Events, Births and Deaths Happening on this Date
Monday, June 22, 2026
Today is the 173rd day of 2026. There are 192 days left in this year.
Notable Events
1611
English explorer Henry Hudson, his son and several other people were set adrift in present-day Hudson Bay by mutineers.
1633
The Holy Office in Rome forces Galileo Galilei to recant his view that the Sun, not the Earth, is the center of the Universe in the form he presented it in, after heated controversy.
1774
The British pass the Quebec Act, setting out rules of governance for the colony of Quebec in British North America.
1783
A poisonous cloud caused by the eruption of the Laki volcano in Iceland reaches Le Havre in France.
1807
In the Chesapeake-Leopard affair, the British warship HMS Leopard attacks and boards the American frigate USS Chesapeake.
1812
France declares war on Russia, starting Napoleon's invasion.
1813
in the war of 1812, After learning of American plans for a surprise attack on Beaver Dams in Ontario, Laura Secord sets out on a thirty kilometers (19 mi) journey on foot to warn Lieutenant James FitzGibbon.
1815
Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated a second time.
1839
Cherokee leaders Major Ridge, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot are assassinated for signing the Treaty of New Echota, which had resulted in the Trail of Tears.
1868
Arkansas was re-admitted to the Union.
1870
Congress created the Department of Justice.
1893
The Royal Navy battleship HMS Camperdown accidentally rams the British Mediterranean Fleet flagship HMS Victoria which sinks taking 358 crew with her, including the fleet's commander, Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon.
1897
British colonial officers Charles Walter Rand and Lt. Charles Egerton Ayerst are assassinated in Pune, Maharashtra, India by the Chapekar brothers and Mahadeo Vinayak Ranade, who are later caught and hanged.
1911
George V and Mary of Teck are crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland at Westminster Abbey.
1918
The Hammond Circus Train Wreck kills 86 and injures 127 near Hammond, Indiana.
1922
British Army Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson is killed by the Irish Republican Army helping to spark the Irish Civil War.
1933
Hitler bans all other parties making Germany a one political party country, the National Socialist party is the only party that would now exist in Germany.
1934
Work on the first prototype of The Peoples Car which became the (Volkswagen Beetle) was started by Ferdinand Porsche.
1937
Joe Louis wins the world heavyweight boxing title when he defeats American Jim Braddock in an eighth-round knockout.
1938
Heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis knocked out Max Schmeling of Germany in the first round of their rematch at New York City's Yankee Stadium.
1940
During World War II, Adolf Hitler gained a stunning victory as France was forced to sign an armistice eight days after German forces overran Paris.
1940
The first ever Dairy Queen store opened in Joliet, Illinois.
1940
France is forced to sign an armistice with Germany, in the same railroad car in which the Germans signed the Armistice in 1918.
1941
Germany invaded the Soviet Union with the start of operation Barbarossa.
1942
The Pledge of Allegiance is formally adopted by U.S. Congress.
1944
President Roosevelt signed the GI Bill of Rights, authorizing a broad package of benefits for World War II veterans.
1945
The World War II battle for Okinawa officially ended; 12,520 Americans and 110,000 Japanese were killed in the 81-day campaign.
1948
The ship HMT Empire Windrush brought the first group of 802 West Indian immigrants to Tilbury, marking the start of modern immigration to the United Kingdom.
1948
King George VI formally gives up the title "Emperor of India", half a year after Britain actually gave up its rule of India.
1965
The Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea is signed.
1966
Vietnamese Buddhist activist leader Thích Trí Quang was arrested as the military junta of Nguyen Cao Ky crushed the Buddhist Uprising.[
1969
The Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio caught fire due to oil getting in the water from bridge debris. This helped draw national attention to the problem of pollution and contributed to the creation of Earth Day and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
1970
President Nixon signed a measure lowering the voting age to 18.
1976
Parliament votes to abolish capital punishment in Canada.
1977
John N. Mitchell became the first former U.S. Attorney General to go to prison as he began serving a sentence for his role in the Watergate cover-up. He was released 19 months later.
1978
Charon, the first of Pluto's satellites to be discovered, was first seen at the United States Naval Observatory by James W. Christy.
1979
Former Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe was acquitted of conspiracy to murder Norman Scott, who had accused Thorpe of having a relationship with him.
1981
Mark David Chapman pleaded guilty to killing rock star John Lennon.
1989
The government of Angola and the anti-Communist rebels of the UNITA movement agreed to a formal truce in their 14-year-old civil war.
1992
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that hate-crime laws that ban cross-burning and similar expressions of racial bias violated free-speech rights.
2000
Independent Counsel Robert Ray ended his investigation of the 1993 firings in the White House travel office, issuing no indictments but saying he'd found ''substantial evidence'' that First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton played a role in the dismissals.
2000
Wuhan Airlines Flight 343 is struck by lightning and crashes into Wuhan's Hanyang District, killing 49 people.
2002
An earthquake measuring 6.5 Mw strikes a region of northwestern Iran killing at least 261 people and injuring 1,300 others and eventually causing widespread public anger due to the slow official response.
2004
The convicted pedophile and child killer Marc Dutroux is sentenced to life in prison in Belgium for the kidnap and rape of six young girls, and murder of four young girls.
2005
Ten former Nazi officers during World War II were sentenced to life in prison by a military tribunal in La Spezia, Italy.
2008
Over seven hundred people were missing after a ferry capsized off of the coast of the Philippines after encountering harsh seas caused by Typhoon Fengshen.
2009
A Washington D.C Metro train traveling southbound near Fort Totten station collides into another train waiting to enter the station. Nine people are killed in the collision (eight passengers and the train operator) and at least 80 others are injured.
2012
Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was convicted of 45 counts of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct against minors.
2012
Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo is removed from office by impeachment and succeeded by Federico Franco.
2012
A Turkish Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter plane is shot down by the Syrian Armed Forces, killing both of the plane's pilots and worsening already-strained relations between Turkey and Syria.
2013
Unesco listed Japan's Mount Fuji as a World Heritage site because of its cultural value in Japanese society.
2015
The Afghan National Assembly building is attacked by gunmen after a suicide bombing. All six of the gunmen are killed and 18 people are injured.
2022
An earthquake occurs in eastern Afghanistan resulting in over 1,000 deaths.
Notable Births
1899
Richard Gurley Drew, American engineer, invented Masking tape (d. 1980)
1903
John Dillinger was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He commanded the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing twenty-four banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprisoned several times and escaped twice. (d. 1934)
1906
Anne Morrow Lindbergh was an American writer and aviator. She was the wife of decorated pioneer aviator Charles Lindbergh, with whom she made many exploratory flights. (d. 2001)
1906
Billy Wilder, Austrian-born American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2002)
1909
Mike Todd, American producer and manager (d. 1958)
1916
Johnny Jacobs was an American television announcer, often for Chuck Barris productions, The Newlywed Game and The Dating Game.
1922
Bill Blass, American fashion designer, founded Bill Blass Group (d. 2002)
1933
Dianne Feinstein was an American politician who served as a United States senator from California from 1992 until her death in 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988. (d. 2023)
1936
Kris Kristofferson, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor.
1937
Chris Blackwell, English record producer, co-founded Island Records.
1941
Ed Bradley was an American broadcast journalist and news anchor who is best known for reporting with 60 Minutes and CBS News. (d. 2006)
1943
Brit Hume, American journalist and author.
1947
Don Henley, a lead singer and drummer for the Eagles was born in Gilmer Texas.
1947
Howard Kaylan is an American retired musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member and lead singer of the 1960s rock band The Turtles, and, along with bandmate and friend Mark Volman, a member of the 1970s rock duo Flo & Eddie.
1948
Todd Rundgren is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia.
1949
Lindsay Wagner is an American film and television actress, model, author, singer, and acting coach. Wagner is best known for her leading role in the American science fiction television series The Bionic Woman (1976-1978).
1949
Meryl Streep is an American actress. Known for her versatility and accent adaptability, she has been described as "the best actress of her generation".
1949
Alan Osmond is an American former singer and musician. He is best known for being a member of the family musical group The Osmonds.
1949
Larry Junstrom was an American bassist who was a member of the rock band .38 Special from 1977 until 2014. He was also one of the founding members of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd.
1951
Craig Gruber was an American rock bassist, best known as the original bassist in Rainbow. He also played in Elf, consisting of vocalist Ronnie James Dio, keyboardist Mickey Lee Soule, drummer Gary Driscoll, and guitarist David Feinstein. (d. 2015)
1953
Cyndi Lauper, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress.
1954
Freddie Prinze, American comedian and actor (d. 1977)
1957
Garry Gary Beers, is an Australian musician and was the bass guitarist for the rock group INXS.
1960
Erin Brockovich, American lawyer and environmentalist.
1964
Amy Brenneman is an American actress and producer. She worked extensively in television, coming to prominence as Detective Janice Licalsi in the ABC police drama series NYPD Blue (1993-1994).
1973
Carson Daly, American radio and television host.
1974
Donald Faison is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his leading role as Dr. Chris Turk in the ABC/NBC comedy-drama Scrubs (2001-2010)
Notable Deaths
1965
David O. Selznick, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1902)
1969
Singer-actress Judy Garland died in London at age 47.
1969
Judy Garland was an American actress, singer, and dancer. She attained international stardom and critical acclaim as an actress in both musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist, and on the concert stage. (b. 1922)
1987
Actor-dancer-singer Fred Astaire died at a Los Angeles hospital at age 88.
1987
Fred Astaire was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter. Widely regarded as the "greatest popular-music dancer of all time," he received numerous accolades. (b. 1899)
1993
Former first lady Pat Nixon died in Park Ridge, N.J., at age 81.
1993
Pat Nixon, American educator, 37th First Lady of the United States (b. 1912)
1998
Actress Maureen O'Sullivan died in Scottsdale, Ariz., at age 87.
2004
Bob Bemer, American computer scientist and engineer (b. 1920)
2008
Dody Goodman, American actress and dancer (b. 1914)
2008
George Carlin was an American social critic, stand-up comedian, actor, and author. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comedians of all time. (b. 1937)
2008
Natalia Bekhtereva, Russian neuroscientist and psychologist (b. 1924)
2015
James Roy Horner was an American film composer. He worked on more than 160 film and television productions between 1978 and 2015. (b. 1953)
2018
Vinnie Paul was an American musician best known for being the drummer and co-founder of the heavy metal band Pantera. He also co-founded Damageplan in 2003 with his younger brother, Darrell Abbott, and was a member of Hellyeah for 12 years. (b. 1964)