12 History Lessons + 6 Births & 6 Deaths for June 15, 2025
Today’s History:
- 1215 – King John of England seals the Magna Carta at Runnymede, establishing foundational principles of constitutional governance.
- 1775 – George Washington is appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army by the Second Continental Congress.
- 1836 – Arkansas is admitted as the 25th U.S. state.
- 1844 – Charles Goodyear receives a patent for vulcanization, a process to strengthen rubber.
- 1864 – Arlington National Cemetery is established on the grounds of Robert E. Lee’s estate.
- 1877 – Henry Ossian Flipper becomes the first African American to graduate from West Point.
- 1911 – The IBM precursor company, Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR), is incorporated.
- 1944 – U.S. forces begin the Battle of Saipan in the Pacific during World War II.
- 1977 – Spain holds its first free elections since 1936, following the death of dictator Francisco Franco.
- 1992 – U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle incorrectly spells “potato” as “potatoe” during a school visit, generating national ridicule.
- 1996 – Ella Fitzgerald, the “First Lady of Song,” dies at age 79.
- 2012 – Nik Wallenda becomes the first person to successfully tightrope walk directly over Niagara Falls.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1953 – Xi Jinping, President of China (72)
- 1954 – James Belushi, actor and comedian (71)
- 1964 – Courteney Cox, actress best known for Friends (61)
- 1973 – Neil Patrick Harris, actor and entertainer (How I Met Your Mother) (52)
- 1992 – Mohamed Salah, Egyptian professional footballer (33)
- 1994 – Troye Sivan, singer, songwriter, and actor (31)
Today’s Deaths:
- 1849 – James K. Polk, 11th President of the United States (53)
- 1917 – Erik Satie, French composer and pianist (59)
- 1993 – James Hunt, British Formula One World Champion (45)
- 1996 – Ella Fitzgerald, iconic American jazz singer (79)
- 2013 – Kenneth G. Wilson, Nobel Prize-winning physicist (77)
- 2019 – Franco Zeffirelli, Italian director and opera producer (96)
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