June 26
June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 188 days remaining.
Events
- 684 - Benedict II becomes Pope.
- 1284 - According to legend, the Pied Piper lures 130 children of Hamelin away.
- 1409 - Western Schism: The Catholic church is led into a double schism as Petros Philargos is crowned Pope Alexander V after the Council of Pisa, joining Pope Gregory XII in Rome and Pope Benedict XII in Avignon.
- 1483 - Richard III becomes king of England.
- 1807 - Lightning hits a warehouse in Luxembourg,killing 230 people.
- 1819 - The bicycle is patented.
- 1924 - American occupying forces leave the Dominican Republic.
- 1934 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Federal Credit Union Act, which establishes credit unions.
- 1934 - Initial flight of the Focke-Wulf Fw 61, the first practical helicopter.
- 1940 - World War II: Under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet Union presents an ultimatum to Romania requiring it to cede Bessarabia and northern part of Bukovina.
- 1945 - The United Nations Charter is signed.
- 1948 - The Western allies start an airlift to Berlin after the Soviet Union has blockaded West Berlin.
- 1959 - The Saint Lawrence Seaway opens, opening North America's Great Lakes to ocean-going ships.
- 1960 - Former British Protectorate of Somaliland British Somaliland gains its independence
- 1963 - John F. Kennedy speaks the famous words "Ich bin ein Berliner" on a visit to West Berlin.
- 1964 - The Beatles release the album A Hard Day's Night.
- 1973 - On Plesetsk Cosmodrome 9 persons were killed at an explosion of a Cosmos 3-M rocket.
- 1974 - The first retail product (a pack of chewing gum) was sold using a barcode reader.
- 1975 - Indira Gandhi establishes authoritarian rule in India.
- 1977 - Last concert of Elvis Presley.
- 1979 - Muhammad Ali retires.
- 1997 - The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Communications Decency Act violates the First Amendment.
- 1997 - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the U.S.), the first book in J.K. Rowling's hugely popular Harry Potter series, is published.
- 2003 - The U.S. Supreme Court rules that sodomy laws are unconstitutional in Lawrence v. Texas.
Births
- 1681 - Hedwig Sophia, duchess of Holstein-Gottorp, Swedish writer (d. 1708)
- 1689 - Edward Holyoke, American President of Harvard University (d. 1769)
- 1694 - Georg Brandt, Swedish chemist and minerologist (d. 1768)
- 1702 - Philip Doddridge, English religious leader (d. 1751)
- 1703 - Thomas Clap, first president of Yale University (d. 1767)
- 1824 - Lord Kelvin, Irish-born physicist (d. 1907)
- 1854 - Robert Laird Borden, eighth Prime Minister of Canada
- 1865 - Bernard Berenson, American art historian (d. 1959)
- 1866 - George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, English financier of Egyptian excavations (d. 1923)
- 1892 - Pearl S. Buck, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
- 1898 - Willy Messerschmitt, German aircraft designer (d. 1978)
- 1899 - Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (d. 1918)
- 1904 - Peter Lorre, Hungarian-born actor (d. 1964)
- 1906 - Alberto Rabagliati, Italian singer and actor (d. 1974)
- 1909 - Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's manager (d. 1997)
- 1911 - Babe Didrikson Zaharias, American athlete and golfer (d. 1956)
- 1912 - Jay Silverheels, American actor (d. 1980)
- 1919 - Richard Neustadt, American political historian (d. 2003)
- 1925 - Pavel Belyayev, cosmonaut (d. 1970)
- 1926 - Frank Scott Hogg, Canadian astronomer (d. 1951)
- 1933 - Claudio Abbado, Italian conductor
- 1934 - Jeremy Wolfenden, British journalist (d. 1965)
- 1936 - Robert Maclennan, British politician
- 1937 - Robert Coleman Richardson, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1942 - Gilberto Gil, first Minister of Culture of Brazil, singer, songwriter, and musician
- 1945 - Dwight York, American musician, fashion consultant, cult leader, and child molester
- 1954 - Steve Barton, American actor, singer, and dancer
- 1955 - Mick Jones, British guitarist (The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite)
- 1956 - Chris Isaak, American singer
- 1959 - Mark McKinney, Canadian actor
- 1961 - Greg Lemond, American cyclist
- 1963 - Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, Russian businessman
- 1968 - Rich Eisen, sports broadcaster
- 1968 - Shannon Sharpe, American football player and commentator
- 1968 - Paolo Maldini, Italian footballer
- 1969 - Colin Greenwood, British musician (Radiohead)
- 1970 - Chris O'Donnell, American actor
- 1973 - Gretchen Wilson, American singer
- 1974 - Derek Jeter, baseball player
- 1977 - Kubo Tite, Japanese cartoonist
- 1980 - Jason Schwartzman, American actor
- 1980 - Michael Vick, American football player
- 1985 - Urgyen Trinley Dorje, Tibetan spiritual leader
- 2005 - Princess Alexia of the Netherlands
Deaths
- 363 - Julian the Apostate, Roman Emperor (killed in battle)
- 1291 - Eleanor of Provence, queen of Henry II of England
- 1541 - Francisco Pizarro, Spanish conqueror of Peru (murdered)
- 1688 - Ralph Cudworth, English philosopher (b. 1617)
- 1922 - Albert I, Prince of Monaco (b. 1848)
- 1939 - Ford Maddox Ford, English writer (b. 1873)
- 1947 - Richard Bedford Bennett, eleventh Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1870)
- 1957 - Alfred Döblin, German writer (b. 1878)
- 1958 - Andrija Štampar, Croatian physician and United Nations diplomat (b. 1888)
- 1958 - George Orton, Canadian athlete (b. 1873)
- 1964 - Gerrit Rietveld, Dutch architect (b. 1888)
- 1968 - Tony Hancock, English comedian (b. 1928)
- 1975 - St. Josemaría Escrivá, Spanish Catholic priest (b. 1902)
- 1984 - Michel Foucault, French literary theorist (b. 1926)
- 1993 - William H. Riker, American political scientist (b. 1920)
- 1997 - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, Hawaiian singer (b. 1959)
- 2002 - Jay Berwanger, American football player (b. 1914)
- 2003- Strom Thurmond, U.S. Senator (b. 1902)
- 2003- Marc-Vivien Foé, Cameroonian footballer (b. 1975)
- 2004 - Yash Johar, Indian film producer (b. 1929)
- 2005 - Richard Whiteley, British television presenter (b. 1943)
Holidays and observances
- The United Nations' Day in Support of Victims of Torture.
- Flag Day in Romania
External links
June 25 - June 27 - May 26 - July 26 -- listing of all days