On leap years, this day usually marks the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere and the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere.

Events

• 451 – Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius' battles Attila the Hun. After the battle, which was inconclusive, Attila retreats, causing the Romans to interpret it as a victory.
• 1214 – The University of Oxford receives its charter.
• 1631 – The sack of Baltimore: the Irish village of Baltimore is attacked by Algerian pirates.
• 1652 – Tarhoncu Ahmet Paşa appointed grand vezir of the Ottoman Empire, served until 21 March 1653.
• 1685 – Monmouth Rebellion: James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth declares himself King of England at Bridgwater.
• 1756 – A British garrison is imprisoned in the Black Hole of Calcutta.
• 1782 – The U.S. Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States.
• 1787 – Oliver Ellsworth moves at the Federal Convention to call the government the United States.
• 1789 – Deputies of the French Third Estate take the Tennis Court Oath.
• 1791 – King Louis XVI of France and his immediate family begin the Flight to Varennes during The French Revolution.
• 1819 – The U.S. vessel SS Savannah arrives at Liverpool, United Kingdom. She is the first steam-propelled vessel to cross the Atlantic, although most of the journey was made under sail.
• 1837 – Queen Victoria succeeds to the British throne.
• 1840 – Samuel Morse receives the patent for the telegraph.
• 1862 – Barbu Catargiu, the Prime Minister of Romania, is assassinated.
• 1863 – American Civil War: West Virginia is admitted as the 35th U.S. state.
• 1877 – Alexander Graham Bell installs the world's first commercial telephone service in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
• 1893 – Lizzie Borden is acquitted for the murders of her father and stepmother.
• 1919 – 150 die at the Teatro Yaguez fire, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
• 1944 – World War II: The Battle of the Philippine Sea concludes with a decisive U.S. naval victory. The lopsided naval air battle is also known as the “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot”.
• 1948 – Toast of the Town, later The Ed Sullivan Show, makes its television debut.
• 1956 – A Venezuelan Super-Constellation crashes in the Atlantic Ocean off Asbury Park, New Jersey, killing 74 people.
• 1959 – A rare June hurricane struck Canada's Gulf of St. Lawrence killing 35.
• 1960 – Independence of Mali and Senegal.
• 1963 – The so-called "red telephone" is established between the Soviet Union and the United States following the Cuban Missile Crisis.
• 1973 – Ezeiza massacre in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Snipers fire upon left-wing Peronists. At least 13 are killed and more than 300 are injured.
• 1979 – ABC News correspondent Bill Stewart is shot dead by a Nicaraguan soldier under the regime of Anastasio Somoza Debayle. The murder is caught on tape and sparked international outcry of the regime.
• 1990 – Asteroid Eureka is discovered.
• 1991 – The German parliament decides to move the capital from Bonn back to Berlin.

Births

• 236 BC – Scipio Africanus, Roman statesman and general of the Second Punic War (d. 183 BC)
• 1005 – Ali az-Zahir, caliph (d. 1036)
• 1389 – John, Duke of Bedford, regent of England (d. 1435)
• 1469 – Gian Galeazzo Sforza, duke of Milan (d. 1494)
• 1485 – Astorre III Manfredi, lord of Faenza (d. 1502)
• 1566 – King Sigismund III Vasa of Poland (d. 1632)
• 1583 – Jacob De la Gardie, Swedish soldier and statesman (d. 1652)
• 1634 – Charles Emmanuel II of Savoy (d. 1675)
• 1642 (O.S.) – George Hickes, English minister and scholar (d. 1715)
• 1647 – John George III, Elector of Saxony (d. 1691)
• 1699 – William Gustav of Anhalt-Dessau (d. 1737)
• 1717 – Jacques Saly, French sculptor (d. 1776)
• 1723 (O.S.) – Adam Ferguson, Scottish philosopher and historian (d. 1816)
• 1723 (O.S.) – Theophilus Lindsey, English theologian (d. 1808)
• 1733 – Betty Washington, sister of George Washington (d. 1797)
• 1737 – Tokugawa Ieharu, Japanese Shogun (d. 1786)
• 1754 – Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt (d. 1832)
• 1756 – Joseph Martin Kraus, Swedish composer (d. 1792)
• 1761 – Jacob Hübner, German entomologist (d. 1826)
• 1763 – Wolfe Tone, Irish patriot (d. 1798)
• 1770 – Moses Waddel, American educator/minister and bestselling author (d. 1840)
• 1771 – Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, Scottish philanthropist (d. 1820)
• 1771 – Hermann von Boyen, German army officer (d. 1848)
• 1778 – Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac, French politician (d. 1832)
• 1786 – Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, French poet (d. 1859)
• 1796 – Luigi Amat di San Filippo e Sorso, Italian cardinal (d. 1878)
• 1808 – Samson Raphael Hirsch, German rabbi (d. 1888)
• 1813 – Joseph Autran, French poet (d. 1877)
• 1819 – Jacques Offenbach, German-born French composer (d. 1880)
• 1855 – Sir Richard Lodge, English historian (d. 1936)
• 1858 – Charles W. Chesnutt, American writer (d. 1932)
• 1860 – Jack Worrall, Australian cricketer, footballer, and coach (d. 1937)
• 1861 – Frederick Hopkins, English biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (d. 1947)
• 1862 – Marco Praga, Italian playwright (d. 1929)
• 1870 – Georges Dufrénoy, French post-impressionnist painter (d. 1943)
• 1872 – George Carpenter, the 5th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1948)
• 1875 – Reginald Punnett, British geneticist (d. 1967)
• 1885 – Andrzej Gawroński, Polish scholar (d. 1927)
• 1887 – Kurt Schwitters, German painter and writer (d. 1948)
• 1889 – John S. Paraskevopoulos, Greek-South African astronomer (d. 1951)
• 1891 – John A. Costello, second Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland (d. 1976)
• 1891 – Giannina Arangi-Lombardi, Italian soprano (d. 1951)
• 1893 – Wilhelm Zaisser, German politician (d. 1958)
• 1894 – Lloyd Hall, American chemist (d. 1971)
• 1896 – Wilfrid Pelletier, Canadian conductor (d. 1982)
• 1897 – Elisabeth Hauptmann, German writer (d. 1973)
• 1899 – Jean Moulin, French Resistance leader (d. 1943)
• 1905 – Lillian Hellman, American playwright (d. 1984)
• 1907 – Jimmy Driftwood, American songwriter and musician (d. 1998)
• 1908 – Billy Werber, American baseball player (d. 2009)
• 1909 – Errol Flynn, Australian actor (d. 1959)
• 1911 – Gail Patrick, American actress (d. 1980)
• 1912 – Anthony Buckeridge, English author (d. 2004)
• 1915 – Dick Reynolds, Australian rules footballer and coach (d. 2002)
• 1915 – Terence Young, British film director (d. 1994)
• 1916 – Jean-Jacques Bertrand, premier of Quebec (d. 1973)
• 1916 – Johnny Morris, British children's presenter (d. 1999)
• 1917 – Igor Śmiałowski, Polish actor (d. 2006)
• 1918 – George Lynch, American auto racer (d. 1997)
• 1918 – Zoltán Sztáray, Hungarian writer
• 1920 – Hans Gerschwiler, Swiss figure skater
• 1921 – Byron Farwell, American military historian (d. 1999)
• 1923 – Bjørn Watt-Boolsen, Danish actor (d. 1998)
• 1924 – Chet Atkins, American guitar player and producer (d. 2001)
• 1924 – Audie Murphy, American Medal of Honor recipient and actor (d. 1971)
• 1924 – Fritz Koenig, German sculptor
• 1928 – Eric Dolphy, American jazz musician (d. 1964)
• 1928 – Jean-Marie Le Pen, French politician
• 1930 – Paul Pender, American boxer
• 1930 – Magdalena Abakanowicz, Polish artist
• 1931 – Olympia Dukakis, American actress
• 1931 – Martin Landau, American actor
• 1931 – James Tolkan, American actor
• 1932 – Robert Rozhdestvensky, Russian poet (d. 1994)
• 1933 – Danny Aiello, American actor
• 1934 – Wendy Craig, English actress
• 1934 – Rossana Podestà, Italian actress
• 1934 – Yuri Vizbor, Russian poet (d. 1984)
• 1935 – Len Dawson, American football player
• 1935 – Neal Knox, American gun rights activist (d. 2005)
• 1936 – Billy Guy, American singer (The Coasters) (d. 2002)
• 1937 – Jerry Keller, American pop singer and songwriter
• 1938 – Mickie Most, British record producer (d. 2003)
• 1939 – Ramakant Desai, Indian cricketer (d. 1998)
• 1940 – Eugen Drewermann, German theologian
• 1940 – John Mahoney, English actor
• 1941 – Ulf Merbold, German physicist and astronaut
• 1941 – Stephen Frears, English film director
• 1942 – Brian Wilson, American musician (The Beach Boys)
• 1944 – Cheryl Holdridge, American actress
• 1944 – David Roper, English actor
• 1945 – Anne Murray, Canadian singer
• 1946 – Bob Vila, American television host
• 1946 – Xanana Gusmão, President of East Timor
• 1946 – Andre Watts, American pianist
• 1946 – Lars Vilks, Swedish artist
• 1947 – Dolores Brooks, American singer (the Crystals)
• 1947 – Candy Clark, American actress
• 1947 – Josef Clemens, German bishop and Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity
• 1947 – Ivo Milazzo, Italian comic book artist
• 1948 – Ludwig Scotty, President of Nauru
• 1949 – Lionel Richie, American musician (The Commodores)
• 1949 – Alan Longmuir, Scottish bass guitarist (Bay City Rollers)
• 1950 – Nouri Al-Maliki, Prime Minister of Iraq
• 1951 – Tress MacNeille, American voice actress
• 1951 – Paul Muldoon, Northern Irish poet
• 1951 – Bill Simon, American businessman and politician
• 1952 – John Goodman, American actor
• 1952 – Vince Gotera, American poet
• 1952 – Larry Riley, American actor (d. 1992)
• 1952 – Vikram Seth, Indian poet
• 1953 – Ulrich Mühe, German actor (d. 2007)
• 1953 – Raúl Ramírez, Mexican tennis player
• 1953 – Willy Rampf, German F1 technical director (BMW Sauber)
• 1954 – Michael Anthony, American musician (Van Halen)
• 1954 – Ilan Ramon, Israeli combat pilot and astronaut (d. 2003)
• 1954 – Allan Lamb, South African born English cricketer
• 1956 – Peter Reid, English former footballer
• 1957 – Koko B. Ware, American professional wrestler
• 1958 – Chuck Wagner, American actor
• 1958 – Ron Hornaday, American racecar driver
• 1960 – John Taylor, English musician (Duran Duran)
• 1963 – Amir Derakh, American musician (Orgy)
• 1963 – Don West, American professional wrestling announcer
• 1964 – Pierfrancesco Chili, Italian motorcycle racer
• 1964 – Silke Möller, German track and field athlete
• 1967 – Nicole Kidman, American-born Australian actress
• 1968 – Robert Rodriguez, American film director
• 1969 – MaliVai Washington, American tennis player
• 1969 – Misha Verbitsky, Russian mathematician
• 1969 – Peter Paige, American actor
• 1970 – Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco
• 1970 – Andrea Nahles, German politician
• 1970 – Bruce Woodcock, American computer games analyst
• 1971 – Josh Lucas, American actor
• 1971 – Jeordie White, American musician (Marilyn Manson)
• 1971 – Josh Kronfeld, New Zealander rugby union footballer
• 1971 – Rodney Rogers, American basketball player
• 1972 – Alexis Alexoudis, Greek footballer
• 1972 – Paul Bako, American baseball player
• 1973 – Chino Moreno, American musician (Deftones)
• 1974 – Attila Czene, Hungarian swimmer
• 1974 – Tuta, Brazilian footballer
• 1975 – Daniel Zítka, Czech footballer
• 1976 – Jerome Fontamillas, American musician (Switchfoot)
• 1976 – Carlos Lee, Panamanian baseball player
• 1976 – Rob Mackowiak, American baseball player
• 1976 – Juliano Belletti, Brazilian footballer
• 1977 – Gordan Giriček, Croatian basketball player
• 1978 – LaVar Arrington, American football player
• 1978 – Quinton Jackson, American Mixed Martial Artist
• 1978 – Frank Lampard, English footballer
• 1978 – Jan-Paul Saeijs, Dutch footballer
• 1978 – Bobby Seay, American baseball player
• 1978 – Mike Birbiglia, Comedian
• 1979 – Charlotte Hatherley, English guitarist (Ash)
• 1979 – Charles Howell III, American professional golfer
• 1979 – Cael Sanderson, American olympic freestyle wrestler
• 1980 – Carlo Festuccia, Italian rugby union footballer
• 1980 – Fabian Wegmann, German road racing cyclist
• 1980 – Tony Lovato, American singer and guitarrist (Mest)
• 1980 – Franco Semioli, Italian footballer
• 1981 – Ardian Gashi, Albanian-Norwegian footballer
• 1981 – Angerfist, Dutch musician
• 1982 – Aleksei Berezutski, Russian footballer
• 1982 – Vasili Berezutski, Russian footballer
• 1982 – George Forsyth, Peruvian footballer
• 1983 – Darren Sproles, American football player
• 1983 – Josh Childress, American basketball player
• 1983 – Cherrie Ying, Hong Kong actress
• 1985 – Souleymane Mamam, Togolese footballer
• 1985 – Darko Miličić, Serbian basketball player
• 1988 – Shefali Chowdhury, Welsh actress
• 1989 – Christopher Mintz-Plasse, American actor
• 1989 – Terrelle Pryor, American football player
• 1991 – Lillian Wu, Chinese-American News Anchor
• 1997 – Maria Lark, Russian-born American actress

Deaths

• 451 – Theodorid, King of the Visigoths
• 840 – Louis the Pious, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (b. 778)
• 885 – Bernard Plantapilosa, Count of Auvergne (b. 841)
• 1176 – Mikhail of Vladimir, Russian prince
• 1597 – Willem Barentsz, Dutch navigator (b. 1550)
• 1605 – Feodor II of Russia, tsar of Russia (b. 1589)
• 1668 – Heinrich Roth, German Sanskrit scholar (b. 1620)
• 1776 – Benjamin Huntsman, English inventor and manufacturer (b. 1704)
• 1787 – Carl Friedrich Abel, German composer (b. 1723)
• 1800 – Abraham Gotthelf Kästner, German mathematician (b. 1719)
• 1810 – Count Axel von Fersen the Younger, Swedish statesman (b. 1755)
• 1820 – Manuel Belgrano, Argentine lawyer and politician (b. 1770)
• 1840 – Pierre Claude François Daunou, French statesman and historian (b. 1761)
• 1837 – William IV of the United Kingdom (b. 1765)
• 1869 – Toshizou Hijikata, Shinsengumi vice-commander (b. 1835)
• 1870 – Jules de Goncourt, French writer (b. 1830)
• 1872 – Elie Frédéric Forey, French general (b. 1804)
• 1888 – Johannes Zukertort, German-Polish-Jewish chess master (b. 1842)
• 1906 – John Clayton Adams, British landscape artist (b. 1840)
• 1925 – Josef Breuer, Austrian psychologist (b. 1842)
• 1929 – Emmanuel Benakis, Greek merchant and politician (b. 1843)
• 1945 – Bruno Frank, German author (b. 1878)
• 1945 – Luís Fernando de Orleans y Borbón, Spanish prince (b. 1888)
• 1947 – Bugsy Siegel, American crime figure (b. 1906)
• 1952 – Luigi Fagioli, Italian race car driver (b. 1898)
• 1958 – Kurt Alder, German chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1902)
• 1963 – Raphaël Salem, Greek mathematician (b. 1898)
• 1965 – Bernard Baruch, American politician (b. 1870)
• 1972 – Howard Johnson, American businessman, originator of restaurant chain (b. 1897)
• 1974 – Horace Lindrum, Australian snooker and billiards player (b. 1912)
• 1976 – Lou Klein, American baseball player (b. 1918)
• 1978 – Mark Robson, Canadian film director and producer (b. 1913)
• 1984 – Estelle Winwood, English actress (b. 1883)
• 1995 – Emil Cioran, Romanian-born French philosopher (b. 1911)
• 1996 – Jim Ellison, Singer/Guitarist for the band Material Issue (b. 1964)
• 1997 – Lawrence Payton, American singer (The Four Tops) (b. 1938)
• 1998 – Conrad Schumann, East German border guard (b. 1942)
• 1999 – Clifton Fadiman, American author (b. 1902)
• 2002 – Erwin Chargaff, Austrian biochemist (b. 1905)
• 2002 – Tinus Osendarp, Dutch runner (b. 1916)
• 2003 – Bob Stump, American politician (b. 1927)
• 2005 – Jack Kilby, American electrical engineer, Nobel laureate (b. 1923)
• 2005 – Larry Collins, American writer (b. 1929)
• 2006 – Billy Johnson, American baseball player (b. 1918)
• 2007 – Trevor Henry, New Zealand Justice (b. 1902)

Holidays and observances

• Solstice and Midsummer celebrations (if the solstice falls on this day, it varies annually)
• Neopaganism, Wicca: Litha in the Northern Hemisphere and Yule in the Southern Hemisphere (if solstice falls on this day)
• International Surfing Day (June 21 during leap years)
• World Refugee Day
• Argentina: Flag Day
• Eritrea: Martyrs' Day
• West Virginia: West Virginia Day.
• Saint Adalbert of Magdeburg (d. 981)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada