June 16 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1779 Spain declares war on Great Britain in support of France and the USA, starting the Great Siege of Gibraltar which goes on to last 3 years, 7 months and 2 weeks

1858 Abraham Lincoln says “A house divided against itself cannot stand” accepting Illinois Republican Party’s nomination for the Senate

1904 Bloomsday (date of events in James Joyce‘s novel “Ulysses”)

1963 Soviet space mission Vostok 6 is launched with Valentina Tereshkova onboard, who becomes the 1st woman in space

2000 Israel complies with UN Security Council Resolution 425 after 22 years, which calls on Israel to completely withdraw from Lebanon. Israel withdraws from all of Lebanon, except the disputed Sheba Farms

Today’s Historical Events

632 Origin of Persian [Yezdegird] Era

1487 Battle of Stoke, Nottinghamshire: Henry VII beats John de la Pole & Lord Lovell

1567 Mary, Queen of Scots, imprisoned in Lochleven Castle prison, Scotland

1624 Virginia becomes an English crown colony following the bankruptcy of the London Company

1673 Peace of Vossem: French King Louis XIV and Frederik Willem of Brandenburg

1745 British fleet occupies Cape Breton on St Lawrence River

1746 Battle at Piacenza: Austria & Sardinia beat Spanish and French army

1755 British capture Fort Beauséjour, expel Acadians

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1960 “Psycho”, psychological horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Janet Leigh, Anthony Perkins, and Vera Miles, opens in New York City

1961 Dave Garroway is fired as host of NBC’s “Today Show”

1966 Rowan & Martin host “The Dean Martin Show” Summer Series, on NBC-TV

1978 Film “Grease” opens, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, based on the 1971 musical

1978 Ringo Starr releases album “Bad Boy”

1980 Musical comedy film “The Blues Brothers”, starring Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, and directed by John Landis, premieres in Chicago, Illinois

1983 Ringo Starr releases album “Old Wave” album in West Germany; soon after releases follow in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Netherlands, Mexico, and Brazil

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1902 “The Wizard of Oz” musical first opens in Chicago, Illinois

1958 “Flip Top Box” by Dicky Doo & The Don’ts hits #46

961 Soviet ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev defects to West at Le Bourget Airport in Paris

1967 50,000 attend first day of the Monterey International Pop Festival – beginning of the Summer of Love

1967 The first Montreux Jazz Festival is held in Switzerland, created by Claude Nobs [1]

1977 “Beatlemania” opens on Broadway

1979 Single “Logical Song” by Supertramp peaks at #6

1982 Columbia Records releases “Somewhere in the Stars”, the fourth studio album by Rosanne Cash; produced by husband Rodney Crowell, and featuring her father Johnny Cash on one track

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1883 1st baseball “Ladies’ Day” (NY Gothams beat Cleveland Spiders 5-2)

1894 US National Championship Women’s Tennis, Philadelphia CC: Helen Hellwig beats defending champion Aline Terry 7-5, 3-6, 6-0, 3-6, 6-3

1899 Victor Trumper‘s 1st Test Cricket century 135* v England, Lord’s

1903 1st Highlander (Yankee) shut-out victory 1-0 over White Sox

1909 Jim Thorpe makes his pro baseball pitching debut for Rocky Mount (ECL) with 4-2 win, this will cause him to forfeit his Olympic gold medals

1917 49th Belmont: James Butwell aboard Hourless wins in 2:17.8

1929 Otto E. Funk, 62, ends marathon walk (NY to SF, 4165 miles in 183 days)

1932 Sutcliffe and Holmes make 555 opening cricket stand for Yorkshire v Essex