June 30

Birthdays:

1966~ Mike Tyson (né Michael Gerard Tyson), American boxer.

1959~ Vincent D’Onofrio (né Vincent Philip D’Onofrio), American actor best known for his role as Detective Robert Goren on CSI: Criminal Intent.

1956~ David Alan Grier, African-American actor and comedian.

1952~ Athanassios Fokas (né Athanassios Spyridon Fokas), Greek mathematician.

1950~ Leonard Whiting, English actor best known for his role as Romeo in the 1968 movie, Romeo and Juliette.

1947~ Barry Bremen (d. June 30, 2011), American known as The Big Imposter who made it into the big leagues.  He was a businessman who bluffed his way into being an umpire at major league baseball games.  He died of esophageal cancer on his 64^th birthday.

1943~ Florence Ballard (née Florence Glenda Ballard; d. Feb. 22, 1976), American singer and member of The Supremes.  She died of a heart attack at age 32.

1930~ Thomas Sowell, African-American economist and social theorist.

1928~ Hassan Hassanzadeh Amoli, Islamic philosopher, religious leader and mathematician.

1926~ Paul Berg, American biochemist and recipient of the 1980 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in nucleic acids.

1917~ Susan Hayward (née Edythe Marrenner; d. Mar. 14, 1975), American actress.  She died at age 57 of brain cancer.

1917~ Lena Horne (née Lena Mary Calhoun Horne; d. May 9, 2010), American singer and actress.  She died of heart failure at age 92.

1911~ Czesław Miłosz (d. Aug. 14, 2004), Polish author and recipient of the 1980 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He became an American citizen in 1970.  He died at age 93.

1819~ William A. Wheeler (né William Almon Wheeler; d. June 4, 1887), 19^th Vice President of the United States.  He served under President Rutherford B. Hayes from March 1877 until March 1881.  He was a graduate of the University of Vermont.  He died 26 days before his 68^th birthday.

1817~ Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (d. Dec. 10, 1911), English botanist.  He died at age 94.

1769~ Pierre Derbigny (né Pierre Augustin Charles Bourguignon Derbigny; d. Oct. 6, 1829), 6^thGovernor of Louisiana.  He served as Governor for only 10 months, the shortest term of any elected governor of Louisiana.  He was killed after being thrown from a horse-drawn carriage while visiting in Gretna, Louisiana.  He is buried in the St. Louis Cemetery No. 1.  He was 60 years old at the time of his death.  He also has the distinction of having been only one of four governors to have died while in office, three of whom also died during the month of October.

1768~ Elizabeth Monroe (née Elizabeth Jane Kortright; d. Sept 23, 1830), First Lady and wife of President James Monroe.  She died at age 62.

1470~ Charles VIII of France (d. Apr. 7, 1498).  He became king at age 13.  He was King from August 1483 until his death in April 1498.  He died at age 27 when he struck his head on the lintel of a door.  He is believed to have suffered from a subdural hematoma.

Events that Changed the World:

2013~ While controlling a wildfire in Yarnell, Arizona, 19 firefighters were killed.

1997~ The United Kingdom transferred sovereignty over Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China.

1992~ British former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (1925 ~ 2013) joined the House of Lords as Baroness Thatcher.  She had been named a peer of the realm earlier this month.

1986~ The United States Supreme Court ruling in Bowers v. Hardwick decriminalizing homosexual acts between consenting adults. Justice Byron White drafted the majority opinion.

1971~ Ohio ratified the 26^th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which lowered the voting age to 18.  With Ohio’s ratification, the Amendment became the law of the land.

1966~ The National Organization for Women (NOW) was founded.  Betty Friedan (1921 ~ 2006) and Shirley Chisholm (1924 ~ 2005) were two of its founding members.

1960~ The Congo gained its independence from Belgium.

1953~ The first Corvette was produced.

1936~ Margaret Mitchell’s novel, Gone with the Wind, was published.

1934~ In what is now known as the Night of the Long Knives, Hitler’s men became involved in a violent purging of his political rivals.

1921~ Former President William Taft (1857 ~ 1930) was nominated as Chief Justice of the United States by President Warren Harding (1865 ~ 1923).

1906~ The United States Congress passed the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act, which is now known as the Food and Drugs Act.

1905~ Albert Einstein’s article On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, was published.  This introduced his theory of special relativity to the world.

1864~ President Abraham Lincoln (1809 ~ 1865) granted Yosemite Valley to California for “public use, resort and recreation.”

1859~ French acrobat and tightrope walker Charles Blondin (né Jean François Gravelet; 1824 ~ 1897) crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope.

Good-Byes:

2014~ Paul Mazursky (né Irwin Lawrence Mazursky; b. Apr. 25, 1930), American film director. He died of cardiac arrest at age 84.

2012~ Yitzhak Shamir (né Yitzhak Yezernitsky; b. Oct. 22, 1915), Prime Minister of Israel.  He served as Prime Minister for two terms.  His first term ran from October 1983 until September 1984. His second term ran from October 1986 until July 1992.  He was born in Russia.  He died at age 96 in Tel Aviv.

2011~ Barry Bremen (b. June 30, 1947), American known as The Big Imposter who made it into the big leagues.  He was a businessman who bluffed his way into being an umpire at major league baseball games.  He died of esophageal cancer on his 64^th birthday.

2004~ Professor Dame Rosalinde Hurley (aka Mrs. Gortval, b. Dec. 30, 1929), British physician, microbiologist public health administrator and barrister.  She died at age 74.

2003~ Robert McCloskey (né John Robert McCloskey; b. Sept. 14, 1915), American children’s author and illustrator. He is best known for his book, Make Way for Ducklings.  He died at age 88 in Deer Isle, Maine.

1984~ Lillian Hellman (née Lillian Florence Hellman, b. June 20, 1905), American playwright.  She was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.  She died in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts 10 days after her 79^th birthday.

1973~ Nancy Mitford (b. Nov. 28, 1904), British novelist.  She died at age 68.

1961~ Lee de Forest (d. Aug. 26, 1873), American inventor, best known for the invention Audion, a form of vacuum tube that amplifies weak electrical signals.  He died at age 87.

1919~ John Strutt, 3^rd Baron Rayleigh (né John William Strutt; b. Nov. 12, 1842), English physicist and recipient of the 1904 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of argon.  He died at age 76.

1816~ Paul Hamilton (b. Oct. 16, 1762), 3^rd United States Secretary of the Navy.  He was appointed to the position by President James Madison.  He served in that Office from May 1809 until January 1813.  He died at age 53.

1785~ James Oglethorpe (b. Dec. 22, 1696), English general and founder of the colony of Georgia in what would later become the United States.  He died at age 88.

1660~ William Oughtred (b. Mar. 5, 1575), English mathematician and Anglican priest.  He died at age 86.

June 29

Birthdays:

1972~ Samantha Smith (née Samantha Reed Smith; d. Aug. 25, 1985), American peace activist from Houlton, Maine.  In 1982, she wrote a letter to Russian General Secretary Yuri Andropov and received a personal reply and an invitation to visit the Soviet Union.  She was killed in a small private plane crash at age 13.

1961~ Sharon Lawrence (née Sharon Elizabeth Lawrence), American actress.

1949~ Ann Veneman (née Ann Margaret Veneman), 27^th United States Secretary of Agriculture.  She served under President George W. Bush from January 2001 through January 2005.

1948~ Fred Grandy (né Frederick Lawrence Grandy), American actor and politician.  He is best known for his portrayal of Gopher on the Love Boat.  He later went on to become a United States Representative from Iowa.

1947~ Richard Lewis (né Richard Philip Lewis), American comedian.

1944~ Gary Busey (né William Gary Busey), American actor.

1941~ Stokely Carmichael (né Stokley Standiford Churchill Carmichael; d. Nov. 15, 1998), Trinidadian-American civil rights activist.  He died of prostate cancer at age 57.

1936~ Harmon Killebrew (né Harmon Clayton Killebrew, Jr.; d. May 17, 2011), American baseball player.  He was the gentle slugger who was beloved by his team.  He died at age 74.

1930~ Robert Evans (né Robert J. Shapera), American actor and movie producer.

1929~ Orina Fallaci (d. Sept. 15, 2006), Italian journalist and writer.  She died of lung cancer at age 77.

1926~ Sir Rex Hunt (né Rex Masterman Hunt; d. Nov. 11, 2012), British governor who defied Argentina during the Falkland Islands War in 1982.  He was 86 years old.

1920~ Ray Harryhausen (néRaymond Frederick Harryhausen; d. May 7, 2013), American animator who made onscreen magic.  He is best known for stop motion model animation, known as Dynamation.  He died at age 92.

1919~ Slim Pickens (né Louis Burton Lindley, Jr.; d. Dec. 8, 1983), American actor.   He is best remembered for his role in Dr. Strangelove.  He died following complications of surgery to remove a brain tumor.  He was 64 years old.

1916~ Ruth Warrick (née Ruth Elizabeth Warrick; d. Jan. 15, 2005), American singer and actress who made her screen debut in Citizen Kane.  She played Emily Norton Kane, the aloof, icy first wife of the fictional publisher Charles Foster Kane in the film.  She died of pneumonia at age 88.

1914~ Christos Papakyriakopoulos (d. June 29, 1976), Greek mathematician.  He died of stomach cancer on his 62^nd birthday.

1911~ Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands (d. Dec. 1, 2004),Prince consort of the Netherlands.  He was the husband of Queen Juliana.  He died at age 93.

1904~ Witold Hurewics (d. Sept. 6, 1956), Polish mathematician.  He died at age 52 from a fall from a Mayan step pyramid in Mexico City.

1901~ Nelson Eddy (né Nelson Ackerman Eddy; d. Mar. 6, 1967), American singer and actor.  He died at age 65 of a cerebral hemorrhage.

1900~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (disappeared July 31, 1944), French pilot and writer, best known for The Little Prince.  During World War II, while on a reconnaissance mission in July 1944, he disappeared and was presumed killed.  He was 44 years old.

1880~ Harry Frazee (né Harry Herbert Frazee; d. June 4, 1929), American theatrical agent and former owner of the Boston Red Sox from 1916 to 1923.  He is best known for being responsible for selling Babe Ruth to the rival team, the New York Yankees.  He died of kidney failure three weeks before his 49^th birthday.

1868~ George Ellery Hale (d. Feb. 21, 1938), American astronomer.  He died at age 69.

1861~ William James Mayo (d. July 28, 1939), American physician and one of the seven founders of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.  He died a month after his 78^th birthday.

1858~ Julia Lathrop (née Julia Clifford Lathrop; d. Apr. 15, 1932), American social activist. She served as the 1^st Director of the United States Children’s Bureau.  She was the first woman to head a federal bureau.  She died at age 73.

1858~ George Washington Goethals (d. Jan. 21, 1928), American general and civil engineer.  He was the co-designer of the Panama Canal.  He served as the 1^st Governor of the Panama Canal Zone.  He died at age 69.

1849~ Pedro Montt (d. Aug. 16, 1910), President of Chile.  He served as President from September 1906 until his death at age 61 of a stroke in August 1910.

1884~ Peter I of Serbia (d. Aug. 16, 1921), 1^st King of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.  He was King from December 1918 until his death at age 77 in August 1921.

1793~ Josef Ressel (né Josef Ludwig Franz Ressel; d. Oct. 9, 1857), Bohemian inventor who designed the ship propeller.  He died at age 64.

1482~ Maria of Aragon (d. Mar. 7, 1517), Queen consort of Portugal and the Algarves.  She was the 2^nd wife of Manuel I, King of Portugal.  She was of the House of Trastámara.  She died of complications of pregnancy at age 34.

Events that Changed the World:

2014~ The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) self-declared its caliphate in Syria and northern Iraq.  This group is sometimes referred to as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

2012~ A derecho hit the eastern United States leaving at least 22 people dead and millions without power.

2009~ Bernard Madoff (b. 1938) was sentenced to 150 years in prison for his Ponzi scheme.

2007~ The first iPhones were made available from Apple, Inc.

1995~ The United States Space Shuttle Program, the STS-71 Mission (AtlantisMission) docked with the Russian space station, Mir, for the first time.

1976~ The Seychelles became independent from the United Kingdom.

1974~ Mikhail Baryshnikov (b. 1948) defected from the Soviet Union to Canada while on tour with the Bolshoi Ballet.

1974~ Isabel Perón (b. 1931) was sworn in as the first female president of Argentina.  Her husband, President Juan Perón (1895 ~ 1974) had delegated the responsibilities to her, citing ill health.  He died on July 1, 1974, two days after Isabel became president.

1972~ In the case of Furman v. Georgia, the US Supreme Court ruled that the arbitrary and inconsistent imposition of the death penalty violated the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, and therefore constituted cruel and unusual punishment.

1956~ The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 became law, officially creating the United States Interstate Highway System.

1889~ Hyde Park and several other townships in Illinois voted to be annexed by Chicago, thereby making the largest city in the United States in area and the second largest in population.

1613~ The Globe Theater in London, England burned to the ground.  Many Shakespeare plays were staged in this theater.  It would be over 300 years before a new Globe Theater would be rebuilt.

1534~ Jacques Cartier (1491 ~ 1557) became the first recorded European to reach what is now known as Prince Edward Island, Canada.

Good-Byes:

2018~ Steve Ditko (né Stephen J. Ditko, b. Nov. 2, 1927), American enigmatic comic artist who helped create Spider-Man.  He died at age 90.

2018~ Arvid Carlsson (b. Jan. 25, 1923), Swedish biochemist and recipient of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work with the neurotransmitter dopamine and its effects in Parkinson’s disease.  He died at age 95.

2003~ Katherine Hepburn (née Katherine Houghton Hepburn; b. May 12, 1907), American actress.  She died at age 96.

2002~ Rosemary Clooney (b. May 23, 1928), American singer and actress.  She died of lung cancer a little over a month after her 74^th birthday.

1995~ Lana Turner (née Julia Jean Turner; b. Feb. 8, 1921), American actress.  She died of esophageal cancer at age 74.

1990~ Irving Wallace (b. Mar. 19, 1916), American journalist and author.  He died of pancreatic cancer at age 74.

1978~ Bob Crain (né Robert Edward Crane; b. July 13, 1928), American actor best known for his role as Colonel Hogan on the TV show Hogan’s Heroes.  He died under mysterious circumstances two weeks before his 50^th birthday.

1977~ Magda Lupescu (née Elena Lupescu, b. Sept 15, 1895), Romanian mistress of King Carol II of Romania.  After his abduction, she became his wife.  She died at age 81.

1976~ Christos Papakyriakopoulos (b. June 29, 1914), Greek mathematician.  He died of stomach cancer on his 62^nd birthday.

1967~ Jayne Mansfield (née Vera Jayne Palmer; b. Apr. 19, 1933), American actress.  She was killed in a car accident in Slidell, Louisiana.  She was 34 years old at the time of her death. One of her daughters is Mariska Hargitay (b. 1964), an actress known for her role as Detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victim’s Unit.

1940~ Paul Klee (b. Dec. 18, 1879), Swiss-German painter.  He died at age 60.

1933~ Fatty Arbuckle (né Roscoe Conkling Arbuckle; b. Mar. 24, 1887), American actor.  He was one of the most popular silent film stars of the 1910s.  He was accused of the rape and manslaughter of a young actress, but was ultimately acquitted after three trials.  He died of a heart attack at age 46.

1925~ Christian Michelsen (b. Mar. 15, 1857), 1^st Prime Minister of independent Norway.  He served as Prime Minister from March 1905 until October 1907 during the reign of King Haakon VII.  He died at age 68.

1921~ Lady Randolph Churchill, Jeanette Jerome (née Jennie Jerome; b. Jan. 9, 1854), American socialite and mother of Winston Churchill.  When she married her first husband, Lord Randolph Churchill, she became Lady Randolph Churchill.  She died of a hemorrhage following the amputation of her left leg.  Her leg required the amputation as a result an injury from a fall in which she broke her ankle.  She was 67 years old.

1900~ Ivan Mekheevich Pervushin (b. Jan. 15, 1827), Russian mathematician.  He died at age 73.

1895~ Thomas Huxley (né Thomas Henry Huxley; b. May 4, 1825), English botanist.  He died at age 70.

1882~ Joseph Hansom (né Joseph Aloysius Hansom; b. Oct. 26, 1803), English architect and inventor of the Hansom cab.  He died at age 73.

1861~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning (née Elizabeth Barrett Moulton-Barrett; b. Mar. 6, 1806), English poet.  She died of an illness at age 55.

1852~ Henry Clay, Sr. (b. Apr. 12, 1777), 9^th United States Secretary of State.  He served under President John Quincy Adams from March 1825 until March 1929.  He had also served as the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.  He died at age 75.

1252~ Abel, King of Denmark (b. 1218).  He became king following the death of his brother, Eric IV, of whom he is suspected of murdering.  He reigned as king from November 1250 until his death a year and a half later.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been about 33 or 34 at the time of his death.

226~ Cao Pi (b. 187), Chinese emperor of the Cao Wei.  The exact date of his birth is not known.

June 28

Birthdays:

1994~ Hussein, Crown Prince of Jordan.

1971~ Elon Musk (né Elon Reeve Musk), South-African born businessman.

1971~ Ngô Bào Châu, Vietnamese mathematician.  He was the recipient of the 2010 Fields Medal.

1966~ John Cusack (né John Paul Cusack), American actor.

1966~ Mary Stuart Masterson, American actress.

1957~ Georgi Parvanov, President of Bulgaria.  He was president from January 2002 through January 2012.

1948~ Kathy Bates (née Kathleen Doyle Bates), American actress.

1948~ Deborah Moggach (née Deborah Hough), British novelist.  She is best known for her historical novel Tulip Fever.

1947~ Mark Helprin, American novelist.

1946~ Gilda Radner (née Gilda Susan Radner; d. May 20, 1989), American comedian and actress.  She died of uterine cancer about a month before her 43^rd birthday.

1943~ Klaus von Klitzing, German physicist and recipient of the 1985 Nobel Prize in Physics.

1940~ Muhammad Yunus, Bangladeshi economist and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.

1938~ Leon Panetta (né Leon Edward Panetta), 23^rd United States Secretary of Defense.  He served under President Barack Obama from July 2011 through February 2013.  He had previously served as the 3^rd Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from February 2009 until June 2011.  During the Clinton administration, he served as the 18^th White House Chief of Staff.

1937~ Thomas Magliozzi (d. Nov. 3, 2014), American radio personality and host who got laughs out of auto repair.  He, along with his brother, Ray Magliozzi (b. 1949), were known as Click and Clack, the Tappit Brothers on NPR’s Car Talk.  He died at age 77.

1932~ Pat Morita (né Noriyuki Morita; d. Nov. 24, 2005), American actor best known for his role as Mr. Kesuke Miyagi in The Karate Kid movies.  He died of kidney failure at age 73.

1930~ William Campbell (né William Cecil Campbell), Irish-American biologist and parasitologist.  He was the recipient of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

1928~ Robert Ledley (d. July 24, 2012), American physiologist and physicist.  He is best known for inventing the CT scanner.  He died about a month after his 86^th birthday.

1927~ Frank Sherwood Rowland (d. Mar. 10, 2012), American chemist and recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He is best known for ozone depletion research.  He died at age 84.

1926~ Betty Skelton Erde (né Betty Skelton; d. Aug. 31, 2011), American aviatrix who raced into the record books.  She held a land speed record and aerobatics pilot who set 17 aviation and automobile records.  She helped create opportunities for women in aviation, auto racing, astronautics and advertising.  She was born in Pensacola, Florida.  She died at age 85.

1926~ Mel Brooks (né Melvin Kaminsky), American actor and filmmaker.

1925~ George Ballas, Sr. (né George Charles Ballas; b. June 25, 2011), American inventor who made millions wacking weeds.  In 1971, he created what he called the Weed Eater.  He was born in Ruston, Louisiana.  He died of lung cancer in Houston, Texas 3 days before his 83^rd birthday.

1915~ David Edwards (d. Aug. 29, 2011), African-American guitarist and last of the original Delta bluesmen.  He was known as Honeyboy.  He died of heart failure at age 96.

1909~ Eric Ambler (né Eric Clifford Ambler; d. Oct. 22, 1998), English writer. He is best known for his spy novels.  He died at age 87.

1906~ Maria Goeppert-Mayer (née Maria Göppert; d. Feb. 20, 1972), German-born American theoretical physicist and recipient of the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physics for proposing the nuclear shell model of the atomic nucleus.  She was the second woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, the first being Marie Curie.  She died of a heart attack at age 65.

1905~ Ashley Montagu (né Israel Ehrenberg, d. Nov. 26, 1999), British anthropologist.  He died at age 94.

1902~ Richard Rodgers (né Richard Charles Rodgers; d. Dec. 30, 1979), American composer. He is best known for his corroboration with Oscar Hammerstein II.  They wrote many musicals together.  He died at age 77.

1891~ Esther Forbes (née Esther Louise Forbes, d. Aug. 12, 1968), American historian and writer.  She wrote children’s literature and is best known for her novel Johnny Tremain.  She was from Massachusetts.  She died of rheumatic heard disease at age 76.

1883~ Pierre Laval (d. Oct. 15, 1945), Prime Minister of France.  He served as Prime Ministers from January 1931 until February 1932.  After the liberation of France during World War II, he was found guilty of treason and executed by firing squad at age 62.

1875~ Henri Lebesgue (né Henri Léon Lebesgue; d. July 26, 1941), French mathematician.  He died a month after his 66^th birthday.

1873~ Alexis Carrel (d. Nov. 5, 1944), French surgeon and biologist.  He was the recipient of the 1912 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his pioneering work in vascular suturing techniques.  He died at age 71.

1867~ Luigi Pirandello (d. Dec. 10, 1936), Italian writer and recipient of the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He died at age 69.

1825~ Emil Erlenmeyer (né Richard August Carl Emil Erlenmeyer; d. Jan. 22, 1909), German chemist best known for designing the Erlenmeyer flask.  He died at age 83.

1824~ Paul Broca (né Pierre Paul Broca; d. July 9, 1880), French physician.  He is best known for his research on the frontal lobe that now bears his name ~ the Broca area of the brain.  He died of a brain aneurysm 11 days after his 56^th birthday.

1712~ Jean-Jacques Rousseau (d. July 2, 1778), French philosopher and writer during the Enlightenment period.  His philosophy helped shape events that led to the French Revolution.  He died 4 days after his 66^th birthday.

1703~ John Wesley (d. Mar. 2, 1791), English founder of Methodism and the Methodist church.  He died at age 87.

1577~ Sir Peter Paul Rubens (d. May 30, 1640), Flemish painter and diplomat.  He was knighted by both King Philip IV of Spain and Charles I of England.  He died 29 days before his 63^rd birthday.

1491~ King Henry VIII of England (d. Jan. 28, 1547).  He was the second Tutor monarch.  He was King from April 1509 until his death at age 55 in January 1547.

1476~ Pope Paul IV (né Gian Pietro Carafa; d. Aug. 18, 1559).  He was Pope from May 1555 until his death 4 years later in August 1559.  He was 83 years old.

751~ Carloman I (d. Dec. 4, 771), King of the Franks.  He died at age 20.

Events that Changed the World:

2016~ A terrorist attack at the Atatürk Airport in Istanbul killed over 40 people and injured over 200 others.

2012~ The United States Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Health Care Act in the case entitled National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius.  Chief Justice John Roberts drafted the decision.

1996~ The Constitution of the Ukraine was signed into law.

1992~ The Constitution of Estonia was ratified.  It became effective on July 3, 1992.

1987~ Iraqi warplanes bombed the Iranian town of Sardasht, thereby making it the first time in military history where a civilian population was targeted for chemical attack.

1978~ In the case of Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, the U. S. Supreme Court barred quota systems in college admissions.  Justice Lewis Powell drafted the opinion.

1969~ The Stonewall Riots began in New York City.  This marks the beginning of the Gay Rights Movement.

1967~ Israel annexed East Jerusalem.

1926~ The Mercedes-Benz company was formed when Gottlieb Daimler (1834 ~ 1900) and Karl Benz (1844 ~ 1929) merged their two companies.

1919~ The Treaty of Versailles was signed in Paris, formally ending World War I.

1914~ World War I began when Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand (b. 1863) and his wife, Countess Sofia Chotek (b. 1868), were assassinated in Sarajevo by a Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip.

1902~ The United States Congress passed the Spooner Act, authorizing President Theodore Roosevelt (1858 ~ 1919) to acquire rights from Columbia for the Panama Canal.

1894~ Labor Day became an official holiday in the United States.

1846~ The saxophone was patented by Adolphe Sax (1814 ~ 1894) in Paris, France.

1838~ Queen Victoria (1819 ~ 1901) of the United Kingdom was crowned in Westminster Abbey.  She was 18 years old at the time of her coronation.  She ruled England for 63 years.  She died at age 81.

1519~ Charles V (1500 ~ 1558) was elected as Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.  He died at age 58.

1461~ Edward IV (1442 ~ 1483) was crowned King of England.  He died at age 40.

Good-Byes:

2018~ Harlan Ellison (né Harlan Jay Ellison; b. May 27, 1934), American combative writer who became a sci-fi master.  He died 32 days after his 84^th birthday

2016~ Pat Summitt (née Patricia Sue Head; b. June 14, 1952), American women’s basketball coach.  She died 14 days after her 64^th birthday.

2014~ Meshach Taylor (b. Apr. 11, 1947), American actor best known for his role as Anthony Bouvier on the television sit-com Designing Women.  He died at age 67 of colon cancer.

2001~ Mortimer J. Adler (né Mortimer Jerome Adler; b. Dec. 28, 1902), American philosopher and author.  He died at age 98.

1984~ Yigael Yadin (b. Mar. 20, 1917), Israeli archeologist, general and politician.  He died at age 67.

1975~ Rod Serling (néRodman Edward Serling; b. Dec. 25, 1924), American television producer and author.  He is best known for hosting The Twilight Zone.  He died at age 50 following heart surgery.

1921~ Charles Bonaparte (né Charles Joseph Bonaparte; b. June 9, 1851), 46^th United States Attorney General.  He served under President Theodore Roosevelt from December 1906 until March 1909.  He previously served as the 37^th Secretary of the Navy in President Roosevelt’s administration.  He died less than three weeks after his 70^th birthday.

1914~ Sophia, Duchess of Hohenberg (b. Mar. 1, 1868), wife of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria.  She was assassinated along with her husband.  Their deaths sparked World War I.  She was 46 at the time of her death.

1914~ Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (b. Dec. 18, 1863), heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne.  He was assassinated along with his wife, Sophia, Duchess of Hohenberg, and their assassination in 1914 sparked the beginning of World War I.  He was 50 years old at the time of his death.

1889~ Maria Mitchell (b. Aug. 1, 1818), American astronomer.  She was from Massachusetts.  She died of brain disease at age 70.

1881~ Jules Armand Dufaure (b. Dec. 4, 1798), French politician.  He served several terms as French Prime Minister.  He died at age 82.

1836~ James Madison, Jr. (b. Mar. 16, 1836), 4^th President of the United States.  He was president from March 1809 until March 1817. He had previously served as the 5^th United States Secretary of State, which he served during the Thomas Jefferson administration from May 1801 until March 1809.  He died at age 85.

1776~ Thomas Hickey, Irish-born Continental Army private and bodyguard to General George Washington.  He was hanged for mutiny, sedation, and treason for his role in a plot to possibly assassinate George Washington during the American Revolutionary War.  The date of his birth is not known.

1757~ Sophia Dorothea of Hanover (b. Mar. 26, 1687), Queen consort of Prussia and Electress consort of Brandenburg, and wife of King Frederick William I of Prussia.  She was the daughter of King George I of Great Britain and Sophia Dorothea of Celle.  She died at age 70.

1754~ Martin Folkes (b. Oct. 29, 1690), British mathematician.  He died at age 63.

1194~ Emperor Xiaozong (b. Nov. 27, 1127), 11^th Chinese emperor of the Southern Song dynasty.  He ruled from July 1162 until February 1189 when he abdicated in favor of his son, Emperor Guangzong.  He died at age 66.

767~ Pope Paul I (b. 700).  He was Pope from May 757 until his death 10 years later.  The exact date of his birth is unknown.

683~ Pope Saint Leo II (né Leo Maneius; b. 611).  He is also known as Saint Leo II.  He was Pope from August 682 until his death 10 months later.  The exact date of his birth is unknown.  He is believed to have been about 72 at the age of his death.

548~ Theodora I (b. 500), Byzantine Empress and wife of Justinian I.  The exact date of her birth is unknown.  She is believed to have been about 48 years old at the time of her death.

June 27

Birthdays:

1975~ Tobey Maguire (né Tobias Vincent Maguire), American actor.

1966~ J.J. Abrams (né Jeffrey Jacob Abrams), American television and director, producer and screenwriter.

1951~ Anita Diamant, American author.

1949~ Vera Wang (née Vera Ellen Wang), American fashion designer.

1945~ Norma Kamali, American fashion designed.

1943~ Rico Petrocelli (né Americo Peter Petrocelli), American baseball player.  His entire Major League career was with the Boston Red Sox.

1938~ Bruce Babbitt (né Bruce Edward Babbitt), 47^th United States Secretary of the Interior.  He served under President Bill Clinton from January 1993 through January 2001.  He had previously served as the 16^th Governor of Arizona.

1936~ General John Shalikashvili (né John Malchase David Shalikashvili; d. July 23, 2011), Polish-born foreign head of the Pentagon.  He died of a stroke less than a month after his 75^th birthday.

1933~ Horst Brandstätter (d. June 3, 2015), German toymaker who encouraged imaginative play.  His company began the production of the Playmobil toys that had been created by Hans Beck.  He died 24 days before his 82^nd birthday.

1931~ Martinus Veltman (né Martinus Justinus Godefriedus Veltman), Dutch physicist and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in particle theory.

1930~ H. Ross Perot (né Henry Ross Perot), American businessman and politician.  He was born in Texarkana, Texas.

1929~ Peter Maas (d. Aug. 23, 2001), American journalist and author.  He died at age 72.

1927~ Bob Keeshan (né Robert James Keeshan, d. Jan. 23, 2004), American actor who played Captain Kangaroo on TV. He died in Windsor, Vermont at age 76.

1920~ Joseph P. Vaghi, Jr. (né Joseph Peter Vaghi, Jr.; d. Aug. 25, 2012), American Navy officer who helped guide the D-Day landings.  At age 23, he was the youngest beachmaster on D-Day.  He was on of the first to land on Omaha Beach, and directed the arrival of new troops and the evacuation of the dead and wounded.  He died at age 91.

1906~ Dame Catherine Cookson (née Catherine Ann McMullen; d. June 11, 1998), British novelist.  She died 16 days before her 92^nd birthday.

1899~ Juan Trippe (né Juan Terry Trippe; d. Apr. 3, 1981), American aviation pioneer and founder of Pan American World Airways.  He died of a stroke at age 81.

1880~ Helen Keller (née Helen Adams Keller; d. June 1, 1868), American author and activist.  In her early childhood, she was stricken with scarlet fever, which left her deaf and blind.  She died 26 days before her 88^th birthday.

1869~ Hans Spemann (d. Sept. 9, 1941), German embryologist and recipient of the 1935 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He died of heart failure at age 72.

1869~ Emma Goldman (d. May 14, 1940), Lithuanian-born anarchist.  She died of complications of a stroke at age 70.

1850~ Jørgen Pedersen Gram (d. Apr. 29, 1916), Danish actuary and mathematician.  He died at age 65 after being hit by a bicycle.

1846~ Charles Stewart Parnell (d. Oct. 6, 1891), Irish politician.  He died of pneumonia at age 45.

1806~ Augustus De Morgan (d. Mar. 18, 1871), English mathematician.  He died at age 64.

1696~ Sir William Pepperrell, 1^st Baronet (d. July 6, 1759), Early American colonist and soldier.  He was born and died in Kittery Point in what is now Maine.  He died 9 days after his 63^rd birthday.

1550~ King Charles IX of France (d. May 30, 1574).  He was King from December 1560 until his death at age 23 on this date in 1574. He died 28 days before his 24^th birthday, most likely of tuberculosis.  He was succeeded by his brother, Henry III.

1462~ King Louis XII of France (d. Jan. 1, 1515), King of France from April 1498 until his death 17 years later.  He was forced to marry Joan of France (1464 ~ 1505) in 1476.  For political reasons, his marriage to Joan was annulled so he could marry Anne, Duchess of Brittany (1477 ~ 1514), widow of King Charles VII (1470 ~ 1498).  After Anne’s death, he married Mary Tutor (1496 ~ 1533), sister of King Henry VIII (1491 ~ 1547) of England.  He died at age 52.  Because he had no sons, he was succeeded to the throne by his cousin, Francis I (1494 ~ 1547).

1040~ Ladislaus I of Hungary (d. July 29, 1095).  He is also known as Saint Ladislaus.  He was about 54 or 55 at the time of his death.

Events that Changed the World:

2018~ Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy (b. 1936) announced his retirement from the United States Supreme Court.

2007~ Tony Blair (b. 1953) resigned as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.  He had been Prime Minister since 1997.

1985~ The infamous highway, Route 66, was decertified as a federal roadway.

1977~ Djibouti was granted its independence from France.

1976~ Air France Flight 139 was hijacked en route to Paris from Tel Aviv, by the PLO and was redirected to Entebbe, Uganda.  A counter-terrorist hostage rescue mission was carried out by the Israeli Defense Forces on July 4, 1976.

1974~ United States President Richard Nixon (1913 ~ 1994) visited the Soviet Union.

1973~ Juan María Bordaberry (1928 ~ 2011), President of Uruguay, dissolved Parliament and established a dictatorship.  He first served as a constitutional president, then staged a coup d’état and became the country’s civilian dictator until 1976 when he was forced out.  In 2006, he was arrested for the assassination of 2 legislators that occurred during his transition to become the country’s dictator.

1967~ The world’s first ATM was installed at a Barclay’s bank at its Enfield branch in London, England.

1957~ Hurricane Audrey made landfall on the Texas-Louisiana border.  Cameron Parish in Louisiana was the hardest hit and over 400 people were killed by the storm.

1954~ The Soviet Union’s first nuclear power plant was opened in Obninsk, near Moscow, Russia.

1950~ The United States decided to send in troops to fight in the Korean War.

1941~ One of the most violent pogroms in Jewish history occurred when Romanian governmental forces attacked and killed at least 13,260 Jews in the city of Iaşa, Romania.

1905~ Sailors aboard the Battleship Potemkin began a mutiny, denouncing the crimes of the autocracy and demanding liberty and an end to war.

1895~ The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad’s Royal Blue train became the first United States passenger train to use electric locomotives.  The maiden run was from Washington, D.C. to New York City.

1759~ British Major General James Wolfe (1727 ~ 1759) began the siege of Quebec.

1743~ During the Battle of Dettingen in the War of the Austrian Succession, King George II (1683 ~ 1760) of Great Britain personally lead troops into battle.  To date, this was the last time a British monarch commanded troops in the field.

Good-Byes:

2017~ Michael Bond (né Thomas Michael Bond; b. Jan. 13, 1926), British soldier and author.  He created Paddington Bear.  He died at age 91.

2016~ Alvin Toffler (b. Oct. 4, 1928), American futurist who foresaw the Information Age.  He is best known for his 1970 book Future Shock, which focused on information overload.  He died at age 87.

2014~ Bobby Womack (né Robert Dwayne Womack, b. Mar. 4, 1944), American soul music veteran who influenced the Rolling Stones.  He died at age 70.

2010~ Dolph Briscoe, Jr. (b. Apr. 23, 1923), 41^st Governor of Texas.  He was Governor from January 1973 until January 1979.  He died at age 87.

2005~ Shelby Foote (né Shelby Dade Foote, Jr.; b. Nov. 17, 1917), American author and historian.  He died at age 88.

2004~ General George Patton, IV (né George Smith Patton, IV; b. Dec. 24, 1923), American general.  He served in Korea and Vietnam.  He was the son of World War II General George S. Patton, Jr.  He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and died in South Hamilton, Massachusetts.  He died at age 80.

2001~ Jack Lemmon (né John Uhler Lemmon, III; b. Feb. 8, 1925), American actor.  He was born in Newton, Massachusetts.  He died at age 76.

1975~ Sir Geoffrey Ingram Taylor (b. Mar. 7, 1886), British mathematician.  He is best known for his work in fluid dynamics and wave theory.  He died at age 89.

1952~ Max Dehn (né Max Wilhem Dehn; b. Nov. 13, 1878), German-born mathematician.  He died at age 73.

1945~ Emil Hácha (b. July 12, 1872), 3^rd President of Czechoslovakia.  He served as President from November 1938 until March 1939, when the country came under German control.  He died three weeks before his 73^rd birthday under mysterious circumstances.

1944~ Milan Hodža (b. Feb. 1, 1878), Czech journalist and politician.  He served as the Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia from November 1935 until September 1938.  He died in Clear Water, Florida at age 66.  His remains were returned to his native Slovakia.

1907~ Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz (née Elizabeth Cabot Cary; b. Dec. 5, 1822), American educator and co-founder of Radcliffe College. She also served as the first president of Radcliff College.  She was married to Louis Agassiz, the Swiss-born geologist and biologist.  She was born in Boston, Massachusetts and died in Arlington, Massachusetts.  She was 84 at the time of her death.

1880~ Carl Wilhelm Borchardt (b. Feb. 22, 1817), German mathematician.  He died at age 63.

1844~ Joseph Smith, Jr. (b. Dec. 23, 1805), founder of the Mormons.  He and his brother, Hyrum Smith (b. Feb. 9, 1800), were murdered by a mob in an Illinois jail.  Joseph died at age 38 and his brother was 44.

1831~ Marie-Sophie Germain (b. Apr. 1, 1776), French mathematician.  She is best known for elasticity theory.  She died of breast cancer at age 55.

1829~ James Smithson (né Jacques-Louis Macie; b. 1764), English scientist and philanthropist.  He left his fortune to the United States, even though he had never set foot in the country, for an “establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”  His money provided the seed money for the Smithsonian museums.  He was the illegitimate son of Hugh Percy, 1^st Duke of Northumberland.  The exact date of his birth is unknown.  He died at age 64.

1729~ Élizabeth Jacquet de La Guerre (née Élizabeth Jacquet; b. Mar. 17, 1665), French musician and composer.  She died at age 64.

1655~ Eleonora Gonzaga (b. Sept. 23, 1598), Holy Roman Empress consort and Italian 2^nd wife of Ferdinand II, the Holy Roman Emperor.  She died at age 56.