Today June 10th 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
1190 – Third Crusade: Frederick I Barbarossa drowns in the Sally River while leading an army to Jerusalem.
1539 – Council of Trent: Paul III sends out letters to his bishops, delaying the Council due to war and the difficulty bishops had traveling to Venice.
1619 – Thirty Years War: Battle of Záblatí, a turning point in the Bohemian Revolt.
1692 – Salem witch trials: Bridget Bishop is hanged at Gallows Hill near Salem, Massachusetts, for certaine Detestable Arts called Witchcraft & Sorceries.
1719 – Jacobite Rising: Battle of Glen Shiel.
1770 – Captain James Cook runs aground on the Great Barrier Reef.
1786 – A landslide dam on the Dadu River created by an earthquake ten days earlier collapses, killing 100,000 in the Sichuan province of China.
1793 – The Jardin des Plantes museum opens in Paris. A year later, it becomes the first public zoo.
1793 – French Revolution: Following the arrests of Girondin leaders the Jacobins gain control of the Committee of Public Safety installing the revolutionary dictatorship.
1805 – First Barbary War: Yussif Karamanli signs a treaty ending hostilities with the United States.
1829 – The first Boat Race between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge takes place.
1838 – Myall Creek Massacre in Australia: 28 Aboriginal Australians are murdered.
1854 – The first class of the United States Naval Academy students graduate.
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Brice s Crossroads – Confederate troops under Nathan Bedford Forrest defeat a much larger Union force led by General Samuel D. Sturgis in Mississippi.
1871 – Sinmiyangyo: Captain McLane Tilton leads 109 Marines in naval attack on Han River forts on Kanghwa Island, Korea.
1886 – Mount Tarawera in New Zealand erupts, killing 153 people and destroying the famous Pink and White Terraces.
1898 – Spanish-American War: U.S. Marines land on the island of Cuba.
1918 – The Austro-Hungarian battleship SMS Szent Istvan sinks after being torpedoed by an Italian MAS motorboat.
1924 – Fascists kidnap and kill Italian socialist leader Giacomo Matteotti in Rome.
1925 – Inaugural service for the United Church of Canada, a union of Presbyterian, Methodist, and Congregationalist churches held in Toronto Arena.
1935 – Dr. Robert Smith takes his last drink, and Alcoholics Anonymous is founded in Akron, Ohio, United States, by him and Bill Wilson.
1940 – World War II: Italy declares war on France and the United Kingdom.
1940 – World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt denounces Italy s actions with his Stab in the Back speech at the graduation ceremonies of the University of Virginia.
1940 – World War II: German forces, under General Erwin Rommel, reach the English Channel.
1940 – World War II: Canada declares war on Italy.
1940 – World War II: Norway surrenders to German forces.
1942 – World War II: Nazis burn the Czech village of Lidice in reprisal for the killing of Reinhard Heydrich.
1944 – World War II: 642 men, women and children are killed in the Oradour-sur-Glane Massacre in France.
1944 – World War II: In Distomo, Boeotia Prefecture, Greece 218 men, women and children are massacred by German troops.
1944 – In baseball, 15-year old Joe Nuxhall of the Cincinnati Reds becomes the youngest player ever in a major-league game.
1945 – Australian Imperial Forces land in Brunei Bay to liberate Brunei.
1947 – Saab produces its first automobile.
1965 – Vietnam War: The Battle of Dong Xoai begins.
1967 – Six-Day War ends: Israel and Syria agree to a cease-fire.
1967 – Argentina becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
1973 – John Paul Getty III, grandson of billionaire J. Paul Getty, is kidnapped in Rome, Italy.
1974 – Brandon Ramirez, noted visionary and graphics designer born in TJ, Mexico. Known as the father of Rambo the next generation.
1977 – James Earl Ray escapes from Brushy Mountain State Prison in Petros, Tennessee, but is recaptured on June 13.
1977 – Apple Computer ships its first Apple II personal computer.
1978 – Costa Rica becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
1980 – The African National Congress in South Africa publishes a call to fight from their imprisoned leader Nelson Mandela.
1996 – Peace talks begin in Northern Ireland without Sinn Féin.
1997 – Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot orders the killing of his defense chief Son Sen and 11 of Sen s family members before Pol Pot flees his northern stronghold.
1999 – Kosovo War: NATO suspends its air strikes after Slobodan Miloševic agrees to withdraw Serbian forces from Kosovo.
2001 – Pope John Paul II canonizes Lebanon s first female saint Saint Rafqa
2002 – The first direct electronic communication experiment between the nervous systems of two humans is carried out by Kevin Warwick in the United Kingdom.
2003 – The Spirit Rover is launched, beginning NASA s Mars Exploration Rover mission.
2008 – The Gora Prai airstrike by the United States reportedly kills 11 Pakistani paramilitary troops.
Births
1213 – Fakhruddin Iraqi, Persian philosopher
1632 – Esprit Fléchier, French writer and bishop (d. 1710)
1637 – Jacques Marquette, French Jesuit missionary and explorer (d. 1675)
1657 – James Cragg the Elder, British politician (d. 1721)
1688 – James Francis Edward Stuart (d. 1766)
1706 – John Dollond, English optician (d. 1761)
1710 – James Short, Scottish mathematician (d. 1768)
1753 – William Eustis, 12th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1825)
1803 – Henry Darcy, French scientist (d. 1858)
1804 – Hermann Schlegel, German ornithologist (d. 1884)
1825 – Sondre Norheim, Norwegian skier (d. 1897)
1819 – Gustave Courbet, French painter (d. 1877)
1825 – Princess Hildegard of Bavaria d. 1864
1835 – Rebecca Latimer Felton, U.S. Senator (d. 1930)
1839 – Ludvig Holstein-Ledreborg, Council President of Denmark (d. 1912)
1840 – Theodor Philipsen, Danish painter (d. 1920)
1843 – Heinrich von Herzogenberg, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1900)
1861 – Pierre Duhem, French physicist (d. 1916)
1862 – Mrs. Leslie Carter, American actress (d. 1937)
1863 – Louis Couperus, Dutch novelist (d. 1923)
1880 – André Derain, French painter (d. 1954)
1889 – Sessue Hayakawa, Japanese actor (d. 1973)
1891 – Al Dubin, American lyricist (d. 1945)
1895 – Hattie McDaniel, American actress (d. 1952)
1901 – Frederick Loewe, Austrian-born composer (d. 1988)
1907 – Fairfield Porter, American painter (d. 1975)
1908 – Robert Cummings, American actor (d. 1990)
1910 – Howlin Wolf, American musician (d. 1976)
1910 – Frank Demaree, American baseball player (d. 1958)
1910 – Robert Still, English composer (d. 1971)
1911 – Ralph Kirkpatrick, American musician and musicologist (d. 1984)
1911 – Terence Rattigan, British playwright (d. 1977)
1912 – Jean Lesage, Premier of Quebec (d. 1980)
1913 – Tikhon Khrennikov, Russian composer (d. 2007)
1915 – Saul Bellow, Nobel laureate (d. 2005)
1918 – Barry Morse, British-born Canadian actor (d. 2008)
1919 – Kevin O Flanagan, Irish athlete and physician (d. 2006)
1919 – Haidar Abdel-Shafi, Palestinian Negotiator and community leader (d. 2007)
1921 – Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
1921 – Jean Robic, French cyclist (d. 1980)
1922 – Judy Garland, American musical actress (d. 1969)
1923 – Robert Maxwell, Slovakian-born newspaperman (d. 1991)
1925 – Nat Hentoff, American historian, novelist, jazz critic, and columnist
1926 – Lionel Jeffries, British actor
1927 – Lin Yang-kang, Chinese politician
1927 – Ladislao Kubala, Hungarian-born footballer (d. 2002)
1928 – Maurice Sendak, American writer
1929 – Harald Juhnke, German actor and comedian (d. 2005)
1929 – Ian McCahon Sinclair, Australian politician
1929 – E. O. Wilson, American biologist
1931 – João Gilberto, Brazilian singer and guitarist
1932 – Branko Lustig, film producer
1933 – Georgi Atanasov, Bulgarian Prime Minister
1933 – F. Lee Bailey, American attorney
1935 – Vic Elford, British racing driver
1940 – Augie Auer, Meteorologist and television presenter (d. 2007)
1940 – John Stevens, British drummer (d. 1994)
1941 – Jürgen Prochnow, German actor
1941 – Mickey Jones, American musician and actor
1941 – Shirley Owens, American singer (Shirelles)
1941 – David Walker, Australian racing driver
1942 – Preston Manning, Canadian politician
1947 – Ken Singleton, American baseball player
1949 – John Sentamu, Archbishop of York
1950 – Elias Sosa, Major League Baseball pitcher
1951 – Dan Fouts, American football player
1953 – John Edwards, American politician and lawyer
1956 – Georg Borwin, Duke of Mecklenburg, head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
1957 – Lindsay Hoyle, British politician
1957 – Hidetsugu Aneha, Japanese architect
1959 – Eliot Spitzer, American politician
1959 – Carlo Ancelotti, A.C. Milan coach
1960 – Balakrishna Nandamuri, Indian actor
1960 – Maxi Priest, American musician
1961 – Kim Deal, American musician (Pixies), (The Breeders)
1961 – Kelley Deal, American musician (The Breeders)
1962 – Gina Gershon, American actress
1962 – Koma Wong Ka-Kui, Hong Kong musician (Beyond) (d. 1993)
1962 – Vincent Perez, Swiss actor
1962 – Akie Abe, former First Lady of Japan
1962 – Brent Sutter, Canadian ice hockey player
1963 – Brad Henry, American politician (current Oklahoma governor)
1963 – Jeanne Tripplehorn, American actress
1964 – Jimmy Chamberlin, American musician (The Smashing Pumpkins)
1964 – Ben Daniels, British actor
1964 – Tony Martin, Australian comedian
1965 – Elizabeth Hurley, English model and actress
1966 – David Platt, English footballer
1967 – Emma Anderson, British guitarist and songwriter (Lush, Sing-Sing)
1968 – Bill Burr, American comedian
1968 – Jimmy Shea, American skeleton racer
1968 – The D.O.C., American rapper
1969 – Ronny Johnsen, Norwegian footballer
1969 – Kate Snow, American TV journalist
1970 – Mike Doughty, American singer
1971 – Bobby Jindal, American politician; Louisiana Congressman, Governor
1971 – Joel Hailey, American singer
1971 – Bruno N Gotty, French footballer
1971 – Kyle Sandilands, Australian radio host and TV personality
1972 – Steven Fischer, American film producer and director
1972 – Radmila Šekerinska, Macedonian politician
1973 – Faith Evans, American singer
1973 – Pokey Reese, American baseball player
1973 – Flesh-N-Bone, American rapper, (Bone Thugs-N-Harmony)
1975 – Henrik Pedersen, Danish footballer
1975 – Risto Jussilainen, Finnish ski jumper
1976 – Freddy García, American baseball player
1976 – Hadi Saei Bonehkohal, Persian taekwondoka
1976 – Stefan Postma, Dutch footballer
1976 – Esther Ouwehand, Dutch politician, parliamentarian for the Party for the Animals
1977 – Takako Matsu, Japanese singer and actress
1977 – Adam Darski, Polish musician most known for being the leader of Behemoth
1977 – Mike Rosenthal, American football player, sports radio talk show host
1978 – Shane West, American actor
1978 – Brian West, American soccer player
1979 – Konstantinos Loumpoutis, Greek footballer
1979 – Jake Tsakalidis, Georgian-Greek basketball player
1980 – Francelino Matuzalem, Brazilian footballer
1980 – Ovie Mughelli, American football player
1980 – Jessica Di Cicco, American actress
1980 – Wang Yuegu, Singaporean Olympic table tennis player
1981 – Burton O Brien, Scottish footballer
1981 – Hoku, American singer and actress
1981 – Prince Hashim bin Al Hussein, of Jordan
1981 – Jonathan Bennett, actor (Mean Girls)
1982 – Princess Madeleine of Sweden
1982 – Tara Lipinski, American figure skater
1982 – Ana Lucia Souza, Brazilian ballet dancer
1983 – Leelee Sobieski, American actress
1984 – Dirk Van Tichelt, Belgian judoka
1984 – Dean Leacock, English footballer
1985 – Kristina Lundberg, Swedish ice hockey player
1985 – Vasilis Torosidis, Greek footballer
1987 – Amobi Okoye, Nigeria-born American football player
1987 – Martin Harnik, Austrian footballer
1988 – Kelly Vitz, American actress
Deaths
323 BC – Alexander the Great, Macedonian warlord (b. 356 BC)
1075 – Ernest of Austria (b. 1027)
1190 – Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1122)
1424 – Duke Ernest of Austria (b. 1377)
1552 – Alexander Barclay, English poet
1556 – Martin Agricola, German composer (b. 1486)
1580 – Luís de Camões, Portuguese poet
1607 – John Popham, English politician
1654 – Alessandro Algardi, Italian sculptor (b. 1598)
1680 – Johan Göransson Gyllenstierna, Swedish statesman (b. 1635)
1735 – Thomas Hearne, English antiquarian (b. 1678)
1776 – Leopold Widhalm, Austrian luthier (b. 1722)
1791 – Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte, French admiral (b. 1720)
1831 – Hans Karl von Diebitsch, Russian field marshal (b. 1785)
1836 – André-Marie Ampère, French physicist (b. 1775)
1849 – Thomas Robert Bugeaud, Marshal of France and duke of Isly (b. 1784)
1896 – Amelia Dyer, English murderer (b. 1829)
1898 – Tuone Udaina, last speaker of the Dalmatian language.
1899 – Ernest Chausson, French composer (b. 1855)
1901 – Robert Williams Buchanan, British dramatist (b. 1841)
1902 – Jacint Verdaguer, Catalan poet (b. 1845)
1909 – Edward Everett Hale, American author (b. 1822)
1912 – Anton Aškerc, Slovenian poet (b. 1856)
1918 – Arrigo Boito, Italian composer (b. 1842)
1923 – Pierre Loti, French sailor (b. 1850)
1926 – Antoni Gaudí, Spanish, Catalan architect (b. 1852)
1930 – Adolf Harnack, German theologian (b. 1851)
1934 – Frederick Delius, English composer (b. 1862)
1937 – Robert Borden, eighth Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1854)
1940 – Marcus Garvey, American civil rights activist (b. 1887)
1944 – Willem Jacob van Stockum, Dutch physicist (b. 1910)
1946 – Jack Johnson, American boxer (b. 1878)
1947 – Alexander Bethune, Canadian politician (b. 1852)
1949 – Sigrid Undset, Norwegian writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1882)
1958 – Angelina Weld Grimke, American journalist (b. 1880)
1959 – Zoltán Meskó, Hungarian Nazi (b. 1883)
1967 – Spencer Tracy, American actor (b. 1900)
1971 – Michael Rennie, English actor (b. 1909)
1973 – William Inge, American playwright (b. 1913)
1973 – Erich von Manstein, German military commander (b. 1887)
1974 – Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (b. 1900)
1976 – Adolph Zukor, Hungarian-born producer (b. 1873)
1982 – Rainer Werner Fassbinder, German author (b. 1945)
1982 – Addie Micki Harris, American singer (Shirelles) (b. 1940)
1986 – Merle Miller, American biographer (b. 1919)
1987 – Elizabeth Hartman, American actress (b. 1943)
1988 – Louis L Amour, American author (b. 1908)
1991 – Vercors, French writer (b. 1902)
1992 – Zak Hernández, American soldier (b. 1973)
1992 – Hachidai Nakamura, Japanese songwriter and pianist (b. 1931)
1993 – Les Dawson, English Comedian (b. 1934)
1996 – George Hees, Canadian politician (b. 1910)
1996 – Jo Van Fleet, American actress (b. 1914)
1998 – Hammond Innes, English author (b. 1914)
1998 – Jim Hearn, American baseball player (b. 1921)
2000 – Hafez al-Assad, President of Syria (b. 1930)
2000 – Brian Statham, English cricketer (b. 1930)
2001 – Princess Leila of Iran (b. 1970)
2001 – Mike Mentzer, American bodybuilder (b. 1951)
2002 – John Gotti, American gangster (b. 1940)
2003 – Donald Regan, Chief of Staff and U.S. Treasury Secretary (b. 1918)
2003 – Bernard Williams, English philosopher (b. 1929)
2003 – Dr Phil Williams, Welsh politician and scientist (b. 1939)
2004 – Ray Charles, American musician (b. 1930)
2005 – Curtis Pitts, American aircraft designer (b. 1915)
2007 – Augie Auer, Meteorologist and television presenter (b. 1940)
2008 – Chinghiz Aitmatov, Kyrgyzstani-Soviet writer (b. 1928)
Holidays and observances
Roman Empire – fourth day of the Vestalia in honor of Vesta
Portugal Day – National day of Portugal, Camões and the Portuguese Communities
Saint Anianus, bishop of Chartres
Blessed Getulius, Amancius and Cerealus, martyrs
Saint Landericus, bishop of Paris (Landry), confessor
Saint Onuphrius, hermit, confessor
Blessed Margaret, queen of Scotland
Saint Olivia
