1541 – Irish parliament selects Henry VIII of England as King of Ireland
1583 – Richard Martin of London takes out first life insurance policy, on William Gibbons; premium was £383
1847 – American photographer Thomas Martin Easterly takes the earliest known photograph of lightning using the daguerreotype process in St. Louis, Missouri
1947 – Cincinnati Red Ewell Blackwell no-hits Boston Braves, 6-0
1990 – 1st sudden death US Open Golf Championship is won by Hale Irwin
1996 – Ted Kaczynski, suspected of being the Unabomber, is indicted on ten criminal counts
2006 – The first Kazakh space satellite, KazSat is launched
2014 – Ian McKellen is awarded an honorary degree by Cambridge University, becoming a Doctor of Letters
2017 – US Open Men’s Golf, Erin Hills GC: Brooks Koepka wins his first major title by 4 strokes from Brian Harman and Hideki Matsuyama
2020 – US Supreme Court rules the Obama-era Dreamers Program (DACA), enabling undocumented migrant children ability to study and work, can stay
Author: gil7
Today in History for 18th June 2021
Historical Events
860 – Rus Vikings attack Constantinople
1847 – American photographer Thomas Martin Easterly takes the earliest known photograph of lightning using the daguerreotype process in St. Louis, Missouri
1863 – After long neglect, Confederates hurriedly fortify Vicksburg
1943 – SS Police in Amsterdam sentence for 12 resistance fighter to death (Jewish, communists, homosexuality) at the census bureau
1963 – 3,000 blacks boycott Boston public school
1975 – Gary Gilmour takes 6-14 in Cricket World Cup semi v England
Famous Birthdays
1466 – Ottaviano Petrucci, Italian printer, born in Fossombrone, Italy (d. 1539)
1813 – Pavel Annenkov, Russian literature historian (Zametsjatelnoje desjatileti), born in Moscow, Russia (d. 1887)
1910 – Ray McKinley, American orchestra leader and jazz drummer (Glenn Miller Time), born in Fort Worth, Texas (d. 1995)
1933 – [Charles] Tommy Hunt, American soul singer (Flamingos – “I Only Have Eyes For You”; “Lovers Never Say Goodbye”), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1954 – William Beard, American session and touring rock drummer (Face To Face; Sessions Americana), born in Boston, Massachusetts
1971 – Nigel Owens, Welsh rugby union referee (record holder for most Test matches refereed), born in Mynyddcerrig, Carmarthenshire
Famous Deaths
741 – Leo III de Isaurier, Byzantine Emperor (717-41), dies
1799 – Johann Andre, German composer, dies at 58
1815 – Thomas Picton, British general (killed in battle) (b. 1758)
1942 – Arthur Pryor, American band composer and trombone player, dies at 71
1967 – William Tracy, American actor (To the Shores of Tripoli, The Shop Around the Corner), dies at 49
2020 – Tibor Benedek, Hungarian water polo player (Olympic gold 2000, 04, 08; World C’ship gold 2003) and coach (Hungary 2013-16), dies from pancreatic cancer at 47
Famous Deaths for 17th June 2021
1678 – Giacomo Torelli, Italian stage designer, engineer and architect dies at 69
1734 – Claude-Louis-Hector de Villars, Marshal of France, dies at 81
1815 – Hammida, Algerian admiral, dies in battle
1939 – Allen Sothoron, American baseball player, dies at 46
1957 – Esme Percy, British actor (Murder!, Pygmalion, Old Spanish Custom), dies at 69
1957 – D Richardson, writer, dies at 84
1973 – Luis Van Rooten, Mexican-born, American actor, author and translator (One Man’s Family), dies at 66
1973 – Tarsila do Amaral, Brazilian modernist artist, dies at 86
1993 – French of Nouhuys, civil servant in Indonesia, dies at 88
1993 – Angus Suttie, English potter and teacher of art ceramics, dies of AIDS at 46
Historical Events for 17th June 2021
1565 – Matsunaga Hisahide assassinates the 13th Ashikaga shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiteru
1863 – Battle at Middleburg, Virginia
1919 – “Barney Google” cartoon strip, by Billy De Beck, premieres
1938 – Japan declares war on China
1944 – Hitler secretly meets with von Rundstedt in Marjival Soissons
1957 – “So Rare” by Jimmy Dorsey Orch peaks at #2
1975 – Voters in Northern Mariana Islands approve commonwealth status with US
1981 – Battle between Muslims and Christians in Cairo, 14 killed
2006 – Sci-Fi author Anne McCaffrey inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame
2018 – Ivan Duque is elected President of Columbia
Today in History for 17th June 2021
Historical Events
1091 – Floris II de Vette becomes earl of Holland
1863 – Travelers Insurance Co of Hartford chartered (1st accident insurer)
1930 – Continuing a rich vein of form Australian cricket icon Don Bradman scores 131 in 1st Test v England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham
1944 – Resistance fighter and poet Col Blake arrives in London
1992 – Philadelphia 76ers trade Charles Barkley to Phoenix Suns
1997 – NHL announces it will add Nashville in 1998, Atlanta in 1999 and Minneapolis-St Paul and Columbus, Ohio in 2000
Famous Birthdays
1882 – Adolf Friedrich VI, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, born in Neustrelitz, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany (d. 1918)
1883 – Alexandre Eugène Cellier, French organist and composer, born in Molières-sur-Cèze, France (d. 1968)
1907 – Maurice Cloche, French film director and screenwriter, born in Commercy, Meuse, France (d. 1990)
1940 – George Akerlof, American economist (The Market for Lemons) and 2001 Nobel laureate, born in New Haven, Connecticut
1960 – Thomas Haden Church, American actor (Sideways), born in Yolo, California
1962 – Michael Monroe, Finnish singer (Hanoi Rocks), born in Helsinki, Finland
Famous Deaths
1565 – Ashikaga Yoshiteru, Japanese 13th shōgun of the Ashikaga shogunate (1546-65), dies at 29
1815 – Hammida, Algerian admiral, dies in battle
1858 – Rani Lakshmibai, queen of Jhansi in North India, one of the leading figures of the Indian rebellion of 1857 (b. 1828)
2009 – Darrell Powers, American World War II veteran of the United States 101st Airborne Division. (b. 1923)
2015 – Ron Clarke, Australian runner (set 17 world records) and mayor, dies at 78
2019 – Gloria Vanderbilt, American fashion designer, artist, heiress and socialite, dies at 95
Famous Deaths for 16th June 2021
1246 – Lutgardis/Ludgardis, Flemish mystic/saint, dies at about 64
1939 – Chick Webb, American jazz drummer and big band leader (introduced Ella Fitzgerald), dies of Pott’s disease (tuberculosis of the spine), at 34
1944 – Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray, Bengali chemist (founder of Bengal Chemicals And Pharmaceuticals), dies at 82
1961 – O C Scott, cricketer (WI leg-spinner in 8 Tests), dies
1961 – Marcel Junod, Swiss physician (b. 1904)
1967 – Reginald Denny, English actor (Rebecca, Cat Ballou, Batman), dies at 75
1982 – James Honeyman-Scott, English rock guitarist and vocalist (Pretenders), overdoses on drugs at 25
1984 – Harmonica Slim [Travis Blaylock], American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter (“You Better Believe It”), dies at 49
2007 – Pattie D’Arcy, American musical theater, session and touring vocalist (Cher), dies at 54
2007 – Mikhail Kononov, Soviet actor (b. 1940)
Historical Events for 16th June 2021
1815 – Battle at Quatre-Bras: allies strike French
1858 – Abraham Lincoln says “A house divided against itself cannot stand” accepting Illinois Republican Party’s nomination for the Senate
1882 – 17″ hailstones weighing 1.75 lbs fall in Dubuque Iowa
1884 – 1st roller coaster used (Coney Island NY)
1929 – Otto E Funk, 62, ends marathon walk (NY to SF, 4165 miles in 183 days)
1954 – Ngô Đình Diệm elected Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam (South Vietnam)
1958 – “Flip Top Box” by Dicky Doo and The Don’ts hits #46
1974 – French Open Men’s Tennis: Björn Borg of Sweden wins first career Grand Slam title; beats Manuel Orantes of Spain 2-6, 6-7, 6-0, 6-1, 6-1
1992 – Longest salami is 68’9 and 25 circumference, weighed 1,492lbs/5oz in Flekkefjord, Norway
2016 – British MP (L) Jo Cox is shot and killed outside her constituency surgery in Birstall, West Yorkshire
Today in History for 16th June 2021
Historical Events
1624 – Virginia becomes an English crown colony following the bankruptcy of the London Company
1673 – Peace of Vossem: French King Louis XIV and Frederik Willem of Brandenburg
1946 – US Open Men’s Golf, Canterbury GC: World War II veteran Lloyd Mangrum defeats Byron Nelson and Vic Ghezzi in 36 playoff holes to win his only major title
1995 – “Batman Forever” opens with a record $528 million weekend starring Val Kilmer, Chris O’Donnell, Tommy Lee Jones and Nicole Kidman
2013 – “Despicable Me 2” directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud with voices by Steve Carrel and Kristen Wiig premieres at the Champs-Elysées Film Festival
2013 – US Open Men’s Golf, Merion GC: Englishman Justin Rose wins his first major title, 2 strokes ahead of runners-up Jason Day and Phil Mickelson
Famous Birthdays
1874 – Arthur Meighen, 9th Prime Minister of Canada (C: 1920-21, 1926), born in Anderson, Ontario (d. 1960)
1928 – Sergiu Comissiona, Buch Romania, conductor (Haifa Symph 1959-64)
1930 – David Konstant, bishop (Leeds)
1935 – James Bolam, English actor (When the Boat Comes In, The Beiderbecke Trilogy), born in Sunderland, England
1940 – Hans Dorrestijn, Dutch cabaret performer
1962 – Arnold Vosloo, South African actor
Famous Deaths
1792 – Benjamin Tupper, Continental Army officer, and pioneer to the Ohio Country (b. 1738)
1866 – Joseph Méry French poet (b. 1798)
1955 – Ozias Leduc, Canadian painter, dies at 90
1959 – George Reeves, actor (Superman, Gone with the Wind), commits suicide by shooting himself in the head at 45
1971 – Lord Reith, British broadcast executive (b. 1889)
1984 – Lew Andreas, American basketball coach (b. 1895)
Famous Deaths for 15th June 2021
1246 – Frederik II “the Strijdbare”, duke of Austria, dies in battle at 25
1844 – Thomas Campbell, Scottish poet (Ye Mariners of England), dies at 66
1865 – Jakob Zeugheer, Swiss composer, dies at 61
1905 – Hermann Wissmann, German African explorer and governor of East-Africa,, dies at 51
1942 – Vera Figner, writer, dies
1989 – Victor French, American actor (#44-Get Smart, Highway to Heaven), dies at 54
1996 – Clare Grundman, American composer, dies at 83
1996 – Helen Sinclair Glatz, English composer, dies at 88
2006 – Herb Pearson, New Zealand cricketer (b. 1910)
2014 – Casey Kasem, American radio personality (creator of American Top 40) and the voice of Shaggy on Scooby-Doo, dies from Lewy body dementia at 82
Historical Events for 15th June 2021
1929 – 1st time NY curb stock exchange transacts more business than NY Exch
1934 – Great Smokey Mountains National Park dedicated
1940 – World War II: France surrenders to NAZI Germany, German troops occupy Paris
1944 – US forces begin invasion of Saipan in Pacific
1949 – Phils Eddie Waitkus, shot by Ruth Steinhagen, 19, at Eddgewater Hotel
1968 – “New Faces of 1965” closes at Booth Theater, NYC, after 52 performances
1969 – Mets help their power needs by adding 1st baseman Donn Clendenon
1985 – En route to Halley’s Comet, USSR’s Vega 2 drops lander on Venus
2001 – NBA Finals: Los Angeles Lakers beat Philadelphia 76ers, 100-86 in Game 5 to win back-to-back titles; MVP: Shaquille O’Neal for second straight year
2014 – US Open Men’s Golf, Pinehurst Resort: Martin Kaymer of Germany leads wire-to-wire to win his second major title, 8 strokes ahead of runners-up Erik Compton and Rickie Fowler