On this day in History - Jun 15

• 0763 BC - Assyrians record a solar eclipse that will be used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history.
• 0923 - Battle of Soissons: King Robert I of France is killed and King Charles the Simple is arrested by the supporters of Duke Rudolph of Burgundy.
• 0923 - Robert I of France dies (b. c. 865) .
• 1053 - Forces led by Pope Leo IX were defeated in a battle against the Normans.
• 1215 - King John of England puts his seal to the Magna Carta.
• 1246 - With the death of Duke Frederick II, the Babenberg dynasty ends in Austria.
• 1246 - Frederick II of Austria dies (b. 1219)
• 1330 - Edward the Black Prince was born (d. 1376). Prince of Wales.
• 1381 - Wat Tyler dies. Leader of Peasants Revolt
• 1389 - Battle of Kosovo: Turks defeat Serbs and Bosnians.
• 1409 - The Catholic church is led into a double schism as Petros Philargos is elected Pope Alexander V by the Council of Pisa, joining Pope Gregory XII in Rome and Pope Benedict XII in Avignon.
• 1467 - Philip the Good of Burgundy dies (b. 1396)
• 1520 - Pope Leo X issued the encyclical 'Exsurge Domine,' condemning German Reformer Martin Luther as a heretic on 41 counts and branding him an enemy of the Catholic Church.
• 1521 - Tamás Bakócz dies (b. 1442). Hungarian archbishop, cardinal and statesman.
• 1567 - Jews are expelled from Genoa Italy.
• 1594 - Nicolas Poussin was born (d. 1665). Painter.
• 1649 - Margaret Jones was tried and executed for witchcraft - the first time this happened in the colony of Massachusetts.
• 1667 - The first human blood transfusion is administered by Dr. Jean Baptiste. He transfuses 12 fluid ounces (350 mL) of sheep blood to a 15-year-old boy. The boy later dies and Baptiste is accused of murder.
• 1750 - Marguerite De Launay, Baronne Staal dies (b. 1684). French writer.
• 1752 - Benjamin Franklin proves that lightning is electricity (kite + key + lightning).
• 1756 - Derrota dos Portugueses em Goa pelos Maratas. D. Luís de Mascarenhas, 46.º vice-rei da Índia, morre em combate contra o rei de Sunda, em Pondá.
• 1760 - O Marquês de Pombal expulsa de Lisboa o núncio apostólico
• 1767 - Rachel Donelson Jackson was born. First Lady of the United States, wife of Andrew Jackson
• 1772 - Louis-Claude Daquin dies (b. 1694). French composer.
• 1775 - American Revolutionary War: George Washington is appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army.
• 1780 - Em Portugal, Pina Manique determinou a obrigatoriedade de registo da correspondência nos serviços públicos
• 1785 - Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, co-pilot of the first-ever manned flight (1783), and his companion, Pierre Romain, become the first-ever casualties of an air crash when their hot air balloon explodes during their attempt to cross the English Channel.
• 1789 - Josiah Henson was born (d. 1883). Ex-slave, settlement founder.
• 1801 - Benjamin Raymond was born (d. 1883). Mayor of Chicago.
• 1804 - New Hampshire approves the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratifying the document.
• 1805 - William Butler Ogden was born (d. 1877). First mayor of Chicago .
• 1836 - Arkansas is admitted as the 25th U.S. state.
• 1843 - Edvard Grieg was born (d. 1907). Norwegian composer.
• 1844 - Charles Goodyear receives a patent for vulcanization, a process to strengthen rubber.
• 1846 - The Oregon Treaty establishes the 49th parallel as the border between the United States and Canada, from the Rocky Mountains to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
• 1849 - James Knox Polk dies (b. 1795). 11th President of the United States
• 1859 - Pig War: Ambiguity in the Oregon Treaty leads to the "Northwestern Boundary Dispute" between U.S. and British/Canadian settlers.
• 1861 - Ernestine Rössler Schumann-Hein was born at Lieben, near Prague (d. 17 Nov 36). Singer
• 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Petersburg begins - Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant and troops led by Confederate General Robert E. Lee battle for the last time.
• 1864 - Arlington National Cemetery is established when 200 acres (0.8 km²) around Arlington Mansion are officially set aside as a military cemetery by U.S. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton.
• 1869 - Marquis Ferdinando Bartolommei dies. Italian revolutionist and statesman
• 1877 - Henry Ossian Flipper becomes the first African American cadet to graduate from the United States Military Academy.
• 1882 - Ion Antonescu was born (d. 1946). Romanian prime minister and dictator.
• 1887 - Malvina Cornell Hoffman was born in New York City (d. 1966). Sculptor.
• 1888 - Friedrich III of Germany (Hohenzollern) dies (b. 1831)
• 1889 - Mihai Eminescu dies (b. 1850). Romanian poet.
• 1904 - A fire aboard the steamboat General Slocum in New York City's East River kills 1000.
• 1905 - Princess Margaret of Connaught marries Gustav, Crown Prince of Sweden.
• 1906 - Léon Degrelle was born (d. 1994). Belgian Rexist who joined the Waffen SS .
• 1909 - Representatives from England, Australia and South Africa meet at Lords and form the Imperial Cricket Conference.
• 1911 - Tabulating Computing Recording Corporation (IBM) is incorporated.
• 1911 - Início dos trabalhos da Assembleia Nacional Constituinte - Portugal
• 1912 - Francisco Lázaro dies tragically during the marathon of Stocholm Olympic Games (b. 21 Jan 1891). Portuguese olimpic athlet who was the first olympic athlet in representation of Benfica.
• 1913 - US troops under General John 'Black Jack' Pershing massacre at least 2,000 Philippine men, women and children at Bud Bagsak.
• 1914 - Yuri Andropov was born (d. 1984). General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union .
• 1916 - Herbert Simon was born (d. 2001). American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1917 - John Fenn was born. American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1917 - Lash La Rue was born (d. 1996). Actor.
• 1919 - John Alcock and Arthur Brown complete first nonstop transatlantic flight at Clifden, County Galway, Ireland.
• 1921 - Errol Garner was born (d. 1977). Jazz musician.
• 1928 - Irenaeus Eibl-Eibesfeldt was born. Behaviorist.
• 1931 - Belarmino Fragoso was born. Portuguese boxeur.
• 1932 - Mario Cuomo was born. Former Governor of New York
• 1934 - The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is founded
• 1936 - William Joseph Levada was born. Roman Catholic Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and former archbishop of San Francisco in Calfornia
• 1937 - Waylon Jennings was born (d. 2002). Singer.
• 1938 - Billy Williams was born. Baseball star
• 1939 - Brian Jacques was born. Author
• 1941 - Evelyn Underhill dies (b. 1875). Anglican mystic and poet.
• 1941, 15 June - World War II: Operation Battleaxe. British forces suffer setbacks in the second day of Operation Battleaxe. Rommel's forces reach Sidi Rezegh.
• 1941 - Harry Nilsson was born (d. 1994). Singer, composer.
• 1942 - Ferreira do Amaral was born. Portuguese politician.
• 1943 - Xaviera Hollander was born. Prostitute, author
• 1943 - Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, was born. Prime Minister of Denmark
• 1944 - World War II: Battle of Saipan: The United States invades Saipan.
• 1946 - Noddy Holder was born. Slade lead singer.
• 1947 - The All-India committee of India's Congress Party announces that it accepts Britain's plan to divide India into two states, one Hindu and one Muslim.
• 1948 - Mike Holmgren was born. American football coach.
• 1949 - Dusty Baker was born. Baseball player, coach.
• 1953 - Ana Castillo was born is born in Chicago. Poet, novelist.
• 1954 - UEFA (the Union des Associations Européennes de Football) is formed in Basle, Switzerland.
• 1955 - The Eisenhower administration stages the first annual "Operation Alert" (OPAL) exercise, an attempt to assess the preparations for a nuclear attack.
• 1956 - Tunisia's autonomy in foreign affairs is confirmed when an agreement is signed with the French government.
• 1957 - Eindhoven University of Technology is founded.
• 1958 - Wade Boggs was born. Baseball player.
• 1962 - Students for a Democratic Society complete the Port Huron Statement.
• 1962 - Alfred Cortot dies (b. 1877). Swiss pianist.
• 1963 - Helen Hunt was born. Actress.
• 1964 - Courteney Cox was born. Actress.
• 1964 - Michael Laudrup was born. Danish footballer
• 1965 - Bernard Hopkins was born. Boxer.
• 1966 - Hovercraft deal opens show: The world's first hovershow opens in Britain with news of a Ministry of Defence order worth £1m.
• 1968 - Sam Crawford dies (b. 1880). Baseball Hall of Fame.
• 1969 - Ice Cube was born. Singer, actor
• 1969 - Oliver Kahn was born. German football goalkeeper (Bayern München)
• 1969 - Hee Haw debuts on CBS television, quickly becoming an institution.
• 1970 - Morreu em Lisboa o escritor e artista plástico português, nascido em S. Tomé e Príncipe em 7 de Abril de 1893, José de Almada Negreiros.
• 1970 - Elliot Welsh v. United States The Supreme Court ruled that a man could be a "conscientious objector" even though he did not claim the status for religious reasons.
• 1971 - Edwin Brienen was born. Dutch director
• 1972 - Andy Pettitte was born. Baseball pitcher
• 1973 - Neil Patrick Harris was born. Actor.
• 1974 - Man dies in race rally clashes: A march through central London leaves one person dead and many more injured as rival demonstrators clash with police and each other.
• 1976 - Jimmy Dykes dies (b. 1896). Major League Baseball player and manager.
• 1977 - General elections in Spain
• 1978 - King Hussein of Jordan marries 26-year-old Lisa Halaby.
• 1978 - Wilfred Bouma was born. Dutch footballer
• 1979 - Rocky II opens in theaters, starring and directed by Sylvester Stallone.
• 1980 - Cara Zavaleta was born. American model
• 1980 - Mary Carey was born. American erotic actress and former gubernatorial candidate.
• 1981 - Billy Martin was born. American musician
• 1984 - Meredith Willson, dies (b. 1902). Composer.
• 1985 - Andy Stanfield dies (b. 1927). American athlete.
• 1989 - Victor French dies. Actor.
• 1992 - During a spelling bee at a Trenton, New Jersey elementary school, U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle corrects a student's spelling of the word potato by indicating it should have an e at the end.
• 1992 - The United States Supreme Court rules in US vs. Alvarez-Machain that it is permissible for the USA to abduct suspects in foreign countries and bring them to the USA for trial, without approval from those other countries. No reciprocal right is recognized for the reverse to happen in the USA.
• 1993 - James Hunt dies (b. 1947). English motor-racing driver.
• 1993 - John Connally dies (b. 1917). Former Governor of Texas, United States Secretary of the Treasury, United States Secretary of the Navy
• 1994 - Israel and Vatican City establish full diplomatic relations.
• 1995 - John Vincent Atanasoff, dies (b. 1903). Computer pioneer.
• 1995 - While on trial for murder, O.J. Simpson puts on a pair of gloves that were found soaked with blood at the murder scene. The gloves appear to not fit.
• 1996 - Ella Fitzgerald dies (b. 25 Apr 1917). American jazz singer.
• 1996 - In Manchester, UK, a terrorist bomb injures over 200 people and devastates a large part of the city centre.
• 1997 - Futebol Clube do Porto wins for the third time in a row, the Portuguese Championship in football.
• 1997 - Kim Casali dies. English cartoonist.
• 1998 - César de Oliveira dies. Portuguese historian and politician.
• 1999 - George Morber Senior and Carolyn Frederick are murdered by Angel Maturino Resendiz in Gorham, Illinois. They are his eighth and ninth victims, in his seventh and final incident.
• 2000 - British marines leave Sierra Leone . The major contingent of the British military task-force sent to help restore order in Sierra Leone leaves the country.
• 2002 - O Congresso dos Estados Unidos emite uma resolução reconhecendo que o telefone não foi inventado por Alexander Graham Bell, mas sim por Antonio Meucci.
• 2002 - Sérgio Bernardes dies (b. 9 Apr 1919). Brazilian architect.
• 2003 - Hume Cronyn dies (b. 1911). Stage and film actor.
• 2003 - Volker Kriegel dies. Jazz musician.
• 2003 - O Porto vence por 1-0 a União de Leiria e conquista a Taça de Portugal em futebol.
• 2004 - Casamento (2º) do actor Charlie Sheen com Denise Richards
• 2005 - António Guterres, 56, ex -Prime Minister of Portugal, chosen last 24 May as the 10thUnited Nations High Commissioner for refugees begins, with a cerimony in Geneve, his five-year term.
• Commemoration of Evelyn Underhill (Anglican mystic and poet)
• Roman Empire - ninth and final day of the Vestalia in honor of Vesta
• Roman Catholic Church - Feast of Saint Germaine Cousin, patron of shepherdesses and of victims of child abuse
• Saint Vitus' Day - Vitus Diena held in medieval Latvia
• Malawi's Freedom Day
• Commemoration of William Adams (Miura Anjin 三浦按針) a man shipwrecked in Japan in the 1600s, and whom James Clavell's "Shogun (novel)" was based upon.
• Flag Day in Denmark