Today June 7th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
1099 – The First Crusade: The Siege of Jerusalem begins.
1420 – Troops of the Republic of Venice capture Udine, ending the independenceo f the Patriarchate of Aquileia.
1494 – Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Tordesillas which divides the New World between the two countries.
1654 – Louis XIV is crowned King of France.
1692 – Port Royal, Jamaica, is hit by a catastrophic earthquake; in just three minutes, 1,600 people are killed and 3,000 are seriously injured.
1776 – Richard Henry Lee presents the Lee Resolution to the Continental Congress. The motion is seconded by John Adams and leads to the United States Declaration of Independence.
1800 – David Thompson reaches the mouth of the Saskatchewan River in Manitoba.
1832 – Asian cholera reaches Quebec, brought by Irish immigrants, and kills about 6,000 people in Lower Canada.
1862 – The United States and Britain agree to suppress the slave trade.
1863 – During the French intervention in Mexico, Mexico City is captured by French troops.
1866 – 1,800 Fenian raiders are repelled back to the United States after they loot and plunder around Saint-Armand and Frelighsburg, Quebec.
1880 – War of the Pacific: The Battle of Arica, assault and capture of Morro de Arica (Arica Cape), that ended the Campaña del Desierto (Desert Campaign).
1892 – Benjamin Harrison becomes the first President of the United States to attend a baseball game.
1893 – Gandhi s first act of civil disobedience.
1905 – Norway s parliament dissolves its union with Sweden, a vote that was confirmed by a national plebiscite on August 13 of that year.
1906 – Cunard Line s RMS Lusitania is launched at the John Brown Shipyard, Glasgow (Clydebank), Scotland.
1909 – Mary Pickford made her screen debut at the age of 16.
1917 – World War I: Battle of Messines – Allied ammonal mines underneath German trenches in Mesen Ridge are detonated, killing 10,000 German troops.
1919 – Sette giugno: Riot in Malta; four are killed.
1936 – The Steel Workers Organizing Committee, a trade union, is founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Philip Murray is elected its first president.
1938 – The Douglas DC-4E makes its first test flight.
1940 – King Haakon VII of Norway, Crown Prince Olav and the Norwegian government leave Tromsø and go into exile in London.
1942 – World War II: The Battle of Midway ends.
1942 – World War II: Japanese soldiers occupy the American islands of Attu and Kiska, in the Aleutian Islands off Alaska.
1944 – World War II: Battle of Normandy – At Abbey Ardennes members of the SS Division Hitlerjugend massacre 23 Canadian prisoners of war.
1945 – King Haakon VII of Norway returns with his family to Oslo after five years in exile.
1948 – Edvard Beneš resigns as President of Czechoslovakia rather than signing a Constitution making his nation a Communist state.
1955 – Lux Radio Theater signs off the air permanently. The show launched in New York in 1934, and featured radio adaptations of Broadway shows and popular films.
1965 – The Supreme Court of the United States decides on Griswold v. Connecticut, effectively legalizing the use of contraception by married couples.
Births
1967 – The Israeli forces enter Jerusalem during the Six-Day War.
1968 – The body of assassinated U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy lies in state at St. Patrick s Cathedral, New York.
1971 – The United States Supreme Court overturns the conviction of Paul Cohen for disturbing the peace, setting the precedent that vulgar writing is protected under the First Amendment.
1975 – Sony introduces the Betamax videocassette recorder for sale to the public.
1977 – 500 million people watch on television as the high day of Jubilee gets underway for Queen Elizabeth II.
1981 – The Israeli Air Force destroys Iraq s Osiraq nuclear reactor during Operation Opera. The facility could have been used to make nuclear weapons.
1982 – Priscilla Presley opens Graceland to the public; the bathroom where Elvis Presley died five years earlier is kept off-limits.
1987 – Washington Dulles International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport are transferred to The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
1989 – A Surinam Airways DC-8 Super 62 crashes near Paramaribo Airport, Suriname, killing 168.
1991 – Mount Pinatubo explodes generating an ash column 7 km (4.5 miles) high.
1993 – The Holbeck Hall Hotel in Scarborough, UK, falls into the sea following a landslide.
1995 – The long range Boeing 777 enters service with United Airlines.
1998 – James Byrd, Jr. is dragged to death by Shawn Allen Berry, Lawrence Russel Brewer, and John William King in Jasper, Texas in a racially-motivated hate crime.
2001 – Tony Blair s Labour Party wins another landslide victory in the General Election.
2006 – British Houses of Parliament temporarily shut down due to anthrax alert.
Deaths
1529 – Étienne Pasquier, French lawyer and writer (d. 1615)
1761 – John Rennie, Scottish engineer (d. 1821)
1770 – Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1828)
1778 – Beau Brummell, English fashion leader (d. 1840)
1811 – James Young Simpson, British obstetrician (d. 1870)
1831 – Amelia Edwards, English author and Egyptologist (d. 1892)
1837 – Alois Hitler, father of Adolf Hitler (d. 1903)
1840 – Charlotte of Belgium, Empress of Mexico (d. 1927)
1845 – Leopold Auer, Hungarian violinist and composer (d. 1930)
1848 – Paul Gauguin, French painter (d. 1903)
1862 – Philipp Lenard, Austrian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1947)
1868 – Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Scottish architect, designer, and illustrator (d. 1928)
1877 – Charles Glover Barkla, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1944)
1879 – Knud Rasmussen, Greenlander explorer (d. 1933)
1879 – Joan Voûte, Dutch astronomer (d. 1963)
1883 – Sylvanus Morley, American archaeologist and spy (d. 1948)
1886 – Henri Coanda, Romanian aerodynamics pioneer (d. 1972)
1894 – Alexander de Seversky, Russian-born American aviation pioneer (d. 1974)
1896 – Robert S. Mulliken, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
1896 – Imre Nagy, Hungarian politician (d. 1958)
1896 – Douglas Campbell, American World War I flying ace (d. 1990)
1897 – George Szell, Hungarian conductor (d. 1970)
1899 – Elizabeth Bowen, Irish novelist (d. 1973)
1900 – Glen Gray, American jazz musician (d. 1963)
1902 – Herman B Wells, American college president (d. 2000)
1909 – Virginia Apgar, American physician (d. 1974)
1909 – Peter W. Rodino, American politician (d. 2005)
1909 – Jessica Tandy, English-born American actress (d. 1994)
1910 – Bradford Washburn, American explorer (d. 2007)
1911 – Brooks Stevens, American industrial designer (d. 1995)
1917 – Gwendolyn Brooks, American poet (d. 2000)
1917 – Dean Martin, American actor (d. 1995)
1920 – Georges Marchais, French politician (d. 1997)
1921 – Tal Farlow, American jazz guitarist (d. 1998)
1922 – Leo Reise, Canadian ice hockey player
1923 – Jules Deschênes, Canadian jurist (d. 2000)
1927 – Charles de Tornaco, Belgian racing driver (d. 1953)
1928 – Dave Bowen, Welsh football manager (d. 1995)
1928 – James Ivory, American film director
1928 – Reg Park, British bodybuilder
1929 – John Napier Turner, Canadian politician
1929 – Ernie Roth, American wrestling manager (d. 1983)
1931 – Malcolm Morley, English painter
1933 – Herb Score, American baseball player (d. 2008)
1935 – Harry Crews, American author
1935 – Thomas Kailath, American engineer
1937 – Neeme Järvi, Estonian conductor
1938 – Goose Gonsoulin, American football player
1940 – Tom Jones, Welsh singer
1943 – Nikki Giovanni, American poet
1943 – Ken Osmond, American actor
1945 – Wolfgang Schüssel, Chancellor of Austria
1946 – Jenny Jones, Palestinian-born American talk show host
1947 – Don Money, American baseball player and manager
1947 – Thurman Munson, American baseball player (d. 1979)
1950 – Gary Graham American actor
1951 – Terry O Reilly Canadian hockey player
1952 – Liam Neeson, Northern Irish actor
1953 – Dougie Donnelly, Scottish television broadcaster
1953 – Johnny Clegg, South African musician
1954 – Louise Erdrich, American author
1955 – William Forsythe, American actor
1955 – Tim Richmond, American race car driver (d. 1989)
1956 – Antonio Reid, American music producer
1957 – Juan Luis Guerra, Dominican musician
1957 – Paddy McAloon, English singer and songwriter (Prefab Sprout)
1957 – Ruth Anderson, Welsh rug maker
1958 – Surakiart Sathirathai, Thai politician
1958 – Prince, American musician
1960 – Bill Prady, American television producer
1961 – Dave Catching, American musician
1962 – Thierry Hazard, French singer and songwriter
1962 – Takuya Kurosawa, Japanese racing driver
1962 – Michael Cartellone, American drummer (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
1963 – Roberto Alagna, French tenor
1964 – Judie Aronson, American actress
1964 – Gia Carides, Australian actress
1965 – Mick Foley, American professional wrestler
1965 – Jean-Pierre François, French footballer and singer
1965 – Damien Hirst, English artist
1965 – Christine Roque, French singer
1966 – Stephane Richer, Canadian hockey player
1966 – Eric Kretz, American musician (Stone Temple Pilots)
1967 – Dave Navarro, American musician
1969 – Kim Rhodes, American actress
1969 – Prince Joachim of Denmark
1970 – Mike Modano, American ice hockey player
1970 – Cafu, Brazilian footballer
1970 – Andrei Kovalenko, Russian hockey player
1971 – Alex X. Mooney, American politician
1971 – Terrell Buckley, American football player
1972 – Karl Urban, New Zealand actor
1973 – Song Yun-ah, South Korean model and actress
1974 – Bear Grylls, British adventurer and former soldier
1974 – Cassius Khan, Canadian Tabla player and vocalist
1974 – Mahesh Bhupathi, Indian tennis player
1975 – Allen Iverson, American basketball player
1976 – Necro, American rapper
1977 – Marcin Baszczynski, Polish footballer
1977 – Joe Horgan, American baseball player
1977 – Odalis Pérez, Dominican baseball player
1978 – Tony An, Korean singer (H.O.T)
1978 – Adrienne Frantz, American actress
1978 – Bill Hader, American comedian
1979 – Kevin Hofland, Dutch footballer
1981 – Anna Kournikova, Russian tennis player
1981 – Stephen Bywater, British footballer
1981 – Tyler Johnson, American baseball player
1981 – Kevin Kyle, Scottish footballer
1981 – Larisa Oleynik, American actress
1981 – Amrita Rao, Indian model and actress
1982 – Virgil Vasquez, American baseball player
1983 – Mark Lowe, American baseball player
1985 – Charlie Simpson, British pop singer
1985 – Simon Whaley, English footballer
1988 – Michael Cera, American actor
1988 – Milan Lucic, Canadian hockey player
1993 – Jordan Fry, American actor
1996 – Jasper Harris, British actor
Holidays and observances
1329 – Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland (b. 1274)
1358 – Ashikaga Takauji, Japanese shogun (b. 1305)
1394 – Anne of Bohemia, wife of Richard II of England (plague) (b. 1367)
1618 – Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, English Governor of Virginia (b. 1577)
1676 – Paul Gerhardt, German hymnist (b. 1606)
1711 – Henry Dodwell, Irish theologian (b. 1641)
1779 – William Warburton, English critic and Bishop of Gloucester (b. 1698)
1810 – Luigi Schiavonetti, Italian engraver (b. 1765)
1821 – Tudor Vladimirescu, Romanian rebellion-leader (b. c. 1780)
1826 – Joseph von Fraunhofer, German physicist (b. 1787)
1840 – King Frederick William III of Prussia (b. 1770)
1854 – Charles Baudin, French admiral (b. 1792)
1859 – David Cox, English artist (b. 1783)
1866 – Chief Seattle, Native American leader
1896 – Pavlos Carrer, Greek composer (b. 1829)
1911 – Maurice Rouvier, French statesman (b. 1842)
1916 – Émile Faguet, French writer and critic (b. 1847)
1927 – Edmund James Flynn, Premier of Quebec (b. 1847)
1936 – Stjepan Seljan, Croatian explorer (b. 1875)
1937 – Jean Harlow, American actress (b. 1911)
1942 – Alan Blumlein, English electronics engineer (b. 1903)
1951 – Oswald Pohl, German Nazi leader (b. 1892)
1954 – Alan Turing, British mathematician and computer scientist (b. 1912)
1963 – Zasu Pitts, American actress (b. 1894)
1965 – Judy Holliday, American actress (b. 1921)
1966 – Jean Arp, Alsatian sculptor, painter, and poet (b. 1886)
1967 – Dorothy Parker, American writer (b. 1893)
1967 – Anatoly Maltsev, Russian mathematician (b. 1909)
1968 – Dan Duryea, American actor (b. 1907)
1970 – E. M. Forster, English author (b. 1879)
1978 – Ronald George Wreyford Norrish, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
1979 – Forrest Carter, American author (b. 1925)
1980 – Henry Miller, American writer (b. 1891)
1980 – Elizabeth Craig, British writer (b. 1883)
1988 – Vernon Washington, American actor (b. 1927)
1989 – Chico Landi, Brazilian racing driver (b. 1907)
1992 – Bill France, first president of NASCAR, NASCAR founder
1993 – Dražen Petrovic, Croatian basketball player (b. 1964)
1995 – Hsuan Hua, influential Buddhist master in the United States (b. 1918)
1996 – Max Factor, Jr., American businessman (b. 1904)
1999 – Paco Stanley, Mexican TV entertainer (b. 1942)
2001 – Carole Fredericks, American singer (Fredericks Goldman Jones) (b. 1952)
2001 – Víctor Paz Estenssoro, President of Bolivia (b. 1907)
2002 – Mary Lilian Baels, Belgian princess (b. 1916)
2003 – Trevor Goddard, English actor (b. 1962)
2006 – John Tenta, Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1963)
2006 – Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Jordanian-born Mujahid (b. 1966)
2008 – Rudy Fernandez, Filipino actor (b. 1953)
2008 – Jim McKay, American sportscaster (b. 1921)
