June 15

Events

1215 - King John of England signs the Magna Carta.
1389 – Battle of Kosovo: The Ottoman Empire defeats Serbs and Bosnians.
1752 - Benjamin Franklin conducts his lighting experiment
1775 - George Washington becomes commander-in-chief of the Continental Army.
1808 - Joseph Bonaparte becomes King of Spain.
1836 - Arkansas is admitted as the 25th U.S. state.
1864 – American Civil War: Siege of Petersburg begins.
1864 – Arlington National Cemetery is established when 200 acres (0.8 km²) around Arlington Mansion (formerly owned by Confederate General Robert E. Lee)
1916 - U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signs a bill incorporating the Boy Scouts of America, making them the only American youth organization with a federal charter.
1974 - Members of the British National Front clash with leftist counter-protesters in London's West End; one student is killed.
1978 – King Hussein of Jordan weds American Lisa Halaby, who takes the name Queen Noor.
1994 - Israel and Vatican City establish full diplomatic relations.

1843 - Edvard Grieg, Norwegian composer (d. 1907)
1882 - Ion Antonescu, Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1946)
1889 - Harry Elmer Barnes, American historian (d. 1968)
1906 - Léon Degrelle, Belgian nationalist (d. 1994)
1914 - Yuri Andropov, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (d. 1984)
1924 – Ezer Weizman, Israeli politician (d. 2005)