June 15

## Events 
### Up to 1900 
*763 BC &ndash; The Assyrians record a solar eclipse that is later used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history.
*923 &ndash; Battle of Soissons: King Robert I of France is killed and Charles the Simple is arrested by supporters of Duke Rudolph of Burgundy.
*1184 &ndash; King Magnus V of Norway is killed in battle.
*1215 &ndash; King John of England puts his seal to Magna Carte
*1219 &ndash; Northern Crusades: Danish victory at Battle of Lyndanisse (present-day Tallinn) leads to the Danish Duchy of Estonia being established. In Legend, it was also the first time that the Dannebrog was used.
*1300 &ndash; The city of Bilbao in the Basque Country is founded.
*1389 &ndash; Battle of Kosovo: The Ottoman Empire defeats the Serbs and Bosnians.
*1502 &ndash; Christopher Columbus reaches the island of Martinique.
*1520 &ndash; Pope Leo X threatens to excommunicate Martin Luther.
*1580 &ndash; Philip II of Spain declares William the Silent an outlaw.
*1667 &ndash; The first blood transfusion is administered by Doctor Jean-Baptiste Denys.
*1741 &ndash; Vitus Bering sets sail on his voyage from Petropavlovsk, Russia that will lead him to Alaska.
*1775 &ndash; American Revolutionary War: George Washington is appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army.
*1776 &ndash; Delaware votes to suspend government under the British crown, and separates from Pennsylvania.
*1785 &ndash; Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier, co-pilot of the first-ever manned flight (in 1783), and his companion, Pierre Romain, become the first-ever air crash casualties when their hot-air balloon explodes during their attempt to cross the English Channel.
*1804 &ndash; New Hampshire ratifies the United States Constitution, after approving the 12th Amendment.
*1808 &ndash; Joseph Bonaparte becomes King of Spain.
*1836 &ndash; Arkansas becomes the 25th State of the United States.
*1844 &ndash; Charles Goodyear receives a patent for vulcanization, a process to strengthen rubber.
*1846 &ndash; The Oregon Treaty establishes the 49th parallel as being the longest part of the Canada–United States border.
*1859 &ndash; The shooting of a pig in the San Juan Islands on the Pacific Ocean coast of North America leads to the so-called "Pig War" between the United States and Canada, which was then under British control.
*1862 &ndash; Australian bushranger Frank Gardiner and his gang, hold up a coach carrying gold at Eugowra, New South Wales. This is the biggest  in Australian history.
*1864 &ndash; Arlington National Cemetery is established in the United States.
*1877 &ndash; Henry Ossian Flipper becomes the first African American cadet to graduate from the United States Military Academy.
*1878 &ndash; Eadward Muybridge takes a series of photographs that prove that all four of a horse's legs leave the ground when it is running. This is also a key milestone in the development of moving pictures.
*1888 &ndash; Wilhelm II becomes Kaiser of Germany.
*1896 &ndash; A tsunami in Japan kills more than 22,000 people.

### 1901 &ndash; 2000 
*1904 &ndash; The paddle stramer *General Slocum* sinks on the East River in New York City, killing 1,388 people.
*1910 &ndash; Robert Falcon Scott's ill-fated expedition to Antarctica leaves Cardiff.
*1916 &ndash; Woodrow Wilson signs a bill incorporating the Boy Scouts of America.
*1919 &ndash; John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown complete the first trans-Atlantic flight when they land in Ireland.
*1920 &ndash; A border treaty between Germany and Denmark gives northern Schleswig to Denmark.
*1934 &ndash; Great Smoky Mountains National Park is established in the Appalachian Mountains.
*1937 &ndash; A German expedition led by Karl Wien loses 16 members in an avalanche on Nanga Parbat in the Himalayas.
*1940 &ndash; World War II: Allied troops start to evacuate Paris, following the German take-over.
*1944 &ndash; World War II: The US invades the Japanese-occupied island of Saipan.
*1954 &ndash; UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) is founded.
*1969 &ndash; Georges Pompidou is elected President of France.
*1970 &ndash; Charles Manson goes on trial for the Sharon Tate murders.
*1972 &ndash; Red Army Faction co-founder Ulrike Meinhof is captured by police in Langenhagen.
*1977 &ndash; In the first Spanish election since the Francisco Franco dictatorship, Adolfo Suarez is elected Prime Minister of Spain.
*1978 &ndash; King Hussein of Jordan marries American Lisa Halaby, who chooses to be known as Queen Noor of Jordan.
*1991 &ndash; After showing activity since April 2, the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines enters its most destructive phase.
*1994 &ndash; Formal relations between Israel and Vatican City are officially established.
*1996 &ndash; The Provisional IRA explode a large bomb in the centre of Manchester.

### From 2001 
*2002 &ndash; A near-Earth asteroid misses the Earth by 121,000 kilometres.
*2006 &ndash; Microsoft announces the resignation of its "Chief Software Architect" Bill Gates.
*2008 &ndash; Kosovo's Constitution takes effect, following the declaration of independence in February, which Serbia disagrees with.
*2011 &ndash; 2011 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot: Rioting occurs in Vancouver, Canada, following the Vancouver Canucks ice hockey team's defeat in the final of the Stanley Cup.
*2012 &ndash; Nik Wallenda successfully walks on a tightrope across Niagara Falls.
*2013 &ndash; The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup begins with the Brazil national football team defeating the Japan national football team 3–0.
*2018 &ndash; The Glasgow School of Art's Mackintosh building is hit by a second fire in just over four years, causing a lot of damage to it.

## Births 
### Up to 1900 
* 1330 &ndash; Edward, the Black Prince, heir to the throne of England (d. 1376)
* 1479 &ndash; Lisa del Giocondo, Italian model (d. 1542)
* 1519 &ndash; Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset, son of Henry VIII of England (d. 1536)
* 1534 &ndash; Henri I de Montmorency, French nobleman (d. 1614)
* 1542 &ndash; Richard Grenville, English captain and explorer (d. 1591)
* 1594 &ndash; Nicolas Poussin, French painter (d. 1665)
* 1623 &ndash; Cornelis de Witt, Dutch politician (d. 1672)
* 1640 &ndash; Bernard Lamy, French mathematician (d. 1715)
* 1749 &ndash; Georg Joseph Vogler, German composer, organist and theorist (d. 1814)
* 1763 &ndash; Franz Danzi, German cellist, composer and conductor (d. 1826)
* 1765 &ndash; Martin Baum, American businessman and politician (d. 1831)
* 1765 &ndash; Johann Gottlieb Friedrich von Bonnenberger, German mathematician (d. 1831)
* 1767 &ndash; Rachel Jackson, wife of Andrew Jackson before he became US President (d. 1828)
* 1792 &ndash; Thomas Livingstone Mitchell, Australian explorer (d. 1855)
* 1798 &ndash; Alexander Gorchakov, Russian diplomat (d. 1883)
* 1801 &ndash; Benjamin Wright Raymond, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1883)
* 1805 &ndash; William Butler Ogden, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1877)
* 1835 &ndash; Adah Isaacs Menken, American actress, painter and poet (d. 1868)
* 1843 &ndash; Edvard Grieg, Norwegian composer (d. 1907)
* 1848 &ndash; Gheevarghese Mar Gregorios of Parumala, Indian bishop and saint (d. 1902)
* 1867 &ndash; Konstantin Balmont, Russian songwriter (d. 1942)
* 1875 &ndash; Herman Smith-Johannsen, Norwegian-born cross country skier and supercentenarian (d. 1987)
* 1876 &ndash; Margaret Abbott, American golfer (d. 1955)
* 1882 &ndash; Ion Antonescu, Romanian military leader (d. 1946)
* 1882 &ndash; Morgan Foster Larson, Governor of New Jersey (d. 1961)
* 1884 &ndash; Harry Langdon, American actor (d. 1944)
* 1888 &ndash; Ramón López Velarde, Mexican poet (d. 1921)
* 1890 &ndash; Wilhelm Leuschner, German political activist and member of the Resistance (d. 1944)
* 1894 &ndash; Trygve Gulbranssen, Norwegian writer (d. 1962)
* 1894 &ndash; Robert Russell Bennett, American composer and arranger (d. 1981)
* 1894 &ndash; Nikolai Chebotaryov, Ukrainian mathematician (d. 1947)
* 1900 &ndash; Otto Luening, German-born American composer (d. 1996)

### 1901 &ndash; 1950 
* 1902 &ndash; Erik Erikson, German-born psychoanalyst (d. 1994)
* 1906 &ndash; Gordon Welchman, British mathematician (d. 1985)
* 1908 &ndash; Sam Giancana, American mafioso (d. 1975)
* 1910 &ndash; David Rose, American songwriter, composer and orchestra leader (d. 1990)
* 1911 &ndash; Wilbert Awdry, British children's writer (d. 1997)
* 1914 &ndash; Yuri Andropov, Soviet political leader (d. 1984)
* 1915 &ndash; Thomas Huckle Weller, American virologist (d. 2008)
* 1916 &ndash; Horacio Salgan, Argentine pianist, composer, orchestra leader and arranger
* 1916 &ndash; Herbert Simon, American economist (d. 2001)
* 1917 &ndash; John Bennett Fenn, American chemist (d. 2010)
* 1920 &ndash; Alberto Sordi, Italian actor and director (d. 2003)
* 1923 &ndash; Erland Josephson, Swedish actor (d. 2012)
* 1923 &ndash; Ninian Stephen, 20th Governor-General of Australia (d. 2017)
* 1923 &ndash; Erroll Garner, American jazz pianist and composer (d. 1977)
* 1924 &ndash; Ezer Weizman, President of Israel (d. 2005)
* 1925 &ndash; Richard Baker, English broadcaster (d. 2018)
* 1926 &ndash; Shigeru Kayano, Japanese activist (d. 2006)
* 1927 &ndash; Hugo Pratt, Italian writer and artist (d. 1995)
* 1930 &ndash; John Fretwell, English diplomat (d. 2017)
* 1930 &ndash; Marcel Pronovost, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2015)
* 1932 &ndash; Mario Cuomo, American politician, former Governor of New York (d. 2015)
* 1933 &ndash; Mohammad-Ali Rajai, 2nd President of Iran (d. 1981)
* 1933 &ndash; Yasukazu Tanaka, Japanese footballer
* 1934 &ndash; Rubén Aguirre, Mexican actor (d. 2016)
* 1934 &ndash; Mikel Laboa, Basque singer and songwriter (d. 2008)
* 1936 &ndash; Claude Brasseur, French actor
* 1936 &ndash; William Levada, American cardinal (d. 2019)
* 1937 &ndash; Waylon Jennings, American musician (d. 2002)
* 1937 &ndash; Anna Hazare, Indian activist
* 1938 &ndash; Billy Williams, American baseball player
* 1939 &ndash; Brian Jacques, British writer (d. 2011)
* 1941 &ndash; Harry Nilsson, American singer and composer (d. 1994)
* 1942 &ndash; John E. McLaughlin, American deputy director of the CIA
* 1943 &ndash; Johnny Hallyday, French rock musician and singer (d. 2017)
* 1943 &ndash; Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, former Prime Minister of Denmark
* 1943 &ndash; Muff Winwood, English musician
* 1945 &ndash; Robert Sarah, Guinean cardinal
* 1945 &ndash; Miriam Defensor Santiago, Filipina politician (d. 2016)
* 1946 &ndash; Brigitte Fossey, French actress
* 1946 &ndash; Noddy Holder, British singer (Slade)
* 1946 &ndash; Demis Roussos, Greek singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
* 1948 &ndash; Henry McLeish, 2nd First Minister of Scotland
* 1948 &ndash; Alan Huckle, English politician and diplomat, Governor of Anguilla
* 1948 &ndash; José Huerta, Peruvian politician (d. 2019)
* 1949 &ndash; Simon Callow, English actor
* 1949 &ndash; Simone Rethel, German actress
* 1949 &ndash; Jim Varney, American actor (d. 2000)
* 1950 &ndash; Lakshmi Mittal, Indian industrialist

### 1951 &ndash; 1975 
* 1951 &ndash; John Redwood, English politician
* 1953 &ndash; Rita Lee, American model
* 1953 &ndash; Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China
* 1954 &ndash; James Belushi, American actor
* 1954 &ndash; Beverley Whitfield, Australian swimmer (d. 1996)
* 1955 &ndash; Julie Hagerty, American actress
* 1955 &ndash; David Kennedy, son of Robert F. Kennedy (d. 1984)
* 1955 &ndash; Mauril Bélanger, Canadian politician
* 1956 &ndash; Robin Curtis, American actress
* 1956 &ndash; Yevgeny Kiselyov, Russian journalist
* 1958 &ndash; Wade Boggs, American baseball player
* 1958 &ndash; Riccardo Paletti, Italian racing driver (d. 1982)
* 1959 &ndash; Alan Brazil, Scottish footballer
* 1959 &ndash; Eileen Davidson, American actress
* 1961 &ndash; Laurent Cantet, French director
* 1963 &ndash; Mario Gosselin, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1963 &ndash; Helen Hunt, American actress
* 1963 &ndash; Blanca Portillo, Spanish actress
* 1963 &ndash; Nigel Walker, Welsh rugby player
* 1964 &ndash; Courteney Cox, American actress
* 1964 &ndash; Michael Laudrup, Danish footballer
* 1964 &ndash; Gavin Greenaway, English composer and conductor
* 1965 &ndash; Karim Massimov, 7th Prime Minister of Kazakhstan
* 1966 &ndash; Raimonds Vejonis, 9th President of Latvia
* 1968 &ndash; Samira Ahmed, British journalist and presenter
* 1969 &ndash; Oliver Kahn, German goalkeeper
* 1969 &ndash; Ice Cube, American rapper
* 1969 &ndash; Bashar Warda, Iraqi archbishop
* 1970 &ndash; Leah Remini, American actress
* 1971 &ndash; Edwin Brienen, Dutch-German actor, director and producer
* 1971 &ndash; Bif Naked, Indian-Canadian singer-songwriter, actress and poet
* 1972 &ndash; Marcus Hahnemann, American goalkeeper
* 1973 &ndash; Neil Patrick Harris, American actor, singer and director
* 1973 &ndash; Tore André Flo, Norwegian footballer
* 1973 &ndash; Greg Vaughan, American actor 
* 1974 &ndash; Chakri, Indian movie composer and singer (d. 2014)

### From 1976 
* 1976 &ndash; Gary Lightbody, Northern Irish singer (Snow Patrol)
* 1977 &ndash; Michael Doleac, American basketball player
* 1978 &ndash; Wilfred Bouma, Dutch footballer
* 1979 &ndash; Danielle Lineker, British model
* 1979 &ndash; Yulia Nesterenko, Belarussian athlete
* 1980 &ndash; Iker Romero, Spanish handball player
* 1980 &ndash; Almudena Cid Tastado, Spanish rhythmic gymnast
* 1980 &ndash; Mary Carey, American pornographic actress
* 1981 &ndash; John Paintsil, Ghanaian footballer
* 1981 &ndash; Emma Snowsill, Australian triathlete
* 1981 &ndash; Billy Martin, American musician (Good Charlotte)
* 1982 &ndash; Mike Delany, New Zealand rugby player
* 1982 &ndash; Katie Chapman, English footballer
* 1982 &ndash; Atli Gregersen, Faroese footballer
* 1983 &ndash; Laura Imbruglia, Australian musician
* 1984 &ndash; Amber Coffman, American musician
* 1984 &ndash; Tim Lincecum, American baseball player
* 1985 &ndash; Nadine Coyle, Northern Irish singer (Girls Aloud)
* 1986 &ndash; Stoya, American pornographic actress, writer and model
* 1988 &ndash; Barakat Al-Hartini, Omani sprinter
* 1988 &ndash; Miku Ishida, Japanese singer and actress
* 1990 &ndash; Miwa, Japanese singer-songwriter and musician
* 1990 &ndash; Denzel Whitaker, American actor
* 1992 &ndash; Mohamed Salah, Egyptian footballer
* 1992 &ndash; Dafne Schippers, Dutch heptathlete and sprinter
* 1993 &ndash; Kanna Arihara, Japanese singer (Cute)
* 1994 &ndash; Rina Hidaka, Japanese voice actress
* 1994 &ndash; Iñaki Williams, Spanish footballer

## Deaths 
### Up to 1900 
* 707 &ndash; Emperor Mommu of Japan
* 923 &ndash; King Robert I of France  (b. 866)
* 991 &ndash; Theophanu, consort of Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 960)
* 1073 &ndash; Emperor Go-Sanjo of Japan (b. 1073)
* 1184 &ndash; King Magnus V of Norway (b. 1156)
* 1189 &ndash; Minamoto no Yoritomo, Japanese warrior (b. 1159)
* 1246 &ndash; Frederick II of Austria (b. 1219)
* 1381 &ndash; Wat Tyler, English peasant leader (b. 1341)
* 1383 &ndash; John VI Cantacuzenus, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1292)
* 1389 &ndash; Murad I, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1326)
* 1389 &ndash; Lazar of Serbia, Serbian saint (b. 1329)
* 1416 &ndash; John, Duke of Berry (b. 1340)
* 1467 &ndash; Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1396)
* 1586 &ndash; Primoz Trubar, Slovenian religious reformer (b. 1508)
* 1768 &ndash; James Short, Scottish mathematician and optician (b. 1710)
* 1772 &ndash; Louis-Claude Daguin, French composer (b. 1694)
* 1785 &ndash; Jean Francois Pilatre de Rozier, French physicist and balloonist (b. 1757)
* 1849 &ndash; James K. Polk, 11th President of the United States (b. 1795)
* 1888 &ndash; Kaiser Friedrich III of Germany (b. 1831)
* 1889 &ndash; Mihai Eminescu, Romanian poet (b. 1850)
* 1890 &ndash; Unryu Kyukichi, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1822)

### 1901 &ndash; 2000 
* 1917 &ndash; Kristian Birkeland, Norwegian physicist (b. 1867)
* 1934 &ndash; Alfred Bruneau, French composer (b. 1857)
* 1938 &ndash; Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, German painter and printmaker (b. 1880)
* 1945 &ndash; Carl Gustaf Ekman, Swedish politician (b. 1872)
* 1961 &ndash; Giulio Cabianca, Italian racing driver (b. 1923)
* 1962 &ndash; Alfred Cortot, French-Swiss pianist (b. 1877)
* 1971 &ndash; Wendell Meredith Stanley, American chemist (b. 1904)
* 1976 &ndash; Jimmy Dykes, American baseball player and manager (b. 1896)
* 1982 &ndash; Art Pepper, American saxophonist (b. 1925)
* 1989 &ndash; Maurice Bellemare, Canadian politician (b. 1912)
* 1991 &ndash; Arthur Lewis, British economist (b. 1915)
* 1991 &ndash; Happy Chandler, 44th and 49th Governor of Kentucky and Commissioner of Baseball (b. 1898)
* 1993 &ndash; John Connally, Governor of Texas (b. 1917)
* 1993 &ndash; James Hunt, English racing driver (b. 1947)
* 1994 &ndash; Manos Hadjidakis, Greek composer (b. 1925)
* 1995 &ndash; John Vincent Atanasoff, American computer pioneer (b. 1903)
* 1996 &ndash; Ella Fitzgerald, American singer (b. 1917)
* 1996 &ndash; Fitzroy MacLean, Scottish soldier, writer and politician (b. 1911)

### From 2001 
* 2001 &ndash; Jay Moriarty, American surfer (b. 1978)
* 2002 &ndash; Choi Hong Hi, founder of Taekwondo (b. 1918)
* 2003 &ndash; Hume Cronin, Canadian actor (b. 1911)
* 2005 &ndash; Suzanne Flon, French actress (b. 1918)
* 2007 &ndash; Sherri Martel, American professional wrestler (b. 1958)
* 2008 &ndash; Stan Winston, American filmmaker (b. 1946)
* 2010 &ndash; Heidi Kabel, German actress (b. 1914)
* 2013 &ndash; Heinz Flohe, German footballer (b. 1948)
* 2013 &ndash; Kenneth G. Wilson, American physicist (b. 1936)
* 2013 &ndash; José Froilán González, Argentine racing driver (b. 1922)
* 2014 &ndash; Ray Fox, American NASCAR engine builder and team owner (b. 1916)
* 2014 &ndash; Casey Kasem, American radio presenter, DJ and voice actor (b. 1932)
* 2014 &ndash; Daniel Keyes, American author (b. 1927)
* 2015 &ndash; Jean Doré, Canadian politician, 39th Mayor of Montreal (b. 1944)
* 2015 &ndash; Kirk Kerkorian, American businessman (b. 1917)
* 2015 &ndash; Blaze Starr, American burlesque dancer, stripper and model (b. 1932)
* 2015 &ndash; Jeanna Friske, Russian actress, singer and socialite (b. 1974)
* 2015 &ndash; Harry Rowohlt, German writer (b. 1945)
* 2015 &ndash; Mighty Sam McClain, American soul-blues singer (b. 1943)
* 2016 &ndash; Lois Duncan, American writer (b. 1934)
* 2016 &ndash; Claude Confortès, French actor (b. 1928)
* 2017 &ndash; Aleksey Batalov, Russian actor (b. 1928)
* 2017 &ndash; Ibrahim Abouleish, Egyptian pharmacologist (b. 1937)
* 2017 &ndash; Ajmer Singh Aulakh, Indian playwright (b. 1942)
* 2017 &ndash; P. N. Bhagwati, Indian judge (b. 1921)
* 2017 &ndash; Wilma de Faria, Brazilian politician (b. 1945)
* 2017 &ndash; Bill Dana, American comedian, actor and screenwriter (b. 1924)
* 2018 &ndash; Leslie Grantham, English actor (b. 1947)
* 2018 &ndash; Enoch zu Guttenberg, German conductor (b. 1946)
* 2018 &ndash; Matt Murphy, American blues guitarist (b. 1929)
* 2019 &ndash; Marta Harnecker, Chilean sociologist, political scientist, journalist and activist (b. 1937)
* 2019 &ndash; Wilhelm Holzbauer, Austrian architect (b. 1930)
* 2019 &ndash; Kevin Killian, American poet, author and playwright (b. 1952)
* 2019 &ndash; Franco Zeffirelli, Italian film director (b. 1923)
* 2020 &ndash; Giulio Giorello, Italian philosopher and mathematician (b. 1945)
* 2020 &ndash; Nagendra Nath Jha, Indian politician (b. 1935)
* 2020 &ndash; Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran, Bangladeshi politician (b. 1951)
* 2020 &ndash; Marinho, Brazilian footballer (b. 1957)
* 2020 &ndash; Anton Schlembach, German Roman Catholic prelate (b. 1932)

## Observances 
* Separation Day (Delaware)
* Statehood Day (Arkansas)
* Arbor Day (Costa Rica)
* Flag Day (Denmark)
* National Salvation Day (Azerbaijan)
* Engineers' Day (Italy)
* Global Wind Day
* World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
* Saint Vitus' Day