June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 188 days remaining.

Events

600-1899

• 684 - Benedict II becomes Pope.
• 1483 - Richard III becomes king of England.
• 1819 - The bicycle is patented.

1900-1999

• 1924 - American occupying forces leave the Dominican Republic.
• 1934 - President Franklin Roosevelt signs the Federal Credit Union Act, which establishes credit unions.
• 1934 - Initial flight of the Focke-Wulf Fw 61, the first practical helicopter.
• 1940 - World War II: Under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet Union presents an ultimatum to Romania requiring it to cede Bessarabia and northern part of Bukovina.
• 1945 - The United Nations Charter is signed.
• 1948 - The Western allies start an airlift to Berlin after the Soviet Union has blockaded West Berlin.
• 1959 - The Saint Lawrence Seaway opens, opening North America's Great Lakes to ocean-going ships.
• 1960 - Former British Protectorate of Somaliland British Somaliland gains its independence
• 1963 - John F. Kennedy speaks the famous words "Ich bin ein Berliner".
• 1964 - The Beatles release the album A Hard Day's Night.
• 1974 - The first retail product (a pack of chewing gum) was sold using a barcode reader.
• 1975 - Indira Gandhi establishes authoritarian rule in India.
• 1977 - Last concert of Elvis Presley.
• 1979 - Muhammad Ali retires.
• 1997 - The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Communications Decency Act violates the First Amendment; the first Harry Potter book is released to the public.

2000-2099

• 2003 - The U.S. Supreme Court rules that sodomy laws are unconstitutional in Lawrence v. Texas.

Births

1600-1899

• 1653 - Cardinal André-Hercule de Fleury, Bishop of Fréjus, chief minister of France under Louis XV
• 1824 - Lord Kelvin, physicist, inventor of the Kelvin temperature scale (d. 1907)
• 1854 - Robert Laird Borden, eighth Prime Minister of Canada
• 1865 - Bernard Berenson, art connoisseur (d. 1959)
• 1892 - Pearl S. Buck, writer, recipient of the Nobel Prize in literature 1938 (d. 1973)
• 1898 - Willy Messerschmitt, aircraft designer (d. 1978)
• 1899 - Maria Nikolaevna Romanova, daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (d. 1918)

1900-1999

• 1904 - Peter Lorre, actor (d. 1964)
• 1906 - Alberto Rabagliati, Italian singer and actor
• 1909 - Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's manager (d. 1997)
• 1911 - Babe Didrikson Zaharias, American athlete and golfer (d. 1956)
• 1912 - Jay Silverheels, actor (d. 1980)
• 1919 - Richard Neustadt, political historian
• 1925 - Pavel Belyayev, cosmonaut (d. 1970)
• 1933 - Claudio Abbado, conductor
• 1934 - Jeremy Wolfenden, British journalist (d. 1965)
• 1936 - Robert Maclennan, British politician
• 1942 - Gilberto Gil, first Minister of Culture of Brazil, singer, songwriter, musician
• 1954 - Steve Barton, actor, singer, dancer
• 1955 - Mick Jones, musician
• 1956 - Chris Isaak, pop singer
• 1961 - Greg Lemond, cyclist
• 1968 - Rich Eisen, former ESPN SportsCenter anchor
• 1968 - Shannon Sharpe, American football player, commentator
• 1970 - Chris O'Donnell, actor
• 1973 - Gretchen Wilson, country music singer
• 1974 - Derek Jeter, baseball player
• 1980 - Jason Schwartzman, actor
• 1980 - Michael Vick, football quarterback
• 1985 - Urgyen Trinley Dorje, the 17th Karmapa, Tibetan spiritual leader

Deaths

300-1899

• 363 - Julian, Roman Emperor (killed in battle)
• 1541 - Francisco Pizarro, conqueror of Peru (murdered)

1900-1999

• 1922 - Albert I of Monaco
• 1947 - Richard Bedford Bennett, eleventh Prime Minister of Canada
• 1958 - Andrija Štampar, physician, WHO diplomat (b. 1888)
• 1958 - George Orton, Canadian athlete
• 1964 - Gerrit Rietveld, architect
• 1968 - Tony Hancock, comedian
• 1975 - St. Josemaría Escrivá, Opus Dei Founder
• 1984 - Michel Foucault, post-modernist theorist (b. 1926)
• 1993 - William H. Riker, political scientist
• 1997 - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, singer

2000-2099

• 2002 - Jay Berwanger, college football player, first winner of the Heisman Trophy
• 2003 - Sir Denis Thatcher Bt., husband to Baroness Thatcher, former UK Prime Minister
• 2003 - Strom Thurmond, former US Senator
• 2003 - Marc-Vivien Foé, Cameroonian footballer
• 2004 - Yash Johar, Indian film producer

Holidays and observances

• The United Nations' Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

June 25 - June 27 - May 26 - July 26 -- listing of all days