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.
• 1483 – Richard III becomes king of England.
• 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".
• 1964 – The Beatles release the album A Hard Day's Night.
• 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

• 1653 – Cardinal André-Hercule de Fleury, Bishop of Fréjus, chief minister of France under Louis XV
• 1824 – Lord Kelvin, physicist (d. 1907)
• 1854 – Robert Laird Borden, eighth Prime Minister of Canada
• 1865 – Bernard Berenson, art connoisseur (d. 1959)
• 1892 – Pearl S. Buck, American writer, recipient of the Nobel Prize in literature (d. 1973)
• 1898 – Willy Messerschmitt, aircraft designer (d. 1978)
• 1899 – Maria Nikolaevna Romanova, daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and Alexandra of Hesse (d. 1918)
• 1904 – Peter Lorre, actor (d. 1964)
• 1906 – Alberto Rabagliati, Italian singer and actor
• 1909 – Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's manager (d. 1997)
• 1911 – Babe Didrikson Zaharias, American athlete and golfer (d. 1956)
• 1912 – Jay Silverheels, actor (d. 1980)
• 1919 – Richard Neustadt, political historian
• 1925 – Pavel Belyayev, cosmonaut (d. 1970)
• 1933 – Claudio Abbado, conductor
• 1934 – Jeremy Wolfenden, British journalist (d. 1965)
• 1936 – Robert Maclennan, British politician
• 1942 – Gilberto Gil, first Minister of Culture of Brazil, singer, songwriter, musician
• 1945 – Dwight York, musician, fashion consultant, cult leader, child molester
• 1954 – Steve Barton, actor, singer, dancer
• 1955 – Mick Jones, British musician, guitarist with The Clash, Big Audio Dynamite
• 1956 – Chris Isaak, pop singer
• 1961 – Greg Lemond, cyclist
• 1963 – Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, Russian CEO of YUKOS Oil Company
• 1968 – Rich Eisen, ESPN SportsCenter anchor
• 1968  – Shannon Sharpe, American football player, commentator
• 1970 – Chris O'Donnell, actor
• 1973 – Gretchen Wilson, country music singer
• 1974 – Derek Jeter, baseball player
• 1980 – Jason Schwartzman, actor
• 1980  – Michael Vick, American football player
• 1985 – Urgyen Trinley Dorje, Tibetan spiritual leader

Deaths

• 363 – Julian, Roman Emperor (killed in battle)
• 1291 – Eleanor of Provence, queen of Henry III of England
• 1541 – Francisco Pizarro, Spanish conqueror of Peru (murdered)
• 1922 – Albert I, Prince of Monaco
• 1939 – Ford Maddox Ford, English writer (b. 1873)
• 1947 – Richard Bedford Bennett, eleventh Prime Minister of Canada
• 1957 – Alfred Döblin, German writer (b. 1878)
• 1958 – Andrija Štampar, physician and United Nations diplomat (b. 1888)
• 1958  – George Orton, Canadian athlete
• 1964 – Gerrit Rietveld, architect
• 1968 – Tony Hancock, comedian
• 1975 – St. Josemaría Escrivá, Spanish Roman Catholic priest
• 1984 – Michel Foucault, French literary theorist (b. 1926)
• 1993 – William H. Riker, political scientist
• 1997 – Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, singer
• 2002 – Jay Berwanger, American football player
• 2003 – Sir Denis Thatcher Bt., husband of Margaret Thatcher
• 2003 – Strom Thurmond, U.S. Senator
• 2003 – Marc-Vivien Foé, Cameroonian footballer
• 2004 – Yash Johar, Indian film producer

Holidays and observances

• The United Nations' Day in Support of Victims of Torture.
• Flag Day in Romania

External links

• BBC: On This Day

June 25 – June 27 – May 26 – July 26 — listing of all days