June 26th in History

Michael Dobson | June 26

The Cyclone roller coaster, Astroland, Coney Island, New York. (Photo: E. Lopez, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Today in History

  • The first Roman emperor, Augustus, adopts his heir and future emperor Tiberius (4)
  • Richard III becomes King of England (1483)
  • War of Jenkins’ Ear: Spanish, free blacks, and allied Indians defeat the British at the Siege of Fort Mose, near St. Augustine, Florida (1740)
  • Hong Kong is ceded to the British “in perpetuity” under the Treaty of Nanking (1843)
  • Christmas is declared a Federal holiday in the US (1870)
  • The elemental form of fluorine (F) is isolated for the first time (1886)
  • The first Grand Prix motor race is held (1906)
  • World War I: The first US forces arrive in France (1917)
  • World War I: The Battle of Belleau Wood ends after 26 days, with a victory for Allied forces (1918)
  • The Cyclone roller coaster opens on Coney Island (1927)
  • The Focke-Wulf Fw 161, the first practical helicopter, flies for the first time (1936)
  • The Grumman F6F Hellcat flies for the first time (1942)
  • The UN Charter is signed in San Francisco (1945)
  • Berlin Blockade: The Allies begin their airlift of supplies to Berlin (1948)
  • Nikita Khrushchev has Lavrentiy Beria and other Politburo members arrested during the struggle to succeed Stalin (1953)
  • Madagascar gains independence (1960)
  • JFK says “Ich bin ein Berliner!” (1963)
  • The first UPC code is scanned (1974)
  • A shootout on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation leaves two FBI agents and a member of the American Indian Movement dead (1975)
  • Elvis Presley performs his final concert (1977)
  • The completion of the first survey of the human genome is announced (2000)
  • A key section of the Defense of Marriage Act is ruled unconstitutional (2013)

Birthdays

  • Charles Messier, astronomer (1730)
  • Abner Doubleday, general, claimed inventor of baseball (1819)
  • Pearl S. Buck, author (1892)
  • Willy Messerschmitt, aircraft designer (1898)
  • Chesty Puller, Marine (1898)
  • Peter Lorre, actor (1904)
  • Salvador Allende, Chilean president (1908)
  • Colonel Tom Parker, talent manager (1909)
  • Wolfgang Reitherman, animator (1909)
  • Babe Didrikson Zaharias, athlete (1911)
  • Virginia Satir, psychotherapist (1916)
  • Eleanor Parker, actress (1922)
  • Chuck Robb, politician (1939)
  • Gedde Watanabe, actor (1955)
  • Chris Isaak, singer-songwriter (1956)
  • Greg LeMond, cyclist (1961)
  • Richard Garfield, game designer, creator of Magic: The Gathering (1963)
  • Derek Jeter, baseball player (1974)
  • Michael Vick, football player, known for involvement in illegal dog fighting (1980)

Deaths

  • Francisco Pizarro, explorer (1541)
  • Joseph-Michel Montgolfier, co-inventor of the hot air balloon (1810)
  • Ford Madox Ford, author (1939)
  • Roy Campanella, baseball player (1993)
  • Strom Thurmond, politician (2003)
  • Liz Claiborne, fashion designer (2007)
  • Nora Ephron, filmmaker (2012)
  • Marc Rich, commodities trader who received a Presidential pardon (2013)
  • Howard Baker, politician (2014)

Holidays and Celebrations

  • Arbor Day (Phillipines)
  • Army and Navy Day (Azerbaijan)
  • Flag Day (Romania)
  • Independence Day (Madagascar)
  • Independence Day (Somalia)
  • International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (International)
  • International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (International)
  • National Canoe Day
  • Ratcatcher’s Day (Hamelin, Germany)
  • Sunthorn Phu Day (Thailand)

June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years). There are 188 days remaining until the end of the year.