June 16th in History

1487 - Battle of Stoke Field, the final engagement of the Wars of the Roses.

1586 - Mary, Queen of Scots, recognizes Philip II of Spain as her heir and successor.

1745 - British troops take Cape Breton Island, which is now part of Nova Scotia, Canada.

1745 - War of the Austrian Succession: New England colonial troops under the command of William Pepperell capture the French Fortress of Louisbourg in Louisbourg, Nova Scotia (Old Style).

1746 - War of Austrian Succession: Austria and Sardinia defeat a Franco-Spanish army at the Battle of Piacenza.

1779 - Spain declares war on the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Great Siege of Gibraltar begins.

1846 - The Papal conclave of 1846 concludes. Blessed Pope Pius IX is elected Pope beginning the longest reign in the history of the papacy.

1897 - A treaty annexing the Republic of Hawaii to the United States is signed; the Republic would not be dissolved until a year later.

1903 - The Ford Motor Company is incorporated.

1904 - Irish author James Joyce begins a relationship with Nora Barnacle and subsequently uses the date to set the actions for his novel Ulysses; this date is now traditionally called "Bloomsday".

1940 - World War II: Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain becomes Chief of State of Vichy France (Chef de l'État Français).

1958 - Imre Nag y, Pál Maléter and other leaders of the 1956 Hungarian Uprising are executed.

1989 - Imre Nagy, the former Hungarian Prime Minister, is reburied in Budapest.

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

2010 - Bhutan becomes the first country to institute a total ban on tobacco.

Famous Birthdays

1139 - Emperor Konoe of Japan

1332 - Dame Isabella de Coucy, daughter of Edward III of England

1612 - Murad IV, Ottoman Sultan

1644 - Princess Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans

1858 - King Gustaf V of Sweden

1910 - Juan Velasco Alvarado, 1st President of Peru

1920 - José López Portillo, 31st President of Mexico

1937 - Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, last Tsar of Bulgaria

1943 - Joan Van Ark, actress

1955 - Laurie Metcalf, actress

1970 - Phil Mickelson, golfer

1973 - Amanda Byram, television host

1982 - May Andersen, model

1987 - Abby Elliott, actress and comedian

1988 - Nathan Parsons, actor