Events
334 BC - The Greek army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus.
1176 - Murder attempt by the Hashshashin (Assassins) on Saladin near Aleppo.
1377 - Pope Gregory XI issues five papal bulls to denounce the doctrines of English theologian John Wycliffe.
1455 - Wars of the Roses: At the First Battle of St Albans, Richard, Duke of York, defeats and captures King Henry VI of England.
1762 - Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Hamburg.
1807 - A grand jury indicts former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr on a charge of treason.
1809 - Second and last Day of the Battle of Aspern-Essling (near Vienna), Napoleon was repelled by an enemy army for the first time.
1819 - The SS Savannah leaves port at Savannah, Georgia, United States, on a voyage to become the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The ship arrived at Liverpool, England on June 20.
1826 - The HMS Beagle departed Plymouth with Charles Darwin aboard.
1840 - The transporting of British convicts to the New South Wales colony is abolished.
1842 - Farmers Lester Howe and Henry Wetsel discover Howe Caverns, when they stumble upon a large gaping hole in the ground.
1843 - Thousands of people and their cattle headed west via wagon train from Independence, Missouri to what would later become the Oregon Territory. It was part of the Great Migration. They followed what is now known as the Oregon Trail.
1844 - Persian Prophet The Báb announces His revelation, founding Bábism. He announced to the world of the coming of "He whom God shall make manifest." He is considered the forerunner of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith.
1848 The abolition of slavery in Martinque
1856 - Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina beats Senator Charles Sumner with a cane in the hall of the United States Senate for a speech Sumner had made attacking Southerners who sympathized with the pro-slavery violence in Kansas ("Bleeding Kansas").
1872 - Reconstruction: U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signs the Amnesty Act of 1872 into law restoring full civil rights to all but about 500 Confederate sympathizers.
1903 - Launch of the White Star Liner, SS Ionic.
1906 - The 1906 Summer Olympics, not now recognized as part of the official Olympic Games, opens in Athens.
1906 - Wright brothers are granted U.S. patent number 821,393 for their "Flying-Machine".
1915 - Lassen Peak erupts with a powerful force, and is the only mountain to erupt other than Mount St. Helens in the continental US during the 20th century.
1915 - Five trains collide in the Quintinshill rail crash near Gretna Green, Scotland, killing 227 people and injuring 246; the accident is found to be the result of non-standard operating practices during a shift change at a busy junction.
1936 - Aer Lingus (Aer Loingeas) is founded by the Irish government as the national airline of the Republic of Ireland.
1939 - World War II: Germany and Italy sign the Pact of Steel.
1942 - Mexico enters World War II on the side of the Allies.
1942 - The Steel Workers Organizing Committee disbands, and a new trade union, the United Steelworkers, is formed.
1942 - World War II: Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox enlists in the United States Marine Corps as a flight instructor.
1947 - Cold War: In an effort to fight the spread of Communism, U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs an act into law that will later be called the Truman Doctrine. The act grants $400 million in military and economic aid to Turkey and Greece.
1960 - An earthquake measuring 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale, now known as the Great Chilean Earthquake, hits southern Chile. It is the most powerful earthquake ever recorded.
1962 - Continental Airlines Flight 11 crashes after bombs explode.
1963 - Assassination attempt of Greek left-wing politician Gregoris Lambrakis, who will die five days afterwards.
1964 - U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces the goals of his Great Society social reforms to bring an "end to poverty and racial injustice" in America.
1967 - The L'Innovation department store in the centre of Brussels, Belgium, burns down. It is the most devastating fire in Belgian history, which results in 323 dead and missing and 150 injured.
1968 - The nuclear-powered submarine the USS Scorpion sinks with 99 men aboard 400 miles southwest of the Azores.
1969 - Apollo 10's lunar module flies within 8.4 nautical miles (16 km) of the moon's surface.
1972 - Ceylon adopts a new constitution thus becoming a Republic, changes its name to Sri Lanka, and joins the Commonwealth of Nations.
1990 - North and South Yemen are unified to create the Republic of Yemen.
1990 - The Windows 3.0 operating system is released by Microsoft.
1992 - After 30 years, 66-year-old Johnny Carson hosts The Tonight Show for the last time.
1997 - Kelly Flinn, US Air Force's first female bomber pilot certified for combat, accepts a general discharge in order to avoid a court martial.
1998 - Lewinsky scandal: A federal judge rules that United States Secret Service agents can be compelled to testify before a grand jury concerning the scandal, involving President Bill Clinton.
2002 - In Washington, DC, the remains of the missing Chandra Levy are found in Rock Creek Park.
2002 - American civil rights movement: A jury in Birmingham, Alabama, convicts former Ku Klux Klan member Bobby Frank Cherry of the 1963 murders of four girls in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church.
2003 - In Fort Worth, Texas, Annika Sörenstam becomes the first woman to play the PGA Tour in 58 years.
2004 - Felipe, Prince of Asturias, of the Spanish Royal Family marries Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano.
2004 - The U.S. town of Hallam, Nebraska, is wiped out by a powerful F4 tornado that broke a width record at an astounding 2.5 miles wide. It also killed one local resident.
2006 - Results from the Montenegrin independence referendum, 2006 are announced. 55.4% of voters voted to become independent from the Serbia and Montenegro Union.
Births
1943 - Betty Williams, Northern Irish political activist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
1943 - Gesine Schwan, German politician and science professor
1946 - Howard Kendall, English footballer and football manager
1946 - George Best, Northern Irish footballer (d. 2005)
1950 - Alekos Alavanos, Greek politician
1950 - Bernie Taupin, English songwriter
1952 - Bernhard Brinkmann, German politician
1953 - Doris Barnett, German politician
1953 - Cha Bum-Kun, Korean footballer
1955 - Jimmy Lyon, American guitarist (Eddie Money)
1955 - Dale Winton, British radio DJ and television presenter
1955 - Jerry Dammers, English musician (The Specials)
1955 - Chalmers "Spanky" Alford, American jazz guitarist (d. 2008)
1956 - Al Corley, American actor and producer
1957 - Lisa Murkowski, American politician
1957 - Gary Sweet, Australian actor
1958 - Eric Carlson, American guitarist (The Mentors)
1959 - Steven Morrissey, English singer
1960 - Hideaki Anno, Japanese director
1962 - Brian Pillman, American professional wrestler (d. 1997)
1964 - Ashley Renee, American fetish model
1966 - Kenny Hickey, American guitarist (Type O Negative)
1966 - Jose Mesa, Dominican baseball player
1968 - Kevin Carolan, American actor and comedian
1970 - Naomi Campbell, English model and actress
1970 - Pedro Diniz, Brazilian Formula One driver
1971 - Manuel Ortiz, Mexican professional wrestler
1972 - Annabel Chong, Singapore actress
1972 - Anna Belknap, American actress
1973 - Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Danish actor
1973 - Julián Tavárez, Dominican baseball player
1973 - Danny Tiatto, Australian soccer player
1974 - John Bale, American baseball player
1974 - Sean Gunn, American actor
1974 - A. J. Langer, American actress
1975 - Janne Niinimaa, Finnish ice hockey player
1975 - Tracy Brookshaw, American professional wrestler and valet
1975 - Salvador Ballesta, Spanish Footballer.
1977 - Alastair Ralphs, Canadian professional wrestler
1977 - Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, Irish hurler
1977 - Dre Bly, American Football Player
1978 - Ginnifer Goodwin, American actress
1978 - Katie Price, British model
1979 - Nadia Khan, TV Presenter
1979 - Maggie Q, American actress
1980 - Rhett Fisher, actor/musician
1980 - Steven Baker, Australian rules footballer
1980 - Chad Tracy, American baseball player
1981 - Bryan Danielson, American professional wrestler
1981 - Jürgen Melzer, Austrian tennis player
1982 - Apolo Anton Ohno, American short track speed skater
1982 - John Bobek, American actor
1983 - John Hopkins, Anglo-American motorcycling racer
1984 - Joe Lauzon, American Mixed-Martial Arts fighter
1985 - Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Canadian ice hockey player
1985 - Tranquillo Barnetta, Swiss footballer
1985 - Caridee English, American Model
1987 - Novak Đoković, Serbian tennis player
Deaths
1998 - José Enrique Moyal, mathematical physicist (b. 1910)
2003 - Ousmane Zongo, Burkinabé shooting victim
2004 - Richard Biggs, American actor (b. 1960)
2004 - Mikhail Voronin, Russian gymnast (b. 1945)
2005 - Charilaos Florakis, Greek politician, long-time General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece (b. 1914)
2005 - Julia Randall, American poet (b. 1924)
2005 - Thurl Ravenscroft, American voice actor and singer (b. 1914)
2006 - Lee Jong-wook, Korean Director-General of the World Health Organisation (b. 1945)
2006 - Heather Crowe, Canadian activist (b. 1945)
334 BC - The Greek army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus.
1176 - Murder attempt by the Hashshashin (Assassins) on Saladin near Aleppo.
1377 - Pope Gregory XI issues five papal bulls to denounce the doctrines of English theologian John Wycliffe.
1455 - Wars of the Roses: At the First Battle of St Albans, Richard, Duke of York, defeats and captures King Henry VI of England.
1762 - Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Hamburg.
1807 - A grand jury indicts former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr on a charge of treason.
1809 - Second and last Day of the Battle of Aspern-Essling (near Vienna), Napoleon was repelled by an enemy army for the first time.
1819 - The SS Savannah leaves port at Savannah, Georgia, United States, on a voyage to become the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The ship arrived at Liverpool, England on June 20.
1826 - The HMS Beagle departed Plymouth with Charles Darwin aboard.
1840 - The transporting of British convicts to the New South Wales colony is abolished.
1842 - Farmers Lester Howe and Henry Wetsel discover Howe Caverns, when they stumble upon a large gaping hole in the ground.
1843 - Thousands of people and their cattle headed west via wagon train from Independence, Missouri to what would later become the Oregon Territory. It was part of the Great Migration. They followed what is now known as the Oregon Trail.
1844 - Persian Prophet The Báb announces His revelation, founding Bábism. He announced to the world of the coming of "He whom God shall make manifest." He is considered the forerunner of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith.
1848 The abolition of slavery in Martinque
1856 - Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina beats Senator Charles Sumner with a cane in the hall of the United States Senate for a speech Sumner had made attacking Southerners who sympathized with the pro-slavery violence in Kansas ("Bleeding Kansas").
1872 - Reconstruction: U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signs the Amnesty Act of 1872 into law restoring full civil rights to all but about 500 Confederate sympathizers.
1903 - Launch of the White Star Liner, SS Ionic.
1906 - The 1906 Summer Olympics, not now recognized as part of the official Olympic Games, opens in Athens.
1906 - Wright brothers are granted U.S. patent number 821,393 for their "Flying-Machine".
1915 - Lassen Peak erupts with a powerful force, and is the only mountain to erupt other than Mount St. Helens in the continental US during the 20th century.
1915 - Five trains collide in the Quintinshill rail crash near Gretna Green, Scotland, killing 227 people and injuring 246; the accident is found to be the result of non-standard operating practices during a shift change at a busy junction.
1936 - Aer Lingus (Aer Loingeas) is founded by the Irish government as the national airline of the Republic of Ireland.
1939 - World War II: Germany and Italy sign the Pact of Steel.
1942 - Mexico enters World War II on the side of the Allies.
1942 - The Steel Workers Organizing Committee disbands, and a new trade union, the United Steelworkers, is formed.
1942 - World War II: Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox enlists in the United States Marine Corps as a flight instructor.
1947 - Cold War: In an effort to fight the spread of Communism, U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs an act into law that will later be called the Truman Doctrine. The act grants $400 million in military and economic aid to Turkey and Greece.
1960 - An earthquake measuring 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale, now known as the Great Chilean Earthquake, hits southern Chile. It is the most powerful earthquake ever recorded.
1962 - Continental Airlines Flight 11 crashes after bombs explode.
1963 - Assassination attempt of Greek left-wing politician Gregoris Lambrakis, who will die five days afterwards.
1964 - U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces the goals of his Great Society social reforms to bring an "end to poverty and racial injustice" in America.
1967 - The L'Innovation department store in the centre of Brussels, Belgium, burns down. It is the most devastating fire in Belgian history, which results in 323 dead and missing and 150 injured.
1968 - The nuclear-powered submarine the USS Scorpion sinks with 99 men aboard 400 miles southwest of the Azores.
1969 - Apollo 10's lunar module flies within 8.4 nautical miles (16 km) of the moon's surface.
1972 - Ceylon adopts a new constitution thus becoming a Republic, changes its name to Sri Lanka, and joins the Commonwealth of Nations.
1990 - North and South Yemen are unified to create the Republic of Yemen.
1990 - The Windows 3.0 operating system is released by Microsoft.
1992 - After 30 years, 66-year-old Johnny Carson hosts The Tonight Show for the last time.
1997 - Kelly Flinn, US Air Force's first female bomber pilot certified for combat, accepts a general discharge in order to avoid a court martial.
1998 - Lewinsky scandal: A federal judge rules that United States Secret Service agents can be compelled to testify before a grand jury concerning the scandal, involving President Bill Clinton.
2002 - In Washington, DC, the remains of the missing Chandra Levy are found in Rock Creek Park.
2002 - American civil rights movement: A jury in Birmingham, Alabama, convicts former Ku Klux Klan member Bobby Frank Cherry of the 1963 murders of four girls in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church.
2003 - In Fort Worth, Texas, Annika Sörenstam becomes the first woman to play the PGA Tour in 58 years.
2004 - Felipe, Prince of Asturias, of the Spanish Royal Family marries Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano.
2004 - The U.S. town of Hallam, Nebraska, is wiped out by a powerful F4 tornado that broke a width record at an astounding 2.5 miles wide. It also killed one local resident.
2006 - Results from the Montenegrin independence referendum, 2006 are announced. 55.4% of voters voted to become independent from the Serbia and Montenegro Union.
Births
1943 - Betty Williams, Northern Irish political activist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
1943 - Gesine Schwan, German politician and science professor
1946 - Howard Kendall, English footballer and football manager
1946 - George Best, Northern Irish footballer (d. 2005)
1950 - Alekos Alavanos, Greek politician
1950 - Bernie Taupin, English songwriter
1952 - Bernhard Brinkmann, German politician
1953 - Doris Barnett, German politician
1953 - Cha Bum-Kun, Korean footballer
1955 - Jimmy Lyon, American guitarist (Eddie Money)
1955 - Dale Winton, British radio DJ and television presenter
1955 - Jerry Dammers, English musician (The Specials)
1955 - Chalmers "Spanky" Alford, American jazz guitarist (d. 2008)
1956 - Al Corley, American actor and producer
1957 - Lisa Murkowski, American politician
1957 - Gary Sweet, Australian actor
1958 - Eric Carlson, American guitarist (The Mentors)
1959 - Steven Morrissey, English singer
1960 - Hideaki Anno, Japanese director
1962 - Brian Pillman, American professional wrestler (d. 1997)
1964 - Ashley Renee, American fetish model
1966 - Kenny Hickey, American guitarist (Type O Negative)
1966 - Jose Mesa, Dominican baseball player
1968 - Kevin Carolan, American actor and comedian
1970 - Naomi Campbell, English model and actress
1970 - Pedro Diniz, Brazilian Formula One driver
1971 - Manuel Ortiz, Mexican professional wrestler
1972 - Annabel Chong, Singapore actress
1972 - Anna Belknap, American actress
1973 - Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Danish actor
1973 - Julián Tavárez, Dominican baseball player
1973 - Danny Tiatto, Australian soccer player
1974 - John Bale, American baseball player
1974 - Sean Gunn, American actor
1974 - A. J. Langer, American actress
1975 - Janne Niinimaa, Finnish ice hockey player
1975 - Tracy Brookshaw, American professional wrestler and valet
1975 - Salvador Ballesta, Spanish Footballer.
1977 - Alastair Ralphs, Canadian professional wrestler
1977 - Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, Irish hurler
1977 - Dre Bly, American Football Player
1978 - Ginnifer Goodwin, American actress
1978 - Katie Price, British model
1979 - Nadia Khan, TV Presenter
1979 - Maggie Q, American actress
1980 - Rhett Fisher, actor/musician
1980 - Steven Baker, Australian rules footballer
1980 - Chad Tracy, American baseball player
1981 - Bryan Danielson, American professional wrestler
1981 - Jürgen Melzer, Austrian tennis player
1982 - Apolo Anton Ohno, American short track speed skater
1982 - John Bobek, American actor
1983 - John Hopkins, Anglo-American motorcycling racer
1984 - Joe Lauzon, American Mixed-Martial Arts fighter
1985 - Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Canadian ice hockey player
1985 - Tranquillo Barnetta, Swiss footballer
1985 - Caridee English, American Model
1987 - Novak Đoković, Serbian tennis player
Deaths
1998 - José Enrique Moyal, mathematical physicist (b. 1910)
2003 - Ousmane Zongo, Burkinabé shooting victim
2004 - Richard Biggs, American actor (b. 1960)
2004 - Mikhail Voronin, Russian gymnast (b. 1945)
2005 - Charilaos Florakis, Greek politician, long-time General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece (b. 1914)
2005 - Julia Randall, American poet (b. 1924)
2005 - Thurl Ravenscroft, American voice actor and singer (b. 1914)
2006 - Lee Jong-wook, Korean Director-General of the World Health Organisation (b. 1945)
2006 - Heather Crowe, Canadian activist (b. 1945)
