1234 – Emperor Chūkyō, 85th emperor of Japan, dies at 15
1580 – Juliana van Stolberg, German countess, mother of William of Orange and Jan Nassau, dies at 74
1704 – Thomas “Tom” Brown, English translator and writer of satire (Amusements Serious and Comical, calculated for the Meridian of London), dies at 41
1749 – Ambrose Philips, English poet (b. 1674)
1866 – Jacob Abels, Dutch painter, dies at 62
1964 – Alexander Shamil’yevich Melik-Pashayev, Georgian conductor and composer (Bol’shoy Theatre, 1931-62), dies at 58
1967 – Beat Fehr, Swiss racing driver, killed in crash at Caserta, Italy at 23
1971 – Paul Karrer, Swiss organic chemist (Nobel 1937), dies at 82
1971 – Thomas Gomez, American actor (Force of Evil, Key Largo, Kim, Sellout), dies after a car accident at 65
1986 – Frances Scott Fitzgerald, Daughter of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayre. (b. 1921)
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 18th June 2024
1894 – Premier Roseberry declares Uganda a British protectorate
1898 – Steel Pier, 1st amusement pier opens in Atlantic City, New Jersey
1943 – SS Police in Amsterdam sentence 12 resistance fighters to death for the fire-bombing at the census records bureau in March
1944 – Farewell concert of conductor Willem Mengelberg in Paris, France
1948 – National Security Council authorizes covert operations for 1st time
1949 – “Along Fifth Avenue” closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 180 performances
1955 – “3 for Tonight” closes at Plymouth Theater NYC after 85 performances
1982 – Voting Rights Act of 1965 extended by Senate by 85-8 vote
2019 – England cricket captain Eoin Morgan smashes a ODI world record 17 sixes against Afghanistan in his side’s 150-run World Cup victory at Old Trafford; Morgan, 148 from 71 balls
2022 – Attacks in Oromia, western Ethiopia, targeting the Amhara people leave a reported 250 dead, killed by Oromo rebels amid worsening ethnic conflict in the country
Today in History for 18th June 2024
Historical Events
1821 – Carl Maria von Weber’s opera “Der Freischutz” (“The Marksman”) premieres at Schauspielhaus, Berlin, Germany
1912 – The Chicago national Republican Convention splits between President Taft and Theodore Roosevelt; after Taft is nominated, Roosevelt and progressive elements of the Party form the Progressive Party (also known as the ‘Bull Moose Party’)
1972 – 3 members of the British Army are killed by an Irish Republican Army (IRA) bomb in a derelict house near Lurgan, County Down
1983 – Space shuttle Challenger 2 launches the first American woman into space, astronaut Sally Ride
1996 – Ted Kaczynski, suspected of being the Unabomber, is indicted on ten criminal counts
2013 – Russia passes a law banning foreign same-sex couples from adopting children
Famous Birthdays
1934 – Mitsuteru Yokoyama, Japanese manga artist (d. 2004)
1942 – Hans Vonk, Dutch conductor (The Hague Philharmonic, 1980-1991; St. Louis Symphony, 1996-2002), born in Amsterdam (d. 2004)
1952 – Idriss Déby, Chadian politician and military officer (President of Chad, 1990–2021), born in Berdoba, Chad (d. 2021)
1962 – Jan[ice] Merrill, track star (US record long distance holder 1979)
1969 – Vito LoGrasso, American professional wrestler
1991 – Willa Holland, American actress (Arrow), born in Los Angeles, California
Famous Deaths
1629 – Piet Heyn, Dutch privateer who captured a Spanish silver fleet and admiral who became a folk hero, shot by cannonball during a skirmish with privateers at 51
1937 – Al Boasberg, American vaudeville, radio and film comedy writer (Jack Benny; Bob Hope; The Marx Brothers), dies of a heart attack at 44
1939 – Frans “Sas” van Aerschot, Flemish operetta actor (Paljas), dies at 73
1982 – Roberto Calvi, Italian banker and director (Banco Ambrosiano), hangs himself at 62
2016 – Paul Cox, Dutch-born Australian director (Lonely Hearts), dies at 76
2020 – Arturo Chaires, Mexican soccer defender (22 caps; C.D. Guadalajara), dies at 83
Famous Deaths for 17th June 2024
1839 – Lord William Henry Cavendish Bentinck, British soldier and statesman (Governor-General of India, 1828-1835), dies at 64
1862 – Charles Canning, English 1st viceroy of British-Indies, dies at 49
1871 – Clement Vallandigham, American politician (Rep-D-Ohio, convicted of opposing civil war, exiled to Confederate States), dies after accidentally shooting himself at 50
1938 – Ranji Hordern, Australian cricket spin bowler (7 Tests, 46 wickets, BB 7/90; NSW CA), dies at 55
1947 – Maxwell Perkins, American editor and publisher for Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Thomas Wolfe, dies at 62
1989 – John Matuszak, American NFL defensive end, 1973-82 (Oakland Raiders and 3 other teams), and actor (Caveman; The Goonies), dies of an accidental propoxyphene overdose at 38
2001 – Thomas Winning, Scottish controversial Roman Catholic Cardinal, dies at 76
2002 – Willie Davenport, American bobsledder and track athlete (Olympic gold 110m hurdles 1968), dies from a heart attack at 59
2004 – Gerry McNeil, Canadian ice hockey player, dies at 78
2020 – Paulinho Paiakan, Brazilian indigenous chief (led Kayapó people against Belo Monte dam), dies of COVID-19 at about 65
Historical Events for 17th June 2024
1397 – Union of Kalmar established between Denmark, Sweden and Norway
1824 – US Bureau of Indian Affairs established
1938 – Japan declares war on China
1939 – French Championships Men’s Tennis: American collegiate champion Don McNeill beats countryman Bobby Riggs 7-5, 6-0, 6-3
1943 – Player-manager Joe Cronin of Red Sox hits two 3-run pinch home runs
1953 – Riots in East Germany for reunification
1961 – Billy Barnes’ musical revue “Billy Barnes People”, starting Ken Berry, Dave Ketchum, and Jo Anne Worley, closes at Royale Theater, NYC, after 7 performances
2010 – NBA Finals: Depending champion Los Angeles Lakers beat Boston Celtics, 83-79 in Game 7 for franchise’s 16th NBA title; MVP: Kobe Bryant
2015 – 9 people are shot and killed inside Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, by a 21-year-old gunman
2021 – US President Joe Biden signs into law the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act making June 19th a federal holiday commemorating emancipation
Today in History for 17th June 2024
Historical Events
1579 – English navigator Francis Drake lands on the coast of California at Drakes Bay, names it “New Albion”
1850 – Paddle-wheeler “G P Griffith” burns off Mentor Ohio, 206 die
1954 – Televised Senate Army McCarthy hearings ends
1990 – “Some Americans Abroad” closes at Vivian Beaumont NYC after 62 performances
1991 – South Africa abolishes last of its apartheid laws
1991 – Country entertainer Minnie Pearl suffers a stroke at 78
Famous Birthdays
1920 – François Jacob, French biologist and bacteriologist (Nobel 1965), born in Nancy, France (d. 2013)
1926 – Manuel Enríquez, Mexican composer, born in Ocotlán, Jalisco, Mexico (d. 1994)
1930 – Romuald Twardowski, Polish composer, born in Wilno/ Vilnius, Poland
1947 – Paul Young, British rock singer and percussionist (Mike + The Mechanics – “All I Need Is A Miracle”), born in Manchester, England (d. 2000)
1970 – Stéphane Fiset, Canadian NHL goalie, 1998-2002 (Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche, Los Angeles Kings), born in Montreal, Quebec
1987 – Kendrick Lamar, American hip hop singer-songwriter (Damn), born in Compton, California
Famous Deaths
1871 – Clement Vallandigham, American politician (Rep-D-Ohio, convicted of opposing civil war, exiled to Confederate States), dies after accidentally shooting himself at 50
1994 – Joeri Nagibin, Russian screenwriter (Babje Karstvo), dies at 74
1995 – Claire Sterling, American journalist and writer (The Terror Network), dies at 75
1996 – Thomas Kuhn, American philosopher of science (paradigm shift), dies at 73
2004 – Sara Lidman, Swedish author (Jag Och Min Son, Samtal in Hanoi), dies at 80
2015 – Suleyman Demirel, Turkish leader, President (1993-2000) and Prime Minister, dies at 90
Famous Deaths for 16th June 2024
1808 – Georg Wenzel Ritter, German bassoonist, composer and friend of Mozart, dies at 60
1824 – Charles-François Lebrun, duc de Plaisance, Third Consul of France (b. 1739)
1902 – Ernst Schröder, German mathematician (algebraic logic), dies at 60
1930 – Elmer Ambrose Sperry, American entrepreneur and inventor (gyrocompass), dies at 69
1936 – Leib Malach, Yiddish writer, dies at 41
1940 – Vitezslava Kapralova, Czech composer and conductor, dies from typhoid fever at 25
1975 – Don Robey, American record label executive and record producer, dies at 71
1976 – Francis E. Meloy Jr, US ambassador to Lebanon, kidnapped and killed at 59
1994 – Terence de Vere White, Irish novelist (An Affair with the Moon), dies at 82
2022 – Don Neely, New Zealand cricket historian, administrator (President NZ Cricket 2006-09), dies at 86
Historical Events for 16th June 2024
1755 – British capture strategic Fort Beauséjour, eastern Canada, expelling the Acadians and renaming it Fort Cumberland
1858 – Abraham Lincoln says “A house divided against itself cannot stand” accepting Illinois Republican Party’s nomination for the Senate
1903 – Ford Motors under Henry Ford incorporates
1961 – Soviet ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev defects to West at Le Bourget Airport in Paris, France
1962 – 2 US army officers killed in Saigon
1974 – US Open Men’s Golf, Winged Foot GC: Hale Irwin’s score of 287 (+7) is good enough for the first of his 3 Open titles, 2 strokes ahead of runner-up Forrest Fezler
1985 – Willie Banks of USA sets triple jump record (58 feet 11 inches) in Indianapolis
1996 – US Open Men’s Golf, Oakland Hills GC: Steve Jones wins his lone major title, 1 stroke ahead of runners-up Tom Lehman and Davis Love III
2016 – Philadelphia is the first US city to pass a tax on sweetened drinks
2022 – NBA Finals: Golden State Warriors beat Boston Celtics, 103-90 for a 4-2 series win; Warriors’ 4th title in 8 years; MVP: Stephen Curry
Today in History for 16th June 2024
Historical Events
1953 – Despite Johnny Mize 2,000th hit, NY Yankees lose ending an 18 game winning streak and also ending St Louis Brown 14 game losing streak
1954 – Dutch military conscription shortened from 20 to 18 months
1969 – US Supreme Court rules suspension of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr from House of Representatives violated Article I of the Constitution by citing reasons beyond the exclusive list of qualifications in the article
1989 – Only 17 holes-in-one recorded since US open began, today 4 more are made all on 6th hole (Weaver, Wiebe, Pate and Price)
1989 – Funeral for Imre Nagy, leader of Hungarian uprising in 1956
2013 – 20 people are killed by a series of car bombings across Iraq
Famous Birthdays
1941 – Dino Ciani, Italian pianist, born in Fiume, Italy (d. 1974)
1942 – Alan “Howling Laud” Hope, British politician and leader of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party (OMRLP), born in Mytchett, Surrey
1958 – Jóhannes Helgason, Icelandic guitarist (Þeyr), born in Reykjavík, Iceland
1977 – Kerry Wood, American baseball player (Chicago Cubs), born in Irving, Texas
1981 – Miguel Villalta, Peruvian soccer defender (28 caps; Sporting Cristal CS 233 games, CS Cienciano), born in Cusco, Peru
1986 – Farhad Reza, Bangladeshi cricket all-rounder (34 ODIs, 1 x 50, 22 wickets; Dhaka Warriors), born in Rajshahi, Bangladesh
Famous Deaths
1925 – Chittaranjan Das, Indian lawyer, politician and activist (founded Swaraj Party), dies at 55
1944 – Marc Bloch, French historian and member of the French resistance, executed by firing squad by the Gestapo at 57
1947 – Jean-Francois Capart, Belgian Egyptologist (Memphis), dies at 86
2003 – Georg Henrik von Wright, Finnish-Swedish philosopher (b. 1916)
2004 – Thanom Kittikachorn, Thai politician and general (1971 coup Prime Minister of Thailand 1958-73), dies at 92
2010 – Maureen Forrester, Canadian operatic contralto (Resurrection Symphony), dies at 79
Famous Deaths for 15th June 2024
991 – Theophanu, wife of Holy Roman Emperor Otto II and regent of Otto III, dies (b. 960)
1341 – Andronicus III Paleologus, Byzantine emperor (1328-41), dies
1869 – Albert Grisar, Belgian comic opera composer, dies at 60
1895 – Richard Genée, Austrian playwright, librettist, and composer, dies at 72
1941 – Evelyn Underhill, British Anglo-Catholic poet, dies at 65
1965 – E. A. Speiser, American Bible scholar (b. 1902
1968 – Sam Crawford, American Baseball HOF outfielder (MLB HR leader 1901, 08; AL RBI leader 1910, 14, 15; MLB record 309 career triples; Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers), dies at 88
1992 – Leo Halle, soccer goalie (Go Ahead, Orange), dies
2000 – Jules Roy, French writer (b. 1907)
2015 – Jean Doré, Canadian politician (39th Mayor of Montreal), dies at 70