 miles away. Coal-mining towns in the area were also hit hard on June 23. There were some reports that a couple of tornadoes actually crossed the Appalachian mountain range, going up one side and coming down the other.

This remarkable series of twisters finally ended at 10 p.m., when the last one hit in Tucker County, West Virginia. In all, the storms caused the destruction of thousands of structures and millions of dollars in damages.
 
23 June Deaths

##79 – Vespasian, Roman emperor (b. 9)
##679 – Æthelthryth, queen of Northumbria
##1018 – Henry I, Margrave of Austria
##1222 – Constance of Aragon (b. 1179)
##1314 – Henry de Bohun, English knight
##1582 – Shimizu Muneharu, Japanese commander (b. 1537)
##1615 – Mashita Nagamori, Japanese daimyo (b. 1545)
##1677 – William Louis, Duke of Württemberg (b. 1647)
##1686 – William Coventry, English politician (b. 1628)
##1707 – John Mill, English theologian (b. 1645)
##1733 – Johann Jakob Scheuchzer, Swiss scholar (b. 1672)
##1770 – Mark Akenside, English poet and physician (b. 1721)
##1775 – Karl Ludwig von Pöllnitz, German adventurer (b. 1692)
##1779 – Mikael Sehul, Ethiopian warlord (b. 1691)
##1806 – Mathurin Jacques Brisson, French zoologist and philosopher (b. 1723)
##1811 – Nicolau Tolentino de Almeida, Portuguese poet (b. 1740)
##1832 – Sir James Hall, 4th Baronet, Scottish geologist (b. 1761)
##1836 – James Mill, Scottish economist, historian, and philosopher (b. 1773)
##1856 – Ivan Kireyevsky, Russian critic and philosopher (b. 1806)
##1881 – Matthias Jakob Schleiden, German botanist (b. 1804)
##1891 – Wilhelm Eduard Weber, German physicist (b. 1804)
##1891 – Samuel Newitt Wood, American lawyer and politician (b. 1825)
##1893 – Theophilus Shepstone, English-South African politician (b. 1817)
##1914– Bhaktivinoda Thakur, Indian Vaishnava philosopher and spiritual reformist (b. 1838)
##1945 – Giuseppina Tuissi, Italian activist (b. 1923)
##1949 – Aristeidis Stergiadis, Greek politician (b. 1861)
##1956 – Reinhold Glière, Russian composer (b. 1875)
##1959 – Boris Vian, French author, poet, and playwright (b. 1920)
##1969 – Volmari Iso-Hollo, Finnish runner (b. 1907)
##1970 – Roscoe Turner, American pilot (b. 1895)
##1973 – Gerry Birrell, Scottish racing driver (b. 1944)
##1980 – Sanjay Gandhi, Indian politician (b. 1946)
##1980 – V. V. Giri, Indian politician, 4th President of India (b. 1894)
##1980 – Clyfford Still, American painter (b. 1904)
##1980 – Odile Versois, French actress (b. 1930)
##1981 – Zarah Leander, Swedish actress and singer (b. 1907)
##1982 – Vincent Chin, Chinese-American murder victim (b. 1955)
##1989 – Werner Best, German jurist and police officer (b. 1903)
##1990 – Harindranath Chattopadhyay, Indian poet, actor and politician (b. 1898)
##1991 – Frank Buckland, Canadian businessman (b. 1902)
##1991 – Lea Padovani, Italian actress (b. 1920)
##1992 – Eric Andolsek, American football player (b. 1966)
##1995 – Jonas Salk, American biologist and physician (b. 1914)
##1995 – Anatoli Tarasov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1918)
##1995 – Roger Grimsby, American journalist, television news anchor and actor (b. 1928)
##1996 – Andreas Papandreou, Greek economist and politician, 174th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1919)
##1997 – Betty Shabazz, American educator and activist (b. 1936)
##1998 – Maureen O'Sullivan, Irish-American actress and singer (b. 1911)
##1999 – Buster Merryfield, English actor (b. 1920)
##2000 – Peter Dubovský, Slovak footballer (b. 1972)
##2000 – Peter L. Pond, American clergyman, activist, and philanthropist (b. 1933)
##2001 – Yvonne Dionne, Canadian quintuplet (b. 1934)
##2002 – Pedro Alcázar, Panamanian boxer (b. 1975)
##2005 – Shana Alexander, American journalist (b. 1926)
##2005 – Manolis Anagnostakis, Greek poet and critic (b. 1925)
##2006 – Aaron Spelling, American actor, producer, and screenwriter, founded Spelling Television (b. 1923)
##2006 – Luke Graham, American wrestler (b. 1940)
##2007 – Rod Beck, American baseball player (b. 1968)
##2008 – Claudio Capone, Italian-Scottish voice actor (b. 1952)
##2008 – Arthur Chung, Guyanan politician, 1st President of Guyana (b. 1918)
##2008 – Marian Glinka, Polish actor and bodybuilder (b. 1943)
##2008 – Judith Holzmeister, Austrian actress (b. 1920)
##2009 – Raymond Berthiaume, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1931)
##2009 – John Callaway, American journalist (b. 1936)
##2009 – Hanne Hiob, German actress (b. 1923)
##2009 – Ed McMahon, American game show host and announcer (b. 1923)
##2009 – Jerri Nielsen, American physician (b. 1952)
##2009 – Manuel Saval, Mexican actor (b. 1956)
##2010 – Pete Quaife, English bass player (The Kinks) (b. 1943)
##2011 – Peter Falk, American actor (b. 1927)
##2011 – Dennis Marshall, Costa Rican footballer (b. 1985)
##2011 – Fred Steiner, American composer and arranger (b. 1923)
##2012 – Franz Crass, German singer (b. 1928)
##2012 – Robin de la Lanne-Mirrlees, English author and soldier (b. 1925)
##2012 – James Durbin, English economist (b. 1923)
##2012 – Brigitte Engerer, French pianist (b. 1952)
##2012 – Ken Hargreaves, English politician (b. 1939)
##2012 – Alan McDonald, Irish footballer and manager (b. 1963)
##2012 – Frank Chee Willeto, American politician, 4th Vice President of the Navajo Nation (b. 1925)
##2012 – Walter J. Zable, American football player and businessman, founded the Cubic Corporation (b. 1915)
##2013 – Bobby Bland, American singer-songwriter (b. 1930)
##2013 – Frank Kelso, American admiral (b. 1933)
##2013 – Kurt Leichtweiss, German mathematician (b. 1927)
##2013 – Little Willie Littlefield, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1931)
##2013 – Richard Matheson, American author and screenwriter (b. 1926)
##2013 – Darryl Read, English singer-songwriter, drummer, and actor (Crushed Butler and Tiger) (b. 1951)
##2013 – Sharon Stouder, American swimmer (b. 1948)
##2013 – Frank Stranahan, American golfer (b. 1922)
##2013 – Meamea Thomas, I-Kiribati weightlifter (d. 1987)


H
 
24 June Events

109 – Roman emperor Trajan inaugurates the Aqua Traiana, an aqueduct that channels water from Lake Bracciano, 40 kilometres (25 miles) north-west of Rome.
474 – Julius Nepos forces Roman usurper Glycerius to abdicate the throne and proclaims himself Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
637 – The Battle of Moira is fought between the High King of Ireland and the Kings of Ulster and Dalriada. It is claimed to be largest battle in the history of Ireland.
972 – Battle of Cedynia, the first documented victory of Polish forces, takes place.
1128 – Battle of São Mamede, near Guimarães: forces led by Alfonso I defeat forces led by his mother Teresa of León and her lover Fernando Pérez de Traba. After this battle, the future king calls himself "Prince of Portugal", the first step towards "official independence" that will be reached in 1139 after the Battle of Ourique.
1230 – The Siege of Jaén started in the context of the Spanish Reconquista.
1314 – First War of Scottish Independence: the Battle of Bannockburn concludes with a decisive victory by Scottish forces led by Robert the Bruce, though England did not recognize Scottish independence until 1328 with the signing of the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton.
1340 – Hundred Years' War: Battle of Sluys – The French fleet is almost completely destroyed by the English Fleet commanded in person by King Edward III.
1374 – A sudden outbreak of St. John's Dance causes people in the streets of Aachen, Germany, to experience hallucinations and begin to jump and twitch uncontrollably until they collapse from exhaustion.
1497 – John Cabot lands in North America at Newfoundland leading the first European exploration of the region since the Vikings.
1509 – Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon are crowned King and Queen of England.
1535 – The Anabaptist state of Münster is conquered and disbanded.
1571 – Miguel Lopez de Legazpi founds Manila, the capital of the Republic of the Philippines.
1597 – The first Dutch voyage to the East Indies reaches Bantam (on Java).
1604 – Samuel de Champlain discovers the mouth of the Saint John River, site of Reversing Falls and the present day city of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.
1622 – Battle of Macau: The Dutch attempt but fail to capture Macau.
1717 – The Premier Grand Lodge of England, the first Masonic Grand Lodge in the world (now the United Grand Lodge of England), is founded in London, England.
1779 – American Revolutionary War: The Great Siege of Gibraltar begins.
1793 – The first Republican constitution in France is adopted.
1812 – Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon's Grande Armée crosses the Neman River beginning the invasion of Russia.
1813 – Battle of Beaver Dams: a British and Indian combined force defeats the United States Army.
1821 – The Battle of Carabobo takes place. It is the decisive battle in the war of independence of Venezuela from Spain.
1846 – The saxophone is patented by Adolphe Sax in Paris, France.
1859 – Battle of Solferino (Battle of the Three Sovereigns): Sardinia and France defeat Austria in Solferino, northern Italy.
1866 – Battle of Custoza: an Austrian army defeats the Italian army during the Austro-Prussian War.
1880 – First performance of O Canada, the song that would become the national anthem of Canada, at the Congrès national des Canadiens-Français.
1894 – Marie Francois Sadi Carnot is assassinated by Sante Geronimo Caserio.
1902 – King Edward VII of the United Kingdom develops appendicitis, delaying his coronation.
1913 – Greece and Serbia annul their alliance with Bulgaria.
1916 – Mary Pickford becomes the first female film star to sign a million dollar contract.
1916 – World War I: the Battle of the Somme begins with a week-long artillery bombardment on the German Line.
1918 – First airmail service in Canada from Montreal to Toronto.
1932 – A bloodless Revolution instigated by the People's Party ends the absolute power of King Prajadhipok of Siam (now Thailand).
1938 – Pieces of a meteor, estimated to have weighed 450 metric tons when it hit the Earth's atmosphere and exploded, land near Chicora, Pennsylvania.
1939 – Siam is renamed Thailand by Plaek Pibulsonggram, the country's third prime minister.
1947 – Kenneth Arnold makes the first widely reported UFO sighting near Mount Rainier, Washington.
1948 – Start of the Berlin Blockade: the Soviet Union makes overland travel between West Germany and West Berlin impossible.
1949 – The first television western, Hopalong Cassidy, is aired on NBC starring William Boyd.
1954 – First Indochina War: Battle of Mang Yang Pass — Vietminh troops belonging to the 803rd Regiment ambush G.M. 100 of France in An Khê.
1957 – In Roth v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment.
1963 – The United Kingdom grants Zanzibar internal self-government.
1967 – The worst caving disaster in British history takes six lives at Mossdale Caverns.
1981 – The Humber Bridge is opens to traffic, connecting Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. It would be the world's longest single-span suspension bridge for 17 years.
1982 – "The Jakarta Incident": British Airways Flight 9 flies into a cloud of volcanic ash thrown up by the eruption of Mount Galunggung, resulting in the failure of all four engines.
1989 – Jiang Zemin succeeds Zhao Ziyang to become the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China after 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests.
1995 – "Rugby World Cup final": South Africa defeats New Zealand, Nelson Mandela presents Francois Pienaar with the Webb-Ellis trophy in an iconic post-apartheid moment.
2002 – The Igandu train disaster in Tanzania kills 281, the worst train accident in African history.
2004 – In New York, capital punishment is declared unconstitutional.
2010 – Kevin Rudd is deposed as Prime Minister of Australia and leader of the Australian Labor Party. Julia Gillard wins the subsequent leadership ballot.
2010 – John Isner of the United States defeats Nicolas Mahut of France at Wimbledon, in the longest match in professional tennis history.
2012 – The last known individual of Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii, a subspecies of the Galápagos tortoise, dies.


B
 
Jun 24, 1997:
U.S. Air Force reports on Roswell

On this day in 1997, U.S. Air Force officials release a 231-page report dismissing long-standing claims of an alien spacecraft crash in Roswell, New Mexico, almost exactly 50 years earlier.

Public interest in Unidentified Flying Objects, or UFOs, began to flourish in the 1940s, when developments in space travel and the dawn of the atomic age caused many Americans to turn their attention to the skies. The town of Roswell, located near the Pecos River in southeastern New Mexico, became a magnet for UFO believers due to the strange events of early July 1947, when ranch foreman W.W. Brazel found a strange, shiny material scattered over some of his land. He turned the material over to the sheriff, who passed it on to authorities at the nearby Air Force base. On July 8, Air Force officials announced they had recovered the wreckage of a "flying disk." A local newspaper put the story on its front page, launching Roswell into the spotlight of the public's UFO fascination.

The Air Force soon took back their story, however, saying the debris had been merely a downed weather balloon. Aside from die-hard UFO believers, or "ufologists," public interest in the so-called "Roswell Incident" faded until the late 1970s, when claims surfaced that the military had invented the weather balloon story as a cover-up. Believers in this theory argued that officials had in fact retrieved several alien bodies from the crashed spacecraft, which were now stored in the mysterious Area 51 installation in Nevada. Seeking to dispel these suspicions, the Air Force issued a 1,000-page report in 1994 stating that the crashed object was actually a high-altitude weather balloon launched from a nearby missile test-site as part of a classified experiment aimed at monitoring the atmosphere in order to detect Soviet nuclear tests.

On July 24, 1997, barely a week before the extravagant 50th anniversary celebration of the incident, the Air Force released yet another report on the controversial subject. Titled "The Roswell Report, Case Closed," the document stated definitively that there was no Pentagon evidence that any kind of life form was found in the Roswell area in connection with the reported UFO sightings, and that the "bodies" recovered were not aliens but dummies used in parachute tests conducted in the region. Any hopes that this would put an end to the cover-up debate were in vain, as furious ufologists rushed to point out the report's inconsistencies. With conspiracy theories still alive and well on the Internet, Roswell continues to thrive as a tourist destination for UFO enthusiasts far and wide, hosting the annual UFO Encounter Festival each July and welcoming visitors year-round to its International UFO Museum and Research Center.


Jun 24, 1915:
First operational flight of new German fighter plane

On June 24, 1915, young Oswald Boelcke, one of the earliest and best German fighter pilots of World War I, makes the first operational flight of the Fokker Eindecker plane.

The years of the First World War, 1914 to 1918, saw a staggering improvement not only in aircraft production, but also in technology, on both sides of the conflict. The war began just a decade after Orville and Wilbur Wright made their historic 12-second flight at Kittyhawk, North Carolina; by 1918, fighter airplanes had been developed that could serve purposes of observation and reconnaissance, tactical and strategic bombing, direct attack on ground and air targets and use in naval warfare.

The Fokker Eindecker, a plane equipped first with one and eventually with two machine guns that could fire straight ahead through the aircraft's propellers, would have a huge impact on air combat in the Great War and would put the Luftstreitkrafte, the German Air Service, far ahead of the Allied air forces for several months during the summer of 1915. The British referred to this as the Fokker Menace or the Fokker Scourge. The plane's designer, Anton Fokker, had based the concept of synchronization, or the precise timing of the propeller blades to avoid being struck by the machine gun bullets, on an aircraft designed by France's Morane-Saulnier corporation and flown by the famous French ace Roland Garros when he was shot down in April 1915 by the Germans. The Fokker Eindecker, or Fokker E, plane made German pilots like Boelcke and Max Immelmann into national heroes, as the number of their kills increased exponentially.

By the end of the summer of 1915, the Allies had managed to develop their own planes to rival the Fokkers, and balance was restored. Another German air menace reared its head in early 1917, though, as the new German Albatros planes decimated the British Royal Flying Corps in the skies over France. Soon, however, Allied aviation technology and production began to far outstrip the German efforts, as aerial combat became less a question of individual battles by heroic pilots than a matter of mass-production capability. In the last year of the war, Britain, France and the United States jointly produced an average of 11,200 aircraft and 14,500 engines per month, while their financially struggling German counterparts managed below 2,000 of each.


Jun 24, 1953:
Jacqueline Bouvier and Senator John F. Kennedy announce engagement

On this day in 1953, Jacqueline Bouvier and Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy publicly announce their engagement. Kennedy went on to become the 35th president and Jackie, as she was known, became one of the most popular first ladies ever to grace the White House.

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy was born into a prominent New York family in 1929. She grew up an avid horsewoman and reader. In 1951, after graduating from George Washington University, Jackie toured Europe with her sister. That fall, she returned to the U.S. to begin her first job as the Washington Times-Herald's "Inquiring Camera Girl." Her assignment was to roam the streets of Washington, D.C., ask strangers man on the street questions and then snap their picture for publication. Shortly afterward, at a dinner party in Georgetown, she met a young, handsome senator from Massachusetts named John F. Kennedy. The two dated over the next two years, during which time Jackie mused to a friend that she might actually marry a man who was allergic to horses, something she never before would have considered. In May 1953, Kennedy proposed, giving Jackie a 2.88-carat diamond-and-emerald ring from Van Cleef and Arpels.

The couple married on September 12, 1953, at St. Mary's Church in Newport, Rhode Island. Twelve hundred people attended the wedding reception at Hammersmith Farm. The Kennedys then settled in Washington, D.C., where Kennedy continued to pursue his political career. Seven years later, he beat out Richard M. Nixon for the presidency


Jun 24, 1864:
Colorado Governor orders Indians to Sand Creek

Colorado Governor John Evans warns that all peaceful Indians in the region must report to the Sand Creek reservation or risk being attacked, creating the conditions that will lead to the infamous Sand Creek Massacre.

Evans' offer of sanctuary was at best halfhearted. His primary goal in 1864 was to eliminate all Native American activity in eastern Colorado Territory, an accomplishment he hoped would increase his popularity and eventually win him a U.S. Senate seat. Immediately after ordering the peaceful Indians to the reservation, Evans issued a second proclamation that invited white settlers to indiscriminately "kill and destroy all...hostile Indians." At the same time, Evans began creating a temporary 100-day militia force to wage war on the Indians. He placed the new regiment under the command of Colonel John Chivington, another ambitious man who hoped to gain high political office by fighting Indians.

The Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapahoe Indians of eastern Colorado were unaware of these duplicitous political maneuverings. Although some bands had violently resisted white settlers in years past, by the autumn of 1864 many Indians were becoming more receptive to Cheyenne Chief Black Kettle's argument that they must make peace. Black Kettle had recently returned from a visit to Washington, D.C., where President Abraham Lincoln had given him a huge American flag of which Black Kettle was very proud. He had seen the vast numbers of the white people and their powerful machines. The Indians, Black Kettle argued, must make peace or be crushed.

When word of Governor Evans' June 24 offer of sanctuary reached the Indians, however, most of the Indians remained distrustful and were unwilling to give up the fight. Only Black Kettle and a few lesser chiefs took Evans up on his offer of amnesty. In truth, Evans and Chivington were reluctant to see hostilities further abate before they had won a glorious victory, but they grudgingly promised Black Kettle his people would be safe if they came to Fort Lyon in eastern Colorado. In November 1864, the Indians reported to the fort as requested. Major Edward Wynkoop, the commanding federal officer, told Black Kettle to settle his band about 40 miles away on Sand Creek, where he promised they would be safe.

Wynkoop, however, could not control John Chivington. By November, the 100-day enlistment of the soldiers in his Colorado militia was nearly up, and Chivington had seen no action. His political stock was rapidly falling, and he seems to have become almost insane in his desire to kill Indians. "I long to be wading in gore!" he is said to have proclaimed at a dinner party. In this demented state, Chivington apparently concluded that it did not matter whether he killed peaceful or hostile Indians. In his mind, Black Kettle's village on Sand Creek became a legitimate and easy target.

At daybreak on November 29, 1864, Chivington led 700 men, many of them drunk, in a savage assault on Black Kettle's peaceful village. Most of the Cheyenne warriors were away hunting. In the awful hours that followed, Chivington and his men brutally slaughtered 105 women and children and killed 28 men. The soldiers scalped and mutilated the corpses, carrying body parts back to display in Denver as trophies. Amazingly, Black Kettle and a number of other Cheyenne managed to escape.

In the following months, the nation learned of Chivington's treachery at Sand Creek, and many Americans reacted with horror and disgust. By then, Chivington and his soldiers had left the military and were beyond reach of a court-martial. Chivington's political ambitions, however, were ruined, and he spent the rest of his inconsequential life wandering the West. The scandal over Sand Creek also forced Evans to resign and dashed his hopes of holding political office. Evans did, however, go on to a successful and lucrative career building and operating Colorado railroads.
 
24 June Births

1244 – Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse (d. 1308)
1314 – Philippa of Hainault, Queen consort of England (d. 1369)
1343 – Joan of Valois, Queen of Navarre (d. 1373)
1386 – John of Capistrano, Italian priest and saint (d. 1456)
1485 – Johannes Bugenhagen, Polish-German priest and reformer (d. 1558)
1519 – Theodore Beza, French theologian and scholar (d. 1605)
1533 – Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, English politician (d. 1588)
1535 – Joanna of Austria, Princess of Portugal (d. 1573)
1542 – John of the Cross, Spanish mystic and saint (d. 1591)
1546 – Robert Persons, English priest (d. 1610)
1587 – William Arnold, English-American settler (d. 1675)
1663 – Jean Baptiste Massillon, French bishop (d. 1742)
1687 – Johann Albrecht Bengel, German-Lutheran clergyman and scholar (d. 1757)
1694 – Jean-Jacques Burlamaqui, Swiss theorist (d. 1748)
1704 – Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens, French philosopher (d. 1771)
1753 – William Hull, American general and politician, 1st Governor of Michigan Territory (d. 1825)
1755 – Anacharsis Cloots, Prussian-French activist (d. 1794)
1767 – Jean-Baptiste Benoît Eyriès, French geographer and author (d. 1846)
1774 – Antonio González de Balcarce, Argentinian commander and politician, 5th Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (d. 1819)
1774 – François-Nicolas-Benoît Haxo, French general (d. 1838)
1777 – John Ross, Scottish commander and explorer (d. 1856)
1782 – Juan Larrea, Argentinian businessman and politician (d. 1847)
1784 – Juan Antonio Lavalleja, Uruguayan politician (d. 1853)
1795 – Ernst Heinrich Weber, German physician (d. 1878)
1797 – John Hughes, Irish-American archbishop (d. 1864)
1803 – George James Webb, English-American composer (d. 1887)
1804 – Willard Richards, American religious leader (d. 1854)
1811 – John Archibald Campbell, American jurist (d. 1889)
1813 – Henry Ward Beecher, American clergyman and reformer (d. 1887)
1813 – Francis Boott, American composer (d. 1904)
1821 – Guillermo Rawson, Argentinian doctor and politician (d. 1890)
1825 – Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna of Russia (d. 1844)
1826 – George Goyder, English-Australian surveyor (d. 1898)
1842 – Ambrose Bierce, American author (d. 1914)
1846 – Samuel Johnson, Nigerian priest and historian (d. 1901)
1850 – Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, Irish field marshal (d. 1916)
1860 – Mercedes of Orléans, Queen consort of Spain (d. 1878)
1865 – Robert Henri, American painter (d. 1929)
1869 – Prince George of Greece and Denmark (d. 1957)
1880 – Ralph Wilson, American gymnast
1882 – Athanase David, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1953)
1882 – Carl Diem, German businessman (d. 1962)
1883 – Victor Francis Hess, Austrian-American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1964)
1883 – Arthur L. Newton, American runner (d. 1956)
1883 – Frank Verner, American runner (d. 1966)
1884 – Frank Waller, American runner (d. 1941)
1886 – George Shiels, Irish-Canadian playwright (d. 1949)
1888 – Gerrit Rietveld, Dutch architect, designed the Rietveld Schröder House (d. 1964)
1893 – Roy O. Disney, American businessman, co-founded The Walt Disney Company (d. 1971)
1895 – Jack Dempsey, American boxer (d. 1983)
1897 – Daniel K. Ludwig, American businessman (d. 1992)
1897 – Omkarnath Thakur, Indian singer (d. 1967)
1898 – Armin Öpik, Estonian paleontologist (d. 1983)
1898 – Karl Selter, Estonian politician (d. 1958)
1900 – Wilhelm Cauer, German mathematician (d. 1945)
1901 – Marcel Mule, French saxophonist (d. 2001)
1901 – Harry Partch, American composer and theorist (d. 1974)
1901 – Chuck Taylor, American basketball player and salesman (d. 1969)
1904 – Phil Harris, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1995)
1905 – Fred Alderman, American sprinter (d. 1998)
1906 – Pierre Fournier, French cellist (d. 1986)
1906 – Willard Maas, American educator and poet (d. 1971)
1907 – Arseny Tarkovsky, Russian poet (d. 1989)
1908 – Hugo Distler, German organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1942)
1908 – Alfons Rebane, Estonian colonel (d. 1976)
1909 – Jean Deslauriers, Canadian violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1978)
1909 – William Penney, Baron Penney, English mathematician (d. 1991)
1911 – Juan Manuel Fangio, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1995)
1911 – Ernesto Sabato, Argentinian physicist and author (d. 2011)
1912 – Brian Johnston, English sportscaster (d. 1994)
1912 – Mary Wesley, English author (d. 2002)
1913 – Gustaaf Deloor, Belgian cyclist (d. 2002)
1914 – Jan Karski, Polish underground operative (d. 2000)
1914 – Pearl Witherington, French secret agent (d. 2008)
1915 – Fred Hoyle, English astronomer (d. 2001)
1916 – William B. Saxbe, American politician, 70th United States Attorney General (d. 2010)
1917 – Ramblin' Tommy Scott, American singer and guitarist (d. 2013)
1918 – Mildred Ladner Thompson, American journalist (d. 2013)
1918 – Yong Nyuk Lin, Singaporean politician (d. 2012)
1919 – Al Molinaro, American actor
1922 – Jack Dunnett, British politician
1922 – Tata Giacobetti, Italian singer (Quartetto Cetra) (d. 1988)
1922 – John Postgate, British microbiologist
1923 – Margaret Olley, Australian painter (d. 2011)
1924 – Brian Bevan, Australian rugby player (d. 1991)
1924 – Kurt Furgler, Swiss politician (d. 2008)
1924 – Archie Roy, Scottish astronomer and academic (d. 2012)
1927 – Fernand Dumont, Canadian sociologist, philosopher, and poet (d. 1997)
1927 – Martin Lewis Perl, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
1930 – Claude Chabrol, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
1930 – Ian Gainsford, British dentist
1930 – Donald Gordon, South African businessman
1930 – William Bernard Ziff, Jr., American publisher (d. 2006)
1931 – Billy Casper, American golfer
1932 – David McTaggart, Canadian-Italian environmentalist (d. 2001)
1933 – Sam Jones, American basketball player
1934 – Ferdinand Biwersi, German footballer and referee (d. 2013)
1934 – Jean-Pierre Ferland, Canadian singer-songwriter
1935 – Garfield Davies, British trade union leader
1935 – Terry Riley, American composer
1938 – Lawrence Block, American author
1939 – Michael Gothard, English actor (d. 1992)
1940 – Vittorio Storaro, Italian cinematographer
1941 – Erkin Koray, Turkish singer
1941 – Julia Kristeva, Bulgarian-French psychoanalyst and author
1941 – Charles Whitman, American murderer (d. 1966)
1942 – Arthur Brown, English singer (Kingdom Come and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown)
1942 – Michele Lee, American actress, singer, and dancer
1942 – Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, Chilean engineer and politician, 32nd President of Chile
1944 – Jeff Beck, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (The Yardbirds, The Jeff Beck Group, The Honeydrippers, and Beck, Bogert & Appice)
1944 – David Mark Berger, American-Israeli weightlifter (d. 1972)
1944 – Kathryn Lasky, American author
1944 – John "Charlie" Whitney, English guitarist (Family, Axis Point, and Streetwalkers)
1944 – Chris Wood, English saxophonist (Traffic and Ginger Baker's Air Force) (d. 1983)
1945 – Colin Blunstone, English singer-songwriter (The Zombies and Keats)
1945 – Wayne Cashman, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1945 – George Pataki, American politician, 53rd Governor of New York
1945 – Nora Valsami, Egyptian-Greek actress
1946 – David Collenette, Canadian politician
1946 – Ellison Onizuka, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut (d. 1986)
1946 – Robert Reich, American economist and politician, 22nd United States Secretary of Labor
1946 – Donald Ross, British army officer
1947 – Clarissa Dickson Wright, English chef, author, and academic (d. 2014)
1947 – Mick Fleetwood, English-American drummer and actor (Fleetwood Mac and John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers)
1947 – Ian Ritchie, British architect
1947 – Peter Weller, American actor and director
1948 – Patrick Moraz, Swiss keyboard player and songwriter (Yes, The Moody Blues, and Refugee)
1949 – John Illsley, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (Dire Straits)
1949 – Betty Jackson, British fashion designer
1950 – Nancy Allen, American actress
1950 – Mercedes Lackey, American author
1950 – Bob Carlos Clarke, Irish photographer (d. 2006)
1951 – Raelene Boyle, Australian sprinter
1951 – Leslie Cochran, American activist (d. 2012)
1951 – David Rodigan, German-English actor and radio host
1952 – Dianna Melrose, British diplomat
1953 – Ivo Lill, Estonian sculptor
1955 – Chris Higgins, British academic
1955 – Edmund Malura, German footballer and manager
1955 – Betsy Randle, American actress
1956 – Owen Paterson, British politician
1956 – Joe Penny, English actor
1957 – Astro, English rapper (UB40)
1957 – Mark Parkinson, American politician, 45th Governor of Kansas
1958 – Kenneth Biros, American murderer (d. 2009)
1958 – Jean Charest, Canadian politician, 29th Premier of Quebec
1958 – Tom Lister, Jr., American wrestler and actor
1958 – Silvio Mondinelli, Italian mountaineer
1958 – John Tortorella, American ice hockey player and coach
1958 – Kathy Troccoli, American singer and author
1959 – Andy McCluskey, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (The Id, Dalek I Love You, and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark)
1960 – Elish Angiolini, British judge
1960 – Walter E. Ellis, American serial killer (d. 2013)
1960 – Siedah Garrett, American singer-songwriter and pianist (Brand New Heavies)
1960 – Karin Pilsäter, Swedish politician
1960 – Erik Poppe, Norwegian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter
1961 – Dennis Danell, American singer and guitarist (Social Distortion) (d. 2000)
1961 – Iain Glen, Scottish actor
1961 – Bernie Nicholls, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1961 – Ralph E. Reed, Jr., American activist
1961 – Curt Smith, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Tears for Fears and Graduate)
1963 – Preki, Serbian-American soccer player and coach
1963 – Mike Wieringo, American illustrator (d. 2007)
1964 – Jean-Luc Delarue, French television host and producer (d. 2012)
1964 – Kathryn Parminter, British politician
1964 – Gary Suter, American ice hockey player
1965 – Claude Bourbonnais, Canadian race car driver
1965 – Uwe Krupp, German ice hockey player and coach
1966 – H. David Kotz, American lawyer
1966 – Hope Sandoval, American singer-songwriter (Mazzy Star and Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions)
1966 – Adrienne Shelly, American actress, director, and screenwriter (d. 2006)
1967 – Bill Huard, Canadian ice hockey player
1967 – Richard Z. Kruspe, German guitarist (Rammstein, Emigrate, and First Arsch)
1967 – Janez Lapajne, Slovenian director and producer
1967 – John Limniatis, Greek-Canadian footballer and manager
1967 – Scott Oden, American author
1967 – Sherry Stringfield, American actress
1967 – Jeff Cease, American lead guitarist (The Black Crowes)
1968 – Alaa Abdelnaby, Egyptian-American basketball player
1969 – Sissel Kyrkjebø, Norwegian soprano
1969 – Sakarias Jaan Leppik, Estonian clergyman
1970 – Glenn Medeiros, American singer-songwriter
1970 – Bernardo Sassetti, Portuguese pianist, composer, and educator (d. 2012)
1971 – Ji Jin-hee, South Korean actor
1971 – Christopher Showerman, American actor and producer
1972 – Robbie McEwen, Australian cyclist
1972 – Denis Žvegelj, Slovenian rower
1973 – Alexander Beyer, German actor
1973 – Alexis Gauthier, French chef
1973 – Jere Lehtinen, Finnish ice hockey player
1974 – Chris Guccione, American baseball umpire
1974 – Ruffa Gutierrez, Filipino model and actress
1974 – Vinnie Fiorello, Drummer for the American ska-punk band Less Than Jake, co-founder of Fueled by Ramen and founder of Paper + Plastick
1975 – Carla Gallo, American actress
1975 – Marek Malík, Czech ice hockey player
1975 – Federico Pucciariello, Argentine-Italian rugby player
1976 – Louisa Leaman, English author
1976 – Brock Olivo, American football player and coach
1977 – Dimos Dikoudis, Greek basketball player
1977 – Jeff Farmer, Australian footballer
1977 – Cas Jansen, Dutch actor
1978 – Pantelis Kafes, Greek footballer
1978 – Shunsuke Nakamura, Japanese footballer
1978 – Ariel Pink, American singer-songwriter (Atheif)
1978 – Juan Román Riquelme, Argentinian footballer
1978 – Luis García Sanz, Spanish footballer
1978 – Emppu Vuorinen, Finnish guitarist and songwriter (Nightwish, Brother Firetribe, Altaria, and Barilari)
1979 – Mindy Kaling, American actress and producer
1979 – Petra Němcová, Czech model and philanthropist
1979 – Craig Shergold, English cancer patient
1980 – Cicinho, Brazilian footballer
1980 – Liane Balaban, Canadian actress
1980 – Nina Dübbers, German tennis player
1980 – Andrew Jones, Australian race car driver
1980 – Minka Kelly, American actress
1982 – Clint Bajada, Maltese radio host
1982 – Kevin Nolan, English footballer
1982 – Mark Penney, Canadian director and producer
1982 – Jarret Stoll, Canadian ice hockey player
1983 – Rebecca Cooke, English swimmer
1983 – John Lloyd Cruz, Filipino actor
1983 – Gianni Munari, Italian footballer
1984 – Andrea Raggi, Italian footballer
1984 – J. J. Redick, American basketball player
1985 – Diego Alves Carreira, Brazilian footballer
1985 – Kyle Searles, American actor
1985 – Yukina Shirakawa, Japanese model
1985 – Vernon Philander, South African cricketer
1986 – Stuart Broad, English cricketer
1986 – Phil Hughes, American baseball player
1986 – Solange Knowles, American singer-songwriter and actress
1987 – LiSA, Japanese singer-songwriter
1987 – Simona Dobrá, Czech tennis player
1987 – Serdar Güneş, Turkish footballer
1987 – Craig Henderson, New Zealand footballer
1987 – Arturo Lupoli, Italian footballer
1987 – Lionel Messi, Argentine footballer
1987 – Briana Blair, American pornographic actress, and nude model
1988 – Ardo Arusaar, Estonian wrestler
1988 – Nichkhun, Thai singer, dancer, and actor (2PM)
1988 – Micah Richards, English footballer
1989 – Teklemariam Medhin, Eritrean long-distance runner
1990 – Michael Del Zotto, Canadian ice hockey player
1990 – Richard Sukuta-Pasu, German footballer
1991 – Mutaz Essa Barshim, Qatari high jumper
1991 – Rie Kitahara, Japanese actress and singer (AKB48, SKE48, and Not Yet)
1992 – David Alaba, Austrian footballer
1992 – Raven Goodwin, American actress
1998 – Coy Stewart, American actor


D
 
Jun 24, 1675:
King Philip's War begins

In colonial New England, King Philip's War begins when a band of Wampanoag warriors raid the border settlement of Swansee, Massachusetts, and massacre the English colonists there.

In the early 1670s, 50 years of peace between the Plymouth colony and the local Wampanoag Indians began to deteriorate when the rapidly expanding settlement forced land sales on the tribe. Reacting to increasing Native American hostility, the English met with King Philip, chief of the Wampanoag, and demanded that his forces surrender their arms. The Wampanoag did so, but in 1675 a Christian Native American who had been acting as an informer to the English was murdered, and three Wampanoag were tried and executed for the crime.

King Philip responded by ordering the attack on Swansee on June 24, which set off a series of Wampanoag raids in which several settlements were destroyed and scores of colonists massacred. The colonists retaliated by destroying a number of Indian villages. The destruction of a Narragansett village by the English brought the Narragansett into the conflict on the side of King Philip, and within a few months several other tribes and all the New England colonies were involved. In early 1676, the Narragansett were defeated and their chief killed, while the Wampanoag and their other allies were gradually subdued. King Philip's wife and son were captured, and on August 12, 1676, after his secret headquarters in Mount Hope, Rhode Island, was discovered, Philip was assassinated by a Native American in the service of the English. The English drew and quartered Philip's body and publicly displayed his head on a stake in Plymouth.

King Philip's War, which was extremely costly to the colonists of southern New England, ended the Native American presence in the region and inaugurated a period of unimpeded colonial expansion.


Jun 24, 1812:
Napoleon's Grande Armee invades Russia

Following the rejection of his Continental System by Czar Alexander I, French Emperor Napoleon orders his Grande Armee, the largest European military force ever assembled to that date, into Russia. The enormous army, featuring some 500,000 soldiers and staff, included troops from all the European countries under the sway of the French Empire.

During the opening months of the invasion, Napoleon was forced to contend with a bitter Russian army in perpetual retreat. Refusing to engage Napoleon's superior army in a full-scale confrontation, the Russians under General Mikhail Kutuzov burned everything behind them as they retreated deeper and deeper into Russia. On September 7, the indecisive Battle of Borodino was fought, in which both sides suffered terrible losses. On September 14, Napoleon arrived in Moscow intending to find supplies but instead found almost the entire population evacuated, and the Russian army retreated again. Early the next morning, fires broke across the city, set by Russian patriots, and the Grande Armee's winter quarters were destroyed. After waiting a month for a surrender that never came, Napoleon, faced with the onset of the Russian winter, was forced to order his starving army out of Moscow.

During the disastrous retreat, Napoleon's army suffered continual harassment from a suddenly aggressive and merciless Russian army. Stalked by hunger and the deadly lances of the Cossacks, the decimated army reached the Berezina River late in November, but found their way blocked by the Russians. On November 27, Napoleon forced a way across at Studenka, and when the bulk of his army passed the river two days later, he was forced to burn his makeshift bridges behind him, stranding some 10,000 stragglers on the other side. From there, the retreat became a rout, and on December 8 Napoleon left what remained of his army to return to Paris. Six days later, the Grande Armee finally escaped Russia, having suffered a loss of more than 400,000 men during the disastrous invasion.


Jun 24, 1901:
Picasso exhibited in Paris

On June 24, 1901, the first major exhibition of Pablo Picasso's artwork opens at a gallery on Paris' rue Lafitte, a street known for its prestigious art galleries. The precocious 19-year-old Spaniard was at the time a relative unknown outside Barcelona, but he had already produced hundreds of paintings. The 75 works displayed at Picasso's first Paris exhibition offered moody, representational paintings by a young artist with obvious talent.

Pablo Picasso, widely acknowledged as the dominant figure in 20th-century art, was born in Malaga, Spain, in 1881. His father was a professor of drawing and bred Picasso for a career in academic art. He had his first exhibit at age 13 and later quit art school so he could experiment full-time with modern art styles. He went to Paris for the first time in 1900, and in 1901 he returned with 100 of his paintings, aiming to win an exhibition. He was introduced to Ambroise Vollard, a dealer who had sponsored Paul Cezanne, and Vollard immediately agreed to a show at his gallery after seeing the paintings. From street scenes to landscapes, prostitutes to society ladies, Picasso's subjects were diverse, and the young artist received a favorable review from the few Paris art critics who saw the show. He stayed in Paris for the rest of the year and later returned to Paris to settle permanently.

The work of Picasso, which comprises more than 50,000 paintings, drawings, engravings, sculptures, and ceramics produced over 80 years, is described in a series of overlapping periods. His first notable period--the "blue period"--began shortly after his first Paris exhibit. In works such as The Old Guitarist (1903), Picasso painted in blue tones to evoke the melancholy world of the poor. The blue period was followed by the "rose period," in which he often depicted circus scenes, and then by Picasso's early work in sculpture. In 1907, Picasso painted the groundbreaking work Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, which, with its fragmented and distorted representation of the human form, broke from previous European art. Les Demoiselles d'Avignon demonstrated the influence on Picasso of both African mask art and Paul Cezanne and is seen as a forerunner of the Cubist movement founded by Picasso and the French painter Georges Braque in 1909.

In Cubism, which is divided in two phases, analytical and synthetic, Picasso and Braque established the modern principle that artwork need not represent reality to have artistic value. Major Cubist works by Picasso included his costumes and sets for Sergey Diaghilev's Ballets Russes (1917) and The Three Musicians (1921). Picasso and Braque's Cubist experiments also resulted in the invention of several new artistic techniques, including collage.

After Cubism, Picasso explored classical and Mediterranean themes, and images of violence and anguish increasingly appeared in his work. In 1937, this trend culminated in the masterpiece Guernica, a monumental work that evoked the horror and suffering endured by the Basque town of Guernica when it was destroyed by German war planes during the Spanish Civil War. Picasso remained in Paris during the Nazi occupation but was fervently opposed to fascism and after the war joined the French Communist Party.

Picasso's work after World War II is less studied than his earlier creations, but he continued to work feverishly and enjoyed commercial and critical success. He produced fantastical works, experimented with ceramics, and painted variations on the works of other masters in the history of art. Known for his intense gaze and domineering personality, he had a series of intense and overlapping love affairs in his lifetime. He continued to produce art with undiminished force until his death in 1973 at the age of 91.


Jun 24, 1945:
Russians enjoy a victory parade

On this day in 1945, Soviet troops parade past Red Square in celebration of their victory over Germany. As drums rolled, 200 soldiers performed a familiar ritual: They threw 200 German military banners at the foot of the Lenin Mausoleum. A little over 130 years earlier, victorious Russian troops threw Napoleon's banners at the feet of Czar Alexander I.

Also on this day in 1945, British bombers destroy the "Bridge Over the River Kwai." Thousands of British and Allied prisoners of war, forced into slave labor by their Japanese captors, had built a bridge, under the most grueling conditions, over the River Kwai, linking parts of the Burma-Siam (now Thailand) railway and enabling the Japanese to transport soldiers and supplies through this area. British aircraft bombed the bridge to prevent this link between Bangkok and Moulein, Burma. This episode of the war was dramatized in extraordinary fashion in the 1957 film Bridge on the River Kwai, directed by David Lean, and starring Alec Guinness and William Holden.


Jun 24, 1948:
Soviets blockade West Berlin

One of the most dramatic standoffs in the history of the Cold War begins as the Soviet Union blocks all road and rail traffic to and from West Berlin. The blockade turned out to be a terrible diplomatic move by the Soviets, while the United States emerged from the confrontation with renewed purpose and confidence.

Following World War II, Germany was divided into occupation zones. The United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and, eventually, France, were given specific zones to occupy in which they were to accept the surrender of Nazi forces and restore order. The Soviet Union occupied most of eastern Germany, while the other Allied nations occupied western Germany. The German capital of Berlin was similarly divided into four zones of occupation. Almost immediately, differences between the United States and the Soviet Union surfaced. The Soviets sought huge reparations from Germany in the form of money, industrial equipment, and resources. The Russians also made it clear that they desired a neutral and disarmed Germany. The United States saw things in quite a different way. American officials believed that the economic recovery of Western Europe was dependent on a strong, reunified Germany. They also felt that only a rearmed Germany could stand as a bulwark against Soviet expansion into Western Europe. In May 1946, the Americans stopped reparations shipments from their zone to the Soviets. In December, the British and Americans combined their zones; the French joined some months later. The Soviets viewed these actions as a threat and issued more demands for a say in the economic future of Germany. On June 22, 1948, negotiations between the Soviets, Americans, and British broke down. On June 24, Soviet forces blocked the roads and railroad lines into West Berlin.

American officials were furious, and some in the administration of President Harry S. Truman argued that the time for diplomacy with the Soviets was over. For a few tense days, the world waited to see whether the United States and Soviet Union would come to blows. In West Berlin, panic began to set in as its population worried about shortages of food, water, and medical aid. The United States response came just two days after the Soviets began their blockade. A massive airlift of supplies into West Berlin was undertaken in what was to become one of the greatest logistical efforts in history. For the Soviets, the escapade quickly became a diplomatic embarrassment. Russia looked like an international bully that was trying to starve men, women, and children into submission. And the successful American airlift merely served to accentuate the technological superiority of the United States over the Soviet Union. On May 12, 1949, the Soviets officially ended the blockade.


Jun 24, 1966:
Senate passes landmark auto safety bill

On this day in 1966, the United States Senate votes 76-0 for the passage of what will become the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson the following September, the act created the nation's first mandatory federal safety standards for motor vehicles.

The origins of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act can be traced directly of the efforts of a young lawyer and consumer advocate Ralph Nader, who in 1965 published the bestselling "Unsafe at Any Speed," a sweeping critique of the American auto industry and its unsafe products. (Nader singled out the Corvair, produced by General Motors, as a particular object of scorn.) Nader's book fueled the growing concern of Americans regarding the ever-increasing number of traffic accidents and fatalities on the nation's roads. On June 24, 1966, Nader was in the Senate gallery as the bill was guided to passage, less than five hours after reaching the floor. Shortly after the Senate vote, President Johnson issued a statement urging the House to pass the bill, which he called "landmark legislation."

"For the first time in our history," Johnson declared, "we can mount a truly comprehensive attack on the rising toll of death and destruction on the nation's highways that last year alone claimed 50,000 lives....We can no longer tolerate such anarchy on wheels." The Senate also passed an companion bill from the Johnson administration authorizing expenditures of some $465 million over three years for state and city traffic safety programs, including driver education and licensing, auto inspection, highway design, traffic control and enforcement of traffic laws. The House subsequently passed the legislation by another unanimous vote, and Johnson signed it into law on September 9, 1966.

In its final form, the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act established an agency under the U.S. secretary of commerce that would set safety standards for all new motor vehicles beginning with the 1968 model year; that agency became the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the Department of Transportation. Among the first safety standards adopted by the agency were seat belts, windshield wipers, glare reduction on interior and exterior surfaces, padded visors and dashboards, recessed control knobs, outside mirrors, impact-absorbing steering columns, dual braking systems and standardized bumper heights.


Jun 24, 1975:
Eastern Flight 66 crashes at J.F.K.

An Eastern Airlines jet crashes near John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, killing 115 people on this day in 1975. The Boeing 727 was brought down by wind shear, a sudden change in wind speed or direction.

On the afternoon of June 24, the New York area experienced severe thunderstorms with heavy winds and rain. Thunderstorms often cause microbursts, damaging downbursts of wind that can be immensely destructive and are particularly dangerous to air travel. Two different flights arriving at John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens, New York, reported significant problems with winds as they brought their planes in on runway 22. Air-traffic controllers, however, ignored the warnings and kept the runway open.

Eastern Airlines Flight 66 from New Orleans was about a mile from the runway when it was lifted suddenly and violently by the wind, then was immediately pushed downward. The plane struck a row of lights that tore off the outer portion of the left wing. It proceeded to crash into more light poles and broke into pieces just above the ground.

Only seven passengers and two flight attendants survived the fiery crash, all with serious injuries. The remaining 109 passengers and six crew members lost their lives. Wind shear remains a serious threat to flying, but significant advances in identifying areas and times of concern have virtually eliminated deadly crashes caused by sudden winds.
 
24 June Deaths

803 – Higbald of Lindisfarne, English bishop
1314 – Gilbert de Clare, 8th Earl of Gloucester, English commander (b. 1291)
1314 – Robert de Clifford, 1st Baron de Clifford, English soldier, Lord Warden of the Marches (b. 1274)
1314 – Sir Henry de Bohun, English knight, felled by Robert I of Scotland at the beginning of the Battle of Bannockburn
1398 – Hongwu Emperor of China (b. 1328)
1439 – Frederick IV, Duke of Austria (b. 1382)
1519 – Lucrezia Borgia, Italian wife of Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara (b. 1480)
1520 – Hosokawa Sumimoto, Japanese commander (b. 1489)
1564 – Rani Durgavati, Indian queen (b. 1524)
1604 – Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, English courtier (b. 1550)
1637 – Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, French astronomer (b. 1580)
1643 – John Hampden, English politician (b. 1595)
1766 – Adrien Maurice de Noailles, French soldier (b. 1678)
1778 – Pieter Burman the Younger, Dutch philologist (b. 1714)
1803 – Matthew Thornton, Irish-American politician (b. 1714)
1817 – Thomas McKean, American lawyer and politician, 2nd Governor of Pennsylvania (b. 1734)
1835 – Andreas Vokos Miaoulis, Greek admiral and politician (b. 1769)
1908 – Grover Cleveland, American politician, 22nd and 24th President of the United States (b. 1837)
1909 – Sarah Orne Jewett, American author (b. 1849)
1922 – Walther Rathenau, German businessman and politician, Foreign Minister of Germany (b. 1867)
1931 – Otto Mears, Russian-American businessman (b. 1840)
1931 – Xiang Zhongfa, Chinese politician, 2nd General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (b. 1880)
1932 – Ernst Põdder, Estonian military commander (b. 1879)
1935 – Carlos Gardel, Argentinian singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1890)
1943 – Camille Roy, Canadian priest and critic (b. 1870)
1946 – Louise Whitfield Carnegie, American philanthropist (b. 1857)
1947 – Emil Seidel, American politician, Mayor of Milwaukee (b. 1864)
1968 – Tony Hancock, English actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1924)
1969 – Frank King, American cartoonist (b. 1883)
1969 – Willy Ley, German-American historian and author (b. 1906)
1976 – Imogen Cunningham, American photographer (b. 1883)
1977 – André-Gilles Fortin, Canadian politician (b. 1943)
1978 – Robert Charroux, French author (b. 1909)
1984 – Clarence Campbell, Canadian businessman (b. 1905)
1987 – Jackie Gleason, American actor and singer (b. 1916)
1988 – Csaba Kesjár, Hungarian racing driver (b. 1962)
1989 – Hibari Misora, Japanese singer and actress (b. 1937)
1991 – Sumner Locke Elliott, Australian-American author (b. 1917)
1991 – Rufino Tamayo, Mexican painter (b. 1899)
1994 – Jean Vallerand, Canadian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1915)
1997 – Brian Keith, American actor (b. 1921)
2000 – Rodrigo, Argentinian singer-songwriter (b. 1973)
2000 – Vera Atkins, Romanian-English intelligence officer (b. 1908)
2000 – David Tomlinson, English actor and singer (b. 1917)
2002 – Pierre Werner, Luxembourgian politician, 21st Prime Minister of Luxembourg (b. 1913)
2004 – Ifigeneia Giannopoulou, Greek songwriter and author (b. 1957)
2005 – Yedidia Shofet, Iranian rabbi (b. 1908)
2005 – Paul Winchell, American voice actor and ventriloquist (b. 1922)
2006 – Patsy Ramsey, American model, Miss West Virginia 1977 (b. 1956)
2007 – Byron Baer, American politician (b. 1929)
2007 – Chris Benoit, Canadian wrestler (b. 1967)
2007 – Derek Dougan, Irish footballer (b. 1938)
2007 – Natasja Saad, Danish rapper (b. 1974)
2008 – Gerhard Ringel, Austrian mathematician (b. 1919)
2008 – Ira Tucker, American singer (The Dixie Hummingbirds) (b. 1925)
2009 – Roméo LeBlanc, Canadian journalist and politician, 25th Governor General of Canada (b. 1927)
2009 – Ed Thomas, American educator and football coach (b. 1951)
2011 – Tomislav Ivić, Croatian footballer and manager (b. 1933)
2012 – Darrel Akerfelds, American baseball player and coach (b. 1962)
2012 – Gad Beck, German educator and author (b. 1923)
2012 – Gu Chaohao, Chinese mathematician (b. 1926)
2012 – Jean Cox, American tenor (b. 1922)
2012 – Youssef Dawoud, Egyptian actor (b. 1938)
2012 – Heino Kruus, Estonian basketball player (b. 1926)
2012 – Ted Luckenbill, American basketball player (b. 1939)
2012 – Miki Roqué, Spanish footballer (b. 1988)
2012 – Ann C. Scales, American lawyer, educator, and activist (b. 1952)
2012 – Rudolf Schmid, German bishop (b. 1914)
2013 – Mick Aston, English archaeologist and academic (b. 1946)
2013 – Emilio Colombo, Italian politician, 40th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1920)
2013 – Jackie Fargo, American wrestler (b. 1930)
2013 – Mauro Francaviglia, Italian mathematician (b. 1953)
2013 – Joannes Gijsen, Dutch bishop (b. 1932)
2013 – William Hathaway, American lawyer and politician (b. 1924)
2013 – Puff Johnson, American singer-songwriter (b. 1972)
2013 – James Martin, English computer scientist and author (b. 1933)
2013 – Alan Myers, American drummer (Devo) (b. 1955)


H
 
25 June Events

524 – The Franks are defeated by the Burgundians in the Battle of Vézeronce.
841 – In the Battle of Fontenay-en-Puisaye, forces led by Charles the Bald and Louis the German defeat the armies of Lothair I of Italy and Pepin II of Aquitaine.
1530 – At the Diet of Augsburg the Augsburg Confession is presented to the Holy Roman Emperor by the Lutheran princes and Electors of Germany.
1658 – Spanish forces fail to retake Jamaica at the Battle of Rio Nuevo during the Anglo-Spanish War.
1678 – Venetian Elena Cornaro Piscopia is the first woman awarded a doctorate of philosophy when she graduates from the University of Padua.
1741 – Maria Theresa of Austria is crowned Queen of Hungary.
1786 – Gavriil Pribylov discovers St. George Island of the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea.
1788 – Virginia becomes the 10th state to ratify the United States Constitution.
1876 – Battle of the Little Bighorn and the death of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer.
1900 – The Taoist monk Wang Yuanlu discovers the Dunhuang manuscripts, a cache of ancient texts that are of great historical and religious significance, in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China.
1906 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania millionaire Harry Thaw shoots and kills prominent architect Stanford White.
1910 – The United States Congress passes the Mann Act, which prohibits interstate transport of females for “immoral purposes”; the ambiguous language would be used to selectively prosecute people for years to come.
1910 – Igor Stravinsky's ballet The Firebird is premiered in Paris, bringing him to prominence as a composer.
1913 – American Civil War veterans begin arriving at the Great Reunion of 1913.
1923 – Capt. Lowell H. Smith and Lt. John P. Richter perform the first ever aerial refueling in a DH-4B biplane
1935 – Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Colombia are established.
1938 – Dr. Douglas Hyde is inaugurated as the first President of Ireland.
1940 – World War II: France officially surrenders to Germany at 01:35.
1943 – The Holocaust: Jews in the Częstochowa Ghetto in Poland stage an uprising against the Nazis.
1944 – World War II: The Battle of Tali-Ihantala, the largest battle ever fought in the Nordic Countries, begins.
1944 – World War II: United States Navy and Royal Navy ships bombard Cherbourg to support United States Army units engaged in the Battle of Cherbourg.
1944 – The final page of the comic Krazy Kat was published, exactly two months after its author George Herriman died.
1947 – The Diary of a Young Girl (better known as The Diary of Anne Frank) is published.
1948 – The Berlin airlift begins.
1949 – Long-Haired Hare, starring Bugs Bunny, is released in theaters.
1950 – The Korean War begins with the invasion of South Korea by North Korea.
1960 – Two cryptographers working for the United States National Security Agency left for vacation to Mexico, and from there defected to the Soviet Union.
1967 – Broadcasting of the first live global satellite television program: Our World
1975 – Mozambique achieves independence.
1976 – Missouri Governor Kit Bond issues an executive order rescinding the Extermination Order, formally apologizing on behalf of the state of Missouri for the suffering it had caused to the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
1975 – Prime Minister Indira Gandhi has a state of internal Emergency declared in India.
1978 – The rainbow flag representing gay pride is flown for the first time in the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.
1981 – Microsoft is restructured to become an incorporated business in its home state of Washington.
1982 – Greece abolishes the head shaving of recruits in the military.
1991 – Croatia and Slovenia declare their independence from Yugoslavia.
1993 – Kim Campbell is chosen as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and becomes the first female Prime Minister of Canada.
1997 – An unmanned Progress spacecraft collides with the Russian space station Mir.
1998 – In Clinton v. City of New York, the United States Supreme Court decides that the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 is unconstitutional.
2013 – Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani becomes the 8th Emir of Qatar.


B
 
Jun 25, 1876:
Battle of Little Bighorn

On this day in 1876, Native American forces led by Chiefs Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull defeat the U.S. Army troops of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer in a bloody battle near southern Montana's Little Bighorn River.

Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, leaders of the Sioux tribe on the Great Plains, strongly resisted the mid-19th-century efforts of the U.S. government to confine their people to reservations. In 1875, after gold was discovered in South Dakota's Black Hills, the U.S. Army ignored previous treaty agreements and invaded the region. This betrayal led many Sioux and Cheyenne tribesmen to leave their reservations and join Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse in Montana. By the late spring of 1876, more than 10,000 Native Americans had gathered in a camp along the Little Bighorn River--which they called the Greasy Grass--in defiance of a U.S. War Department order to return to their reservations or risk being attacked.

In mid-June, three columns of U.S. soldiers lined up against the camp and prepared to march. A force of 1,200 Native Americans turned back the first column on June 17. Five days later, General Alfred Terry ordered Custer's 7th Cavalry to scout ahead for enemy troops. On the morning of June 25, Custer drew near the camp and decided to press on ahead rather than wait for reinforcements.

At mid-day, Custer's 600 men entered the Little Bighorn Valley. Among the Native Americans, word quickly spread of the impending attack. The older Sitting Bull rallied the warriors and saw to the safety of the women and children, while Crazy Horse set off with a large force to meet the attackers head on. Despite Custer's desperate attempts to regroup his men, they were quickly overwhelmed. Custer and some 200 men in his battalion were attacked by as many as 3,000 Native Americans; within an hour, Custer and every last one of his soldier were dead.

The Battle of Little Bighorn--also called Custer's Last Stand--marked the most decisive Native American victory and the worst U.S. Army defeat in the long Plains Indian War. The gruesome fate of Custer and his men outraged many white Americans and confirmed their image of the Indians as wild and bloodthirsty. Meanwhile, the U.S. government increased its efforts to subdue the tribes. Within five years, almost all of the Sioux and Cheyenne would be confined to reservations.


Jun 25, 1910:
Congress passes Mann Act

Congress passes the Mann Act, also known as the White Slave Traffic Act, which was ostensibly aimed at keeping innocent girls from being lured into prostitution, but really offered a way to make a crime out of many kinds of consensual sexual activity.

The outrage over "white slavery" began with a commission appointed in 1907 to investigate the problem of immigrant prostitutes. Allegedly, women were brought to America for the purpose of being forced into sexual slavery; likewise, immigrant men were allegedly luring American girls into prostitution.

The Congressional committees that debated the Mann Act did not believe that a girl would ever choose to be a prostitute unless she was drugged and held hostage. The law made it illegal to "transport any woman or girl" across state lines "for any immoral purpose." In 1917, the Supreme Court upheld the conviction of two married California men, Drew Caminetti and Maury Diggs, who had gone on a romantic weekend getaway with their girlfriends to Reno, Nevada, and had been arrested. Following this decision, the Mann Act was used in all types of cases: someone was charged with violating the Mann Act for bringing a woman from one state to another in order to work as a chorus girl in a theater; wives began using the Mann Act against girls who ran off with their husbands. The law was also used for racist purposes: Jack Johnson, heavyweight champion of the world, was prosecuted for bringing a prostitute from Pittsburgh to Chicago, but the motivation for his arrest was public outrage over his marriages to white women.

The most famous prosecutions under the law were those of Charlie Chaplin in 1944 and Chuck Berry in 1959 and 1961, who took unmarried women across state lines for "immoral purposes." Berry was convicted and spent two years in the prime of his musical career in jail. After Berry's conviction, the Mann Act was enforced only sparingly, but it was never repealed. It was amended in 1978 and again in 1986; most notably, the 1986 amendments replaced the phrase "any other immoral purpose" with "any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense."


Jun 25, 1915:
Germans release statement on use of poison gas at Ypres

On this day in 1915, the German press publishes an official statement from the country's war command addressing the German use of poison gas at the start of the Second Battle of Ypres two months earlier.

The German firing of more than 150 tons of lethal chlorine gas against two French colonial divisions at Ypres in Belgium on April 22, 1915, had shocked and horrified their Allied opponents in World War I and provoked angry outbursts against what was seen as inexcusable barbarism, even in the context of warfare. As Sir John French, commander in chief of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), wrote heatedly of the German attacks at Ypres: "All the scientific resources of Germany have apparently been brought into play to produce a gas of so virulent and poisonous a nature that any human being brought into contact with it is first paralyzed and then meets with a lingering and agonizing death."

The German statement of June 25, 1915, was a response to this outraged reaction by the Allies; they considered it hypocritical, claiming that their opponents–namely the French–had been manufacturing and employing gas in battle well before the Second Battle of Ypres. "For every one who has kept an unbiased judgment," the statement began, "the official assertions of the strictly accurate and truthful German military administration will be sufficient to prove the prior use of asphyxiating gases by our opponents." It went on to quote from a memorandum issued by the French War Ministry on February 21, 1915, containing instructions for using "these so-called shells with stupefying gases that are being manufactured by our central factories?[that] contain a fluid which streams forth after the explosion, in the form of vapors that irritate the eyes, nose, and throat."

This memo, the Germans concluded, proved that "the French in their State workshops manufactured shells with asphyxiating gases fully half a year ago at least" and that they must have manufactured sufficient numbers for the War Ministry to issue directions on how to use the shells. "What hypocrisy when the same people grow indignant because the Germans much later followed them on the path they had pointed out!"

Though the French were, in fact, the first to employ gas during World War I–in August 1914 they used tear-gas grenades containing xylyl bromide to confront the initial German advance in Belgium and northeastern France–Germany was undoubtedly the first belligerent nation during the war to put serious thought and work into the development of chemical weapons that were not merely irritants, like xylyl bromide, but could be used in large quantities to inflict a major defeat on the enemy. In addition to chlorine gas, first used to deadly effect by the Germans at Ypres, phosgene gas and mustard gas were also employed on the battlefields of World War I, mostly by Germany but also by Britain and France, who were forced to quickly catch up to the Germans in the realm of chemical-weapons technology. Though the psychological impact of poison gas was undoubtedly great, its actual impact on the war–like that of the tank–is debatable, due to the low rate of fatality associated with the gas attacks. In total, the war saw some 1.25 million gas casualties but only 91,000 deaths from gas poisoning, with over 50 percent of those fatalities suffered by the poorly equipped Russian army.


Jun 25, 1942:
Eisenhower assumes command of U.S. troops in Europe

On this day in 1942, General Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes commander of all U.S. troops in the European theater of World War II, continuing the steady ascent in military rank that would culminate in his appointment as supreme Allied commander of all forces in Europe in 1943. As U.S. commander, Ike developed diplomatic skills that he would later employ as America's 34th president.

U.S. Army military historians Carl Vuono and M.P.W. Stone have described Eisenhower as a dynamic leader who successfully planned and oversaw military strategy in a complex global environment. These qualities came in handy when Eisenhower was elected president in 1952. The Cold War between democratic and communist nations was in full swing and Eisenhower's ability to form cooperative relationships, his military experience and calm demeanor reassured anxious Americans.

Ike attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point from 1911 to 1915, where he cultivated friendships with future generals Omar Bradley, James A. Van Fleet and Joseph T. McNarney. After graduating, Eisenhower served in relative obscurity stateside and in Panama, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He went to the Army War College in 1928 and a year later worked as an assistant in the secretary of war's office. In 1935, he served as an assistant to General Douglas MacArthur in the Philippines. With war with Japan seeming imminent, Eisenhower returned to the states in 1941 to become a brigadier general in the Third Army. Between February and June 1942, Eisenhower was assigned to the War Department and rose rapidly within its ranks. As the leading general of the U.S. forces in Europe, Eisenhower was directly involved with planning and executing U.S. military strategy in the fight to liberate Europe from Germany and fascist Italy.

In November 1942, Eisenhower went on to become the commander of all Allied forces in North Africa, where he led the successful invasions of Sicily and Italy and dealt with irascible British General Bernard Montgomery and exiled French leader Charles de Gaulle. A year later he was appointed supreme commander of Allied Expeditionary Forces and planned and led the invasion of Normandy, France, more commonly referred to as D-Day. Eisenhower stayed on as general of the U.S. Army until 1951, when he resigned his commission to run his successful campaign for president. For two terms, Ike the war hero presided as the nation's commander in chief.

In a speech he gave upon leaving office in 1961, Eisenhower famously warned Americans of the growing power of what he termed the military-industrial complex, or the potential for danger that existed from the relation of the nation's commercial and military interests.


Jun 25, 1950:
Korean War begins

Armed forces from communist North Korea smash into South Korea, setting off the Korean War. The United States, acting under the auspices of the United Nations, quickly sprang to the defense of South Korea and fought a bloody and frustrating war for the next three years.

Korea, a former Japanese possession, had been divided into zones of occupation following World War II. U.S. forces accepted the surrender of Japanese forces in southern Korea, while Soviet forces did the same in northern Korea. Like in Germany, however, the "temporary" division soon became permanent. The Soviets assisted in the establishment of a communist regime in North Korea, while the United States became the main source of financial and military support for South Korea.

On June 25, 1950, North Korean forces surprised the South Korean army (and the small U.S. force stationed in the country), and quickly headed toward the capital city of Seoul. The United States responded by pushing a resolution through the U.N.'s Security Council calling for military assistance to South Korea. (Russia was not present to veto the action as it was boycotting the Security Council at the time.) With this resolution in hand, President Harry S. Truman rapidly dispatched U.S. land, air, and sea forces to Korea to engage in what he termed a "police action." The American intervention turned the tide, and U.S. and South Korean forces marched into North Korea. This action, however, prompted the massive intervention of communist Chinese forces in late 1950. The war in Korea subsequently bogged down into a bloody stalemate. In 1953, the United States and North Korea signed a cease-fire that ended the conflict. The cease-fire agreement also resulted in the continued division of North and South Korea at just about the same geographical point as before the conflict.

The Korean War was the first "hot" war of the Cold War. Over 55,000 American troops were killed in the conflict. Korea was the first "limited war," one in which the U.S. aim was not the complete and total defeat of the enemy, but rather the "limited" goal of protecting South Korea. For the U.S. government, such an approach was the only rational option in order to avoid a third world war and to keep from stretching finite American resources too thinly around the globe. It proved to be a frustrating experience for the American people, who were used to the kind of total victory that had been achieved in World War II. The public found the concept of limited war difficult to understand or support and the Korean War never really gained popular support.
 
25 June Births

1242 – Beatrice of England (d. 1275)
1328 – William de Montacute, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, English commander (d. 1397)
1373 – Joanna II of Naples (d. 1435)
1560 – Wilhelm Fabry, German surgeon (d. 1634)
1612 – John Albert Vasa, Polish cardinal (d. 1634)
1709 – Francesco Araja, Italian composer (d. 1762)
1715 – Joseph Foullon de Doué, French politician, Controller-General of Finances (d. 1789)
1755 – Natalia Alexeievna of Russia (d. 1776)
1799 – David Douglas, Scottish botanist (d. 1834)
1814 – Gabriel Auguste Daubrée, French geologist (d. 1896)
1852 – Antoni Gaudí, Spanish architect, designed the Park Güell (d. 1926)
1858 – Georges Courteline, French author and playwright (d. 1929)
1860 – Gustave Charpentier, French composer (d. 1956)
1863 – Émile Francqui, Belgian soldier and diplomat (d. 1935)
1864 – Walther Nernst, German chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
1884 – Géza Gyóni, Hungarian poet (d. 1917)
1884 – Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, German-French art collector and historian (d. 1979)
1886 – Henry H. Arnold, American general (d. 1950)
1887 – George Abbott, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1995)
1887 – Frigyes Karinthy, Hungarian author, poet, and journalist (d. 1938)
1892 – Shirō Ishii, Japanese microbiologist and general (d. 1959)
1894 – Hermann Oberth, Romanian-German physicist and engineer (d. 1989)
1896 – S. Pararajasingam, Sri Lankan politician
1900 – Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, English admiral and politician, 44th Governor-General of India (d. 1979)
1901 – Harold Roe Bartle, American politician, 47th Mayor of Kansas City (d. 1974)
1902 – Prince Chichibu of Japan (d. 1953)
1903 – George Orwell, English author (d. 1950)
1903 – Anne Revere, American actress (d. 1990)
1907 – J. Hans D. Jensen, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
1908 – Willard Van Orman Quine, American philosopher (d. 2000)
1911 – William Howard Stein, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1980)
1912 – William T. Cahill, American politician, 46th Governor of New Jersey (d. 1996)
1913 – Cyril Fletcher, English actor (d. 2005)
1917 – Nils Karlsson, Swedish skier (d. 2012)
1918 – P. H. Newby, English author (d. 1997)
1921 – Celia Franca, English-Canadian ballerina, founded the National Ballet of Canada (d. 2007)
1922 – Johnny Smith, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2013)
1923 – Sam Francis, American painter (d. 1994)
1923 – Dorothy Gilman, American author (d. 2012)
1923 – Nicholas Mosley, English author
1924 – Sidney Lumet, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
1924 – Madan Mohan, Indian composer (d. 1975)
1925 – Clifton Chenier, American singer-songwriter and accordion player (d. 1987)
1925 – June Lockhart, American actress
1925 – Robert Venturi, American architect
1926 – Margaret Anstee, British former UN deputy under secretary
1926 – Ingeborg Bachmann, Austrian author and poet (d. 1973)
1927 – Antal Róka, Hungarian runner (d. 1970)
1927 – Newton Russell, American politician (d. 2013)
1927 – Chuck Smith, American pastor, founded the Calvary Chapel (d. 2013)
1927 – Arnold Wolfendale, British astronomer
1928 – Peyo, Belgian author and illustrator, created The Smurfs (d. 1992)
1928 – Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
1928 – Michel Brault, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
1928 – Bill Russo, American pianist and composer (d. 2003)
1928 – Alex Toth, American animator (d. 2006)
1928 – Moray Watson, English actor
1929 – Eric Carle, American author and illustrator
1930 – George Murdock, American actor (d. 2012)
1930 – Mary Beth Peil, American actress and singer
1931 – V. P. Singh, Indian politician, 7th Prime Minister of India (d. 2008)
1932 – Peter Blake, English painter
1933 – James Meredith, American activist
1933 – Álvaro Siza Vieira, Portuguese architect, designed the Porto School of Architecture
1934 – Jean Geissinger, American baseball player (d. 2014)
1934 – Jack W. Hayford, American minister and author
1934 – Beatriz Sheridan, Mexican actress and director (d. 2006)
1935 – Charles Sheffield, English-American mathematician, physicist, and author (d. 2002)
1935 – Tony Lanfranchi, English race car driver (d. 2004)
1936 – B. J. Habibie, Indonesian engineer and politician, 3rd President of Indonesia
1936 – Bert Hölldobler, German biologist and author
1935 – Eddie Floyd, American singer-songwriter (The Falcons)
1937 – Derek Foster, British politician
1937 – Doreen Wells, British ballet dancer
1939 – Allen Fox, American tennis player
1940 – Mary Beth Peil, American actress and singer
1940 – A. J. Quinnell, English author (d. 2005)
1940 – Clint Warwick, English bass player (The Moody Blues) (d. 2004)
1941 – Denys Arcand, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
1941 – Eddie Large, Scottish comedian
1941 – Roy Marsden, English actor
1942 – Nikiforos Diamandouros, Greek academic and politician
1942 – Willis Reed, American basketball player, coach, and manager
1942 – Michel Tremblay, Canadian author and playwright
1942 – Patricia Brake, English actress
1944 – Robert Charlebois, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, and author
1945 – Gary David Goldberg, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
1945 – Carly Simon, American singer-songwriter, actress, and author (Elephant's Memory)
1945 – Philip Watts, British businessman
1946 – Roméo Dallaire, Dutch-Canadian general and politician
1946 – Allen Lanier, American guitarist and songwriter (Blue Öyster Cult) (d. 2013)
1946 – Ian McDonald, English guitarist and saxophonist (King Crimson and Foreigner)
1947 – John Hilton, English table tennis player
1947 – John Powell, American discus thrower
1947 – Jimmie Walker, American actor
1949 – Richard Clarke, British bishop
1949 – Patrick Tambay, French race car driver
1950 – Michel Côté, Canadian actor and screenwriter
1950 – Nitza Saul, Israeli-English actress
1950 – Marcello Toninelli, Italian author
1952 – Péter Erdő, Hungarian cardinal
1952 – Tim Finn, New Zealand singer-songwriter (Finn Brothers, Crowded House, and Split Enz)
1952 – Martin Gerschwitz, German singer-songwriter and keyboard player (Iron Butterfly)
1952 – Alan Green, Irish sportscaster
1953 – Olivier Ameisen, French-American cardiologist and educator (d. 2013)
1954 – Alison Leslie, British diplomat, UK's Permanent Representative to Nato
1954 – Mario Lessard, Canadian ice hockey player
1954 – David Paich, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (Toto)
1954 – Daryush Shokof, Iranian director, producer, and screenwriter
1954 – Sonia Sotomayor, American jurist, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
1955 – Vic Marks, English cricketer
1956 – Anthony Bourdain, American chef and author
1956 – Frank Paschek, German long jumper
1956 – Boris Trajkovski, Macedonian politician, 2nd President of the Republic of Macedonia (d. 2004)
1957 – Greg Millen, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
1959 – Lutz Dombrowski, German long jumper
1959 – Jari Puikkonen, Finnish ski jumper
1959 – Paris Themmen, American actor
1960 – Alastair Bruce, British broadcaster
1960 – Craig Johnston, South African-Australian footballer
1960 – Brian Hayward, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
1961 – Timur Bekmambetov, Kazakh director, producer, and screenwriter
1961 – Brian Coleman, British politician
1961 – Ricky Gervais, English comedian, actor, director, and producer
1962 – Phill Jupitus, English comedian and actor
1963 – Doug Gilmour, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
1963 – John Benjamin Hickey, American actor
1963 – Yann Martel, Spanish-Canadian author
1963 – George Michael, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (Wham!)
1963 – Jackie Swanson, American actress
1964 – Dell Curry, American basketball player and coach
1964 – Matt Gallant, American television host
1964 – Johnny Herbert, English race car driver
1964 – Greg Raymer, American poker player
1964 – Emma Suárez, Spanish actress
1966 – Dikembe Mutombo, Congolese-American basketball player
1967 – Tanel Tuhal, Estonian architect
1968 – Vaios Karagiannis, Greek footballer and manager
1969 – Hunter Foster, American actor and singer
1969 – Zim Zum, American guitarist and songwriter (The Pop Culture Suicides)
1970 – Lucy Benjamin, English actress
1970 – Ariel Gore, American journalist and author
1970 – Roope Latvala, Finnish guitarist (Children of Bodom, Stone, Sinergy, and Waltari)
1970 – Erki Nool, Estonian decathlete and politician
1970 – Aaron Sele, American baseball player
1971 – Karen Darke, British paralympic cyclist and author
1971 – Angela Kinsey, American actress
1971 – Neil Lennon, Irish footballer and manager
1971 – Sébastien Levicq, French decathlete
1971 – Jason Lewis, American model and actor
1971 – Scott Maslen, English actor
1971 – Michael Tucker, American baseball player
1972 – Carlos Delgado, Puerto Rican baseball player and coach
1972 – Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, Libyan engineer and politician
1973 – René Corbet, Canadian ice hockey player
1973 – Milan Hnilička, Czech ice hockey player
1973 – Jamie Redknapp, English footballer
1974 – Nisha Ganatra, Canadian director, prouder, and screenwriter
1974 – Karisma Kapoor, Indian actress
1974 – Glen Metropolit, Canadian ice hockey player
1975 – Kiur Aarma, Estonian television journalist and guitarist
1975 – Chenoa, Argentinian-Spanish singer
1975 – Linda Cardellini, American actress
1975 – Albert Costa, Spanish tennis player
1975 – Natasha Klauss, Colombian actress
1975 – Vladimir Kramnik, Russian chess player
1975 – Michele Merkin, American model and television host
1976 – José Cancela, Uruguayan footballer
1976 – Iestyn Harris, Welsh rugby player and coach
1976 – Carlos Nieto, Argentinian-Italian rugby player
1976 – Gavin Williams, English politician
1977 – Layla El, English wrestler, model, and dancer
1977 – Lola Ponce, Argentinian-Italian singer-songwriter and actress
1978 – Aramis Ramírez, Dominican-American baseball player
1978 – Luke Scott, American baseball player
1978 – Aftab Shivdasani, Indian actor and producer
1978 – Marcus Stroud, American football player
1978 – Chakrit Yamnam, Thai actor
1979 – Marko Albert, Estonian triathlete
1979 – Hirooki Goto, Japanese wrestler
1979 – Richard Hughes, Scottish footballer
1979 – Busy Philipps, American actress
1979 – La La, American television host and actress
1980 – Maja Latinović, Serbian model
1980 – Nozomi Takeuchi, Japanese actress and singer
1981 – Simon Ammann, Swiss ski jumper
1981 – Irina Osipova, Russian basketball player
1981 – Sheridan Smith, English actress, singer, and dancer
1981 – Pooja Umashankar, Sri Lankan-Indian actress
1982 – Rain, South Korean singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
1982 – Mikhail Youzhny, Russian tennis player
1983 – Cristian Baroni, Brazilian footballer
1983 – Todd Cooper, English swimmer
1983 – Marc Janko, Austrian footballer
1984 – Lauren Bush, American model and fashion designer
1984 – Indigo, American actress
1985 – Daniel Bard, American baseball player
1985 – Karim Matmour, Algerian footballer
1986 – Megan Burns, English actress and singer
1986 – Charlie Davies, American soccer player
1986 – Aya Matsuura, Japanese singer and actress (GAM, Gomattō, 3nin Matsuri, and Def.Diva)
1987 – Brian Canter, American bull rider
1987 – Alissa Czisny, American figure skater
1987 – Takahiro Itō, Japanese actor (d. 2009)
1987 – Scott Terra, American actor
1988 – Jhonas Enroth, Swedish ice hockey player
1989 – Zaden Alexander, Portuguese actor
1989 – Jack Cork, English footballer
1989 – Rafael Morais, Portuguese actor
1991 – Kyousuke Hamao, Japanese actor, singer, and model
1991 – Shōta Iizuka, Japanese sprinter
1991 – Liisi Rist, Estonian cyclist
1991 – Christa Theret, French actress
1991 – Anna Zaja, German tennis player
1993 – Barney Clark, English actor
1993 – Piero Vergara, Filipino singer-songwriter and actor


D
 
Jun 25, 1948:
Joe Louis defeats Jersey Joe Walcott

On June 25, 1948, Joe Louis defeats Jersey Joe Walcott to retain the heavyweight championship.


Louis’ challenger, Jersey Joe Walcott, was a veteran fighter who was finally getting a shot at the title. Born Arnold Cream, he started his boxing career at the age of 16 in his native New Jersey, taking the name "Jersey Joe Walcott" after the boxer Joe Walcott from Barbados. As a young fighter, Walcott was invited to train with Joe Louis in Chicago, but a bout of typhoid fever forced him to remain at home and miss his first opportunity to spar with the champ. Because of pervasive prejudice in boxing in the 1930s and 40s, the African-American Walcott struggled to book the fights with established boxers that would advance his career. Despite his impressive talent, he wasn’t able to achieve a top 10 ranking until he was 31.


Walcott and Louis first fought in December 1947, when Louis won a 15-round decision in which he struggled to counter Walcott’s unorthodox style. Louis was knocked down in the first and fourth rounds, and many in the 18,000-strong Madison Square Garden crowd believed he had lost the fight. The public demanded a rematch.


Louis was two pounds heavier for the rematch, which he said would be his last go-round in the ring. Again, he struggled with Walcott’s style, unable to punish him as he had the lesser fighters of his so-called "bum of the month" club in the early 1940s. As the match entered its final rounds, Louis was trailing in points, and needed a knockout punch to retain the title he had held since 1937. To the surprise of many in the audience, the champ was able once again to summon his legendary power and hit Walcott with a right to the jaw that knocked him unconscious. It was the 25th and final time that Louis successfully defended his belt. Louis announced his retirement in March 1949, and with it, vacated his heavyweight belts.


Jersey Joe Walcott fought Ezzard Charles for the vacant heavyweight title on June 22, 1949, and lost a 15-round decision. Walcott again lost to Charles on March 7, 1951, but finally won the belt in his fifth chance, when he knocked out Charles on July 18, 1951. Walcott’s first fight and only win as champion was a fourth fight against Charles on June 5, 1952. He lost his belt for good in his second defense to Rocky Marciano on September 23, 1952. The next year, Rocky Marciano knocked out Walcott in the first round of their rematch.

Louis returned to fight for the heavyweight title on September 27, 1950, but lost to then-champion Ezzard Charles in a 15-round decision.


Jun 25, 1956:
Last Packard produced

The last Packard--the classic American luxury car with the famously enigmatic slogan "Ask the Man Who Owns One"--rolls off the production line at Packard's plant in Detroit, Michigan on this day in 1956.

Mechanical engineer James Ward Packard and his brother, William Dowd Packard, built their first automobile, a buggy-type vehicle with a single cylinder engine, in Warren, Ohio in 1899. The Packard Motor Car Company earned fame early on for a four-cylinder aluminum speedster called the "Gray Wolf," released in 1904. It became one of the first American racing cars to be available for sale to the general public. With the 1916 release of the Twin Six, with its revolutionary V-12 engine, Packard established itself as the country's leading luxury-car manufacturer. World War I saw Packard convert to war production earlier than most companies, and the Twin Six was adapted into the Liberty Aircraft engine, by far the most important single output of America's wartime industry.

Packards had large, square bodies that suggested an elegant solidity, and the company was renowned for its hand-finished attention to detail. In the 1930s, however, the superior resources of General Motors and the success of its V-16 engine pushed Cadillac past Packard as the premier luxury car in America. Packard diversified by producing a smaller, more affordable model, the One Twenty, which increased the company's sales. The coming of World War II halted consumer car production in the United States. In the postwar years, Packard struggled as Cadillac maintained a firm hold on the luxury car market and the media saddled the lumbering Packard with names like "bathtub" or "pregnant elephant."

With sales dwindling by the 1950s, Packard merged with the much larger Studebaker Corporation in the hope of cutting its production costs. The new Packard-Studebaker became the fourth largest manufacturer of cars in the nation. Studebaker was struggling as well, however, and eventually dropped all its own big cars as well as the Packard. In 1956, Packard-Studebaker's then-president, James Nance, made the decision to suspend Packard's manufacturing operations in Detroit. Though the company would continue to manufacture cars in South Bend, Indiana, until 1958, the final model produced on June 25, 1956, is considered the last true Packard.


Jun 25, 1957:
Hurricane Audrey hits Gulf Coast

A hurricane watch is declared for the Texas and Louisiana coastlines as a tropical depression from the Gulf of Mexico heads toward the United States. The storm quickly becomes Hurricane Audrey, which kills 390 people.

A day after the watch was declared, the residents of Louisiana near the Gulf of Mexico were told to seek higher ground. By the time many residents actually began to follow the advice–on the morning of June 27–it was too late. Roads were already washed out because of the strong rain and winds and an oil rig in the gulf had capsized after a storm surge.

Water on the coast reached as high as 15 feet above the normal high-tide mark. Boats were washed ashore by the tremendous waves. The towns of Cameron, Creole and Grand Chenier were devastated by the hurricane. Only one building survived in Creole and only two were left standing in Cameron, thankfully including the courthouse that was sheltering many of the residents.

Many people were simply swept away by the floods. Eighteen people in a single family perished when their home was knocked down and washed away. Some survivors lived by tying themselves to tree tops, other by clinging to driftwood. At least one person died from the bite of a poisonous water snake while clinging to wreckage. Many bodies were not found for months after the hurricane--including one that was not recovered until the next year. It is possible that the death toll from Audrey exceeded 500 people.

Louisiana was not the only place that suffered Audrey's wrath. A building in Port Arthur, Texas, collapsed under heavy rain and wind. As far away as Canada, four people lost their lives at the tail end of the storm over a week later. More than 40,000 people were left homeless by Hurricane Audrey. Many were housed at McNeese State University near Lake Charles, Louisiana, until they could be permanently resettled. Many victims found it difficult to rebuild–their insurance offered financial protection from wind damage, but not water damage.
 
25 June Deaths

635 – Emperor Gaozu of Tang (b. 566)
1134 – Niels, King of Denmark (b. 1064)
1218 – Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester, French crusader (b. 1160)
1291 – Eleanor of Provence, (b. 1223)
1483 – Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers, English courtier (b. 1440)
1522 – Franchinus Gaffurius, Italian composer (b. 1451)
1533 – Mary Tudor, Queen of France (b. 1496)
1579 – Hatano Hideharu, Japanese warlord (b. 1541)
1593 – Michele Mercati, Italian physician (b. 1541)
1634 – John Marston, English poet and playwright (b. 1576)
1638 – Juan Pérez de Montalbán, Spanish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1602)
1665 – Sigismund Francis, Archduke of Austria (b. 1630)
1669 – François de Vendôme, Duke of Beaufort (b. 1616)
1671 – Giovanni Battista Riccioli, Italian priest and astronomer (b. 1598)
1673 – Charles de Batz-Castelmore d'Artagnan, French captain (b. 1611)
1686 – Simon Ushakov, Russian painter (b. 1626)
1715 – Jean du Casse, French admiral (b. 1646)
1767 – Georg Philipp Telemann, German composer (b. 1681)
1798 – Thomas Sandby, English architect (b. 1721)
1822 – E. T. A. Hoffmann, German jurist and author (b. 1776)
1838 – François-Nicolas-Benoît Haxo, French general (b. 1774)
1861 – Abdülmecid I, Ottoman sultan (b. 1823)
1866 – Alexander von Nordmann, Finnish biologist (b. 1803)
1868 – Carlo Matteucci, Italian physicist and neurophysiologist (b. 1811)
1870 – David Heaton, American lawyer and politician (b. 1823)
1875 – Antoine-Louis Barye, French sculptor (b. 1796)
1875 – Katherine McKinley, American daughter of William McKinley (b. 1871)
1876 – James Calhoun, American lieutenant (b. 1845)
1876 – Boston Custer, American general (b. 1848)
1876 – George Armstrong Custer, American general (b. 1839)
1876 – Thomas Custer, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1845)
1876 – Myles Keogh, Irish-American colonel (b. 1840)
1882 – François Jouffroy, French sculptor (b. 1806)
1884 – Hans Rott, Austrian composer (b. 1858)
1886 – Jean-Louis Beaudry, Canadian politician, 11th Mayor of Montreal (b. 1809)
1894 – Marie François Sadi Carnot, French politician, 5th President of France (b. 1837)
1906 – Stanford White, American architect, designed the Washington Square Arch (b. 1853)
1916 – Thomas Eakins, American painter (b. 1844)
1917 – Géza Gyóni, Hungarian poet (b. 1884)
1918 – Jake Beckley, American baseball player and coach (b. 1867)
1922 – Satyendranath Dutta, Indian poet (b. 1882)
1932 – Howard Valentine, American runner (b. 1881)
1937 – Colin Clive, English-American actor (b. 1900)
1939 – Richard Seaman, English race car driver (b. 1913)
1944 – Dénes Berinkey, Hungarian jurist and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1871)
1944 – Lucha Reyes, Mexican singer (b. 1906)
1948 – William C. Lee, American general (b. 1895)
1949 – Buck Freeman, American baseball player (b. 1871)
1949 – James Steen, American water polo player (b. 1876)
1950 – Muiris Ó Súilleabháin, Irish author (b. 1904)
1958 – Alfred Noyes, English poet (b. 1880)
1959 – Charles Starkweather, American spree killer (b. 1938)
1960 – Tommy Corcoran, American baseball player (b. 1869)
1971 – John Boyd Orr, 1st Baron Boyd-Orr, Scottish physician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1880)
1972 – Jan Matulka, American painter (b. 1890)
1974 – Cornelius Lanczos, Hungarian mathematician and physicist (b. 1893)
1976 – Johnny Mercer, American singer-songwriter, co-founded Capitol Records (b. 1909)
1977 – Olave Baden-Powell, English wife of Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell (b. 1889)
1977 – Endre Szervánszky, Hungarian composer (b. 1911)
1979 – Dave Fleischer, American animator, director, and producer (b. 1894)
1979 – Philippe Halsman, Latvian-American photographer (b. 1906)
1983 – Alberto Ginastera, Argentinian composer (b. 1916)
1984 – Michel Foucault, French philosopher and historian (b. 1926)
1985 – Morris Mason, American murderer (b. 1954)
1987 – Boudleaux Bryant, American songwriter (b. 1920)
1988 – Hillel Slovak, Israeli-American guitarist and songwriter (Red Hot Chili Peppers and What Is This?) (b. 1962)
1988 – Jimmy Soul, American singer (b. 1942)
1990 – Ronald Gene Simmons, American sergeant and murderer (b. 1940)
1992 – Jerome Brown, American football player (b. 1965)
1995 – Ernest Walton, Irish physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
1996 – Arthur Snelling, English civil servant and diplomat (b. 1914)
1997 – Jacques Cousteau, French oceanographer and explorer (b. 1910)
1998 – Lounès Matoub, Algerian singer, guitarist, and poet (b. 1956)
1999 – Fred Feast, English actor (b. 1929)
1999 – Tommy Ivan, Canadian-American football player, coach, and manager (b. 1911)
2002 – Jean Corbeil, Canadian politician (b. 1934)
2003 – Lester Maddox, American politician, 75th Governor of Georgia (b. 1915)
2005 – John Fiedler, American actor and singer (b. 1925)
2005 – Kâzım Koyuncu, Turkish singer-songwriter and activist (b. 1971)
2006 – Jaap Penraat, Dutch humanitarian (b. 1918)
2007 – Jeeva, Indian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (b. 1963)
2007 – Mahasti, Iranian-American singer (b. 1946)
2007 – J. Fred Duckett, American journalist (b. 1933)
2008 – Lyall Watson, South African anthropologist and ethologist (b. 1939)
2009 – Yasmine, Belgian singer (b. 1972)
2009 – Farrah Fawcett, American actress (b. 1947)
2009 – Michael Jackson, American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, and actor (The Jackson 5) (b. 1958)
2009 – Sky Saxon, American singer-songwriter (The Seeds) (b. 1937)
2009 – Anil Wilson, Indian educator (b. 1947)
2010 – Alan Plater, English playwright and screenwriter (b. 1935)
2010 – Richard B. Sellars, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1915)
2011 – Margaret Tyzack, English actress (b. 1931)
2011 – Goff Richards, English composer (b. 1944)
2012 – Shigemitsu Dandō, Japanese jurist (b. 1913)
2012 – Campbell Gillies, Scottish jockey (b. 1990)
2012 – George Randolph Hearst, Jr., American businessman (b. 1927)
2012 – Vyacheslav Ionov, Russian canoe racer (b. 1940)
2012 – Lucella MacLean, American baseball player (b. 1921)
2012 – Edgar Ross, American boxer (b. 1949)
2012 – Doris Schade, German actress (b. 1924)
2013 – Giuseppe Berton, Italian missionary (b. 1932)
2013 – George Burditt, American writer and producer (b. 1923)
2013 – Jack Cantoni, French rugby player (b. 1948)
2013 – Catherine Gibson, Scottish swimmer (b. 1931)
2013 – Robert E. Gilka, American photographer and journalist (b. 1916)
2013 – Lau Kar-leung, Chinese actor, martial artist, and director (b. 1934)
2013 – Harry Parker, American rower and coach (b. 1935)
2013 – Mildred Ladner Thompson, American journalist (b. 1918)
2013 – Green Wix Unthank, American judge (b. 1923)


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