June 16

Events

• 1487 - Battle of Stoke Field, the last dying breath of the Wars of the Roses
• 1586 - Mary Queen of Scots recognizes Philip II of Spain as her heir
• 1654 - Queen Christina of Sweden abdicates
• 1745 - British troops take Cape Breton Island at the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River
• 1745 - Sir William Pepperell captures the French fortress of Louisburg during the War of the Austrian Succession.
• 1746 - War of Austrian Succession: Austria and Sardinia defeat a Franco-Spanish army at the Battle of Piacenza
• 1755 - French and Indian War: French surrender Fort Beauséjour to the British, leading to the expulsion of the Acadians
• 1774 - Formation of Harrodsburg, Kentucky.
• 1779 - Spain declares war on Britain and the siege of Gibraltar begins
• 1815 - Battle of Ligny and Battle of Quatre Bras, two days before Waterloo.
• 1836 - Formation of the London Working Men's Association begins the Chartist Movement
• 1858 - Abraham Lincoln's House Divided speech in Springfield, Illinois
• 1858 - Battle of Morar, during the Indian Mutiny.
• 1871 - University Tests Act allow students to enter the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Durham without religious tests, except for courses in theology.
• 1884 - The first roller coaster in the United States begins operation at Coney Island, New York
• 1891 - John Abbott becomes Canada's third prime minister
• 1903 - Ford motor company incorporates
• 1915 - foundation of the British Women's Institute
• 1922 - General election in Irish Free State: large majority to pro-Treaty Sinn Fein
• 1924 - Whampoa Military Academy is founded
• 1940 - World War II: Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain becomes Premier of Vichy France
• 1940 - A Communist government is installed in Lithuania
• 1955 - Pope Pius XII excommunicates Juan Perón
• 1956 - Ted Hughes marries Sylvia Plath
• 1961 - Rudolf Nureyev defects at Le Bourget airport in Paris
• 1963 - Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space
• 1966 - The United States Supreme Court hands down its decision in Miranda v. Arizona
• 1972 - Burglars are caught breaking into the United States Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate building
• 1972 - Red Army Faction member Ulrike Meinhof is captured by police in Langenhagen.
• 1972 - Opening of the New York Jazz Museum
• 1972 - Largest single-site hydro-electric power project starts at Churchill Falls Newfoundland
• 1976 - Student riots in Soweto, South Africa
• 1977 - Leonid Brezhnev becomes president of the USSR
• 1981 - Ken Taylor honoured for helping six Americans escape from Iran during hostage crisis
• 1983 - Yuri Andropov becomes president of the USSR
• 1994 - A Chinese operated Northwest Airlines Tupolev TU-154 crashes 10 minutes after takeoff killing 160
• 1996 - First round of voting in the Russian presidential election
• 1999 - Thabo Mbeki elected President of South Africa
• 2002 - Politically Incorrect is cancelled (from sponsors dropping the show) after host Bill Maher makes controversial comments on air regarding the integrity of President George W. Bush.

Births

• 1514 - John Cheke, English classical scholar († 1557)
• 1583 – Axel Oxenstierna, Swedish statesman († 1654)
• 1613 – John Cleveland, English poet († 1658)
• 1644 - Henrietta Anne Stuart, Princess of Scotland, England and Ireland and later Duchess of Orleans († 1670)
• 1738 – Mary Katharine Goddard, early American printer and publisher († 1816)
• 1792 - John Linnell, English artist († 1882)
• 1792 - Sir Thomas Mitchell, Australian explorer († 1855)
• 1801 - Julius Plücker, German mathematician and physicist († 1868)
• 1806 - Edward Davy, English physician, chemist and inventor († 1885)
• 1813 - Otto Jahn, German archaeologist († 1869)
• 1820 - Athanase Coquerel, French protestant preacher († 1875)
• 1826 - Baron von Ettingshausen, Austrian geologist and botanist († 1897)
• 1829 - Geronimo, Apache warrior and leader († 1909)
• 1836 - Wesley Merritt, soldier († 1910 )
• 1837 - Ernst Laas, German philosopher († 1885)
• 1838 - Cushman Davis, politican († 1900)
• 1840 - Ernst Otto Schlick, engineer († 1913)
• 1858 - King Gustav V of Sweden († 1950)
• 1874 - Arthur Meighen, ninth Prime Minister of Canada († 1960)
• 1880 - Otto Eisenschiml, Austrian -American chemist and historian († 1963)
• 1890 - Stan Laurel, actor, comedian († 1965)
• 1897 - Georg Wittig, German chemist, winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1979 († 1987)
• 1902 - Barbara McClintock, geneticist († 1992)
• 1902 - George Gaylord Simpson, paleontologist († 1984)
• 1907 - Jack Albertson, actor († 1981)
• 1909 - Archie Fairley Carr, biologist and expert on turtles († 1987)
• 1910 – Juan Velasco, President of Peru from 1968 to 1975 († 1977)
• 1912 - Enoch Powell, British politician († 1998)
• 1914 - Babe Didrikson Zaharias, athlete († 1956)
• 1916 - Hank Luisetti, baseball player († 2002)
• 1917 - Katharine Graham, Washington Post publisher († 2001)
• 1917 - Irving Penn, photographer
• 1920 – José López Portillo, President of Mexico from 1976 to 1982 († 2004)
• 1927 - Tom Graveney, English cricketer
• 1927 - Herbert Lichtenfeld, author and playwright († 2001)
• 1930 - Vilmos Zsigmond, cinematographer
• 1934 - Dame Eileen Atkins, English actress
• 1935 - Jim Dine, artist
• 1937 - Erich Segal, author
• 1938 - James Bolam, English actor
• 1938 - Joyce Carol Oates, novelist
• 1940 - Neil Goldschmidt, governor of Oregon
• 1941 - Lamont Dozier, record company executive
• 1942 - Giacomo Agostini, Italian motorcyclist
• 1951 - Roberto Durán, boxer
• 1952 - Michel Blanc, French actor
• 1952 - George Papandreou, junior, Greek politician
• 1952 - Gino Vannelli, vocalist, songwriter
• 1955 - Laurie Metcalf, actress
• 1966 - Jan Zelezný, Czech athelete
• 1971 - Tupac Shakur, musician († 1996)

Deaths

• 1464 - Roger van der Weyden, Flemish painter (* 1399)
• 1468 - Jean Le Fevre, Burgundian chronicler (* c1395)
• 1622 - Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline, chancellor of Scotland (* c1555)
• 1626 - Christian the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Wolfenbüttel, Protestant military commander (* 1599)
• 1666 – Richard Fanshawe, English poet, translator and diplomat (* 1608)
• 1671 - Stenka Razin, Cossack rebel leader (executed) (* c1630)
• 1707 – Duchess de Nemours, sovereign princess of Neuchâtel, best known for her Mémoires (* 1625)
• 1722 - John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, English general (* 1650)
• 1752 - Giulio Alberoni, Spanish cardinal (* 1664)
• 1752 - Joseph Butler, English philosopher (* 1692)
• 1777 - Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gresset, French poet and dramatist (* 1709)
• 1778 - Konrad Ekhof, German actor (* 1720)
• 1804 - Johann Hiller, German composer (* 1728)
• 1817 - Alexander Dallas, statesman and financier (* 1759)
• 1848 - Ludwig II, Grand-Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, (* 1777)
• 1849 - Wilhelm Martin Leberecht de Wette, German theologian (* 1780)
• 1855 - John Gorrie, physician, early pioneer in refrigeration (* 1803)
• 1858 - John Snow, English obstetrician (* 1813)
• 1866 - Auguste Barthelemy, French satirical poet (* 1796)
• 1869 - Charles Sturt, English explorer (* 1795)
• 1872 - Norman MacCleod, Scottish clergyman to Queen Victoria (* 1812)
• 1878 - Crawford Long, physician (* 1815)
• 1881 - Sir Josiah Mason, English pen-manufacturer (* 1795)
• 1885 - Wilhelm Camphausen, German painter (* 1818)
• 1894 - William Calder Marshall, Scottish sculptor (* 1813)
• 1900 - Prince Francois, Duke of Joinville, third son of Louis-Philippe of France (* 1818)
• 1925 - Chittaranjan Das, Indian patriot and freedom fighter (* 1870)
• 1930 - Elmer Ambrose Sperry, inventor (* 1860)
• 1940 - DuBose Heyward, writer
• 1944 - Marc Bloch, French historian (executed) (* 1886)
• 1953 - Margaret Bondfield, English politician and feminist (* 1873)
• 1958 - Imre Nagy, former Premier of Hungary (* 1895)
• 1959 - George Reeves, actor, played Superman (* 1914)
• 1969 - Harold Alexander, British military commander (* 1891)
• 1970 - Brian Piccolo, American football player
• 1971 - Lord Reith, first Director-General of the BBC (* 1889)
• 1977 - Wernher von Braun, rocket scientist (* 1912)
• 1979 - Vernon Presley, father of Elvis Presley (* 1916)
• 1979 - Nicholas Ray, film director (* 1911)
• 1986 - Maurice Duruflé, French composer and organist (* 1902)
• 1988 - Kim Milford, actor (* 1951)
• 1993 – Lindsay Hassett, Australian cricketer (* 1913)
• 1996 - Mel Allen, baseball announcer
• 1999 - Screaming Lord Sutch, founder of Britain's Official Monster Raving Loony Party (* 1940)
• 2000 – Dowager Empress Nagako of Japan, consort of Emperor Hirohito (* 1903)
• 2003 - Enrico Baj, Italian avantgarde artist
• 2003 - Georg Henrik von Wright, Finland-Swedish philosopher (* 1916)

Holidays and observances

• South Africa - Youth Day
• Bloomsday, in honour of James Joyce's Ulysses

June 15 - June 17 - May 16 - July 16 -- listing of all days

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Referenced By