Milestones for June 26

1284 Hameln, Germany

An inscription in the Rattenfanger House says that "In the year of 1284, on John's and Paul's day, the 26th of June, a piper, dressed in all kinds of colours, led 130 children - born in Hamelin away and they were lost at the 'calvarie' near the 'koppen.'" The legend of the Pied Piper of Hamelin says that the town of Hamelin was suffering from a terrible plague of rats, and the Mayor promised 1000 florins to the one who could put an end to the plague. A stranger dressed in bright red and yellow clothing showed up and said he could rid Hamelin of the rats. At night, he started to play a soft tune on a flute, luring all the rats out of the houses and barns towards the river Weser, where they drowned. The Mayor refused to pay the piper, saying: "Playing a tune on a flute is not worth 1000 florins. Get out of Hamelin!" But the piper returned on Sunday morning, when all the adults were at church, and again started to play a tune on his flute. This time, all the children followed him, as he walked out of the gate toward the mountains. Suddenly, a cave opened in the mountain. The piper walked into the mountain, still followed by the children, and the cave closed again. The children were never seen again. Scholars think the legend may have some basis in fact, either that the piper was hired by some ruler to recruit settlers for new colonies in Eastern Europe, or there was a dance epidemic, a plague, or a children's crusade. The brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm wrote down the modern story in 1816, and in 1849 the poet Robert Browning wrote a version in English, which inspired Canadian director Atom Egoyan's recent film, The Sweet Hereafter. [pictures: from Greenaway edition; Charles Addams cartoon in The New Yorker]

1483 London, England

Richard III of England, the former Duke of Gloucester, accepts a petition from Parliament and begins his rule; he is crowned on July 6 after deposing his nephew Edward V, who it was discovered was illegitimate; Shakespeare's drama aside, there is no evidence to suggest that young Edward and his brother Richard were later murdered in the Tower at the request of Richard. [picture: by Holler]

1870 Munich, Germany

Against Richard Wagner's wishes, his opera "Die Walkure" (The Valkyrie) premieres in Munich; part two of his series, The Nibelung's Ring, based on German mythology. The story is about a woman, Sieglinde, who shelters a warrior, Siegmund, who becomes her lover, (and who later on turns out to be her brother). Brunnhilde, the Valkryie (the helper of the Gods and daughter of the God Wotan) helps Siegmund escape against the god Wotan's wishes. Wotan intervenes and kills Siegmund and punishes Brünnhilde by putting her to sleep on a rock surrounded by fire. The opera ends with Wotan stating that only a hero would be able to pass through the fire to rescue her and become her husband. Wagner's famous musical piece, The Ride of the Valkyries, has been used in everything from Peugeot car ads to the movie Apocalypse Now. [picture: Wotan, by Arthur Rackham]

1906 Le Mans, France

First Grand Prix of the Auto Club de France held over two days at Le Mans, on an immense 100 km, triangular course to the east of the city passing through the eastern fringes of Le Mans and La Ferte Bernard in the north and St Calais to the south; todays Circuit of the 24 Hours is situated just south of the city, and dates from 1923.

1909 London, England

Opening of the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington; originally founded in 1852 as the Museum of Ornamental Art, it housed housed both science and art exhibits, but now specializes in decorative arts; it has 145 galleries, including the national collections of sculpture, furniture, fashion and textiles, paintings, silver, glass, ceramics, jewellery, books, prints and photographs; the last public act performed by Queen Victoria was to lay its foundation stone, on May 17, 1899.

1945 San Francisco, California

Fifty allied nations sign the United Nations Charter in San Francisco; the body, which succeeds the League of Nations, will eventually have its headquarters on New York City property donated by the Rockefeller Foundation.

Other Events

0684 06 26 St Benedict II begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1284 06 26 Pied Piper lures 130 children of Hamelin away (actually happened)
1409 06 26 Council of Pisa selects Petros Philargi as 3rd Pope: Alexander V
1483 06 26 Duke of Gloucester appoints himself English king Richard III
1483 06 26 Richard III usurps English throne
1498 06 26 Toothbrush invented
1553 06 26 Christ's Hospital in England granted a charter
1630 06 26 Swedish troops under Gustaf II Adolf lands at Peenemnde
1714 06 26 Spain & Netherlands sign peace/trade agreement
1721 06 26 Dr Zabdiel Boylston gives first smallpox inoculations in America
1794 06 26 Battle of Colors: France under Jourdan beats Austrian army
1797 06 26 Charles Newbold patents first cast-iron plow. He can't sell it to farmers, though, they fear effects of iron on soil!
1807 06 26 Lightning hits gunpowder warehouse in Luxembourg; 230 die
1843 06 26 Hong Kong proclaimed a British Crown Colony
1844 06 26 US pres John Tyler marries Julia Gardiner in NYC
1848 06 26 First pure food law enacted in US
1857 06 26 62 receive Victoria Cross
1857 06 26 Cawnpore England massacre
1862 06 26 Battle of Beaver Dam Creek-Union repulses Confederacy in Virginia
1862 06 26 Day 2 of 7 Days-Battle of Mechanicsville VA (Meadow Bridge)
1862 06 26 US Army of Virginia established under Gen John Pope
1870 06 26 First section of Atlantic City (NJ) Boardwalk opens
1870 06 26 Wagner's opera Valkyrie premieres in Munich
1879 06 26 Ismael Pasha resigns as khedive of Egypt
1894 06 26 Karl Benz of Germany receives US patent for gasoline-driven auto
1896 06 26 First movie theater in US opens, charging 10¢ for admission
1900 06 26 Dr Walter Reed begins research that beats Yellow Fever
1902 06 26 Order of Merit instituted by King Edward VII
1902 06 26 Start of Sherlock Holmes Adventure of 3 Garidebs (BG)
1906 06 26 Hongar Szisz wins first Grand-Prix (Le Mans, France)
1907 06 26 Bolsheviks overthrows transport in Tiflis
1909 06 26 23rd US Womens Tennis: H Hotchkiss beats Maud Barger-Wallach (60 61)
1909 06 26 Victoria & Albert Museum opens in London
1910 06 26 24th US Womens Tennis: H Hotchkiss Wightman beats L Hammond (64 62)
1910 06 26 Hazel Hotchkiss wins US Lawn Tennis Assn championship
1911 06 26 Nieuport sets an aircraft speed record of 83 mph (133 kph)
1912 06 26 Gustav Mahlers 9th Symphony premieres in Vienna
1915 06 26 Germany suppresses its Vorwarts newspaper after it called for peace
1916 06 26 Cleveland Indians experiment with #s on their jerseys (one game)
1917 06 26 First US Expeditionary Force arrive in France during WW I
1919 06 26 NY Daily News begins publishing
1924 06 26 After 8 years of occupation, US troops leave Dominican Republic
1924 06 26 Ziegfeld Follies opens on Broadway
1927 06 26 Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke approaches within 0.0394 AUs of Earth
1929 06 26 ENKA/Vereinigte Glanzstoff Factory merge AKU (Genl Kunstzijde Union)
1934 06 26 FDR signs Federal Credit Union Act, establishing Credit Unions
1934 06 26 Germany & Poland sign no-attack treaty
1934 06 26 W E B Du Bois resigns position at NAACP
1935 06 26 Andrew Sandham's 100th FC hundred, 103 v Hants
1935 06 26 Lloyd Waner sets record of 18 putouts in center in doubleheader
1935 06 26 SDAP & CPH achieve majority in city council in Amsterdam
1935 06 26 Work service for recent graduate obligatory in Germany
1936 06 26 First flight of Fw61 helicopter
1936 06 26 Everett Marshall beats Ali Baba in Columbus, to become wrestling champ
1937 06 26 Test cricket debut of Len Hutton v NZ at Lord's, scores 0 & 1
1938 06 26 Cin Red Lonny Frey hits 8 doubles in a doubleheader
1940 06 26 End of USSR experimental calendar; Gregorian readopted 6/27
1941 06 26 Finland enters WW II against Russia
1941 06 26 Lithuanian fascist massacre 2,300 Jews in Kovno
1942 06 26 German assault on British at Mersa Matruh
1944 06 26 2nd British army reaches Grainville-Mouen line
1944 06 26 Yanks, Dodgers & Giants play unique 6 inn game for War Bonds, each playing successive innings, final score Dodgers-5, Yanks-1 & Giants-0
1945 06 26 England win the second Victory test cricket at Bramall Lane by 41 runs
1945 06 26 UN Charter signed by 50 nations in SF
1946 06 26 Dutch Nazi collaborator Arnold Meijer sentenced to 5 years
1946 06 26 Fred Allen's last radio show, his guest is Jack Benny
1948 06 26 US denounces Soviet blockade of Berlin
1949 06 26 First Belgian parliamentary election where women can vote (CVP gains)
1950 06 26 Pres Gottwald of Czech confirms Milada Hor kov 's death sentence
1952 06 26 Dutch social democratic party wins elections (29%)
1952 06 26 Nelson Mandela & 51 others infringe South Africa curfew
1953 06 26 KCTV (now KLST) TV channel 8 in San Angelo, TX (CBS) first broadcast
1953 06 26 Russian vice-premier/interior minister Beria arrested
1954 06 26 Jim Peters runs marathon in 2:17:39.4
1955 06 26 Actor Geoffrey Holder marries Carmen de Lavallade
1955 06 26 Freedom Charter signed in South-Africa
1955 06 26 Patty Berg wins LPGA Western Golf Open
1958 06 26 Gaston Eyskens becomes premier of Belgium
1958 06 26 Mackinac Straits Bridge, Michigan dedicated
1958 06 26 Vanguard SLV-2 launched for Earth orbit (failed)
1959 06 26 Ingemar Johansson TKOs Floyd Patterson in 3 for heavywgt boxing title
1959 06 26 Queen Elizabeth & Pres Eisenhower open St Lawrence Seaway
1960 06 26 British Somaliland (now Somalia) gains independence from Britain
1960 06 26 Hall of Fame allows veteran committee to vote annually
1960 06 26 Italian Somaliland declares independence from Italian-administration
1960 06 26 Madagascar (formerly Malagasy Rep) declares independence from France
1962 06 26 Blacks begin passive resistance in Cairo Ill
1962 06 26 Boston Red Sox Earl Wilson no-hits LA Angels, 2-0
1962 06 26 WSEC (now WLRN) TV channel 17 in Miami, FL (PBS) begins broadcasting
1963 06 26 Alfons Gorbach forms Austrian govt
1963 06 26 Dutch 2nd Chamber condemns commercial TV
1963 06 26 Kennedy visits W Berlin Ich bin ein Berliner (I am a Berliner)
1964 06 26 Beatles release A Hard Day's Night album
1964 06 26 Blacks & Whites riot over racial segregation in St Augustine
1964 06 26 Mo‹se Tsjombe forms govt in Congo
1965 06 26 Wallon party forms in Belgium
1966 06 26 Time for Singing closes at Broadway Theater NYC after 41 perfs
1966 06 26 Carol Mann wins LPGA Waterloo Women's Golf Open Invitational
1966 06 26 Kanton Bazel leads female suffrage in Switzerland
1967 06 26 Pope Paul VI names 27 new cardinals
1968 06 26 Executive Council decides both AL & NL to divide into 2 divisions
1968 06 26 Iwo Jima & Bonin Islands returned to Japan by US
1970 06 26 Frank Robinson hits 2 grand slams as Orioles beat Senators 12-2
1971 06 26 Man of La Mancha closes at ANTA Wash Sq Theater NYC after 2329 perfs
1971 06 26 Angels suspend Alex Johnson (after 5 benchings & 29 fines)
1972 06 26 Bob Massie takes 16 wickets (8-84 & 8-53) on Test cricket debut v Eng
1972 06 26 IRA proclaims resistant in North-Ireland
1973 06 26 London production of Grease premieres
1974 06 26 Liz Taylor's 5th divorce (Richard Burton)
1975 06 26 Cher divorces Sonny Bono
1975 06 26 Indian PM Indira Gandhi declares a state of emergency
1976 06 26 WS shortstop Toby Harrah plays DH without touching a batted ball
1977 06 26 42 die in fire inmate causes at Maury County Jail in Columbia Tenn
1977 06 26 Debbie Austin wins LPGA Hoosier Golf Classic
1977 06 26 Elvis Presley sings in Indianapolis, last performance of his career
1978 06 26 Brittany separatists bomb Palace of Versailles in France
1978 06 26 First dedicated oceanographic satellite, SEASAT 1, launched
1979 06 26 Heavyweight Muhammad Ali confirms that his 3rd retirement is final
1979 06 26 Rocker Nigel Olsson runs a stop sign, crashes & kills a driver
1981 06 26 For Your Eyes Only premieres in US
1982 06 26 Carlos Lopes runs Europe record 10k (27:34.39)
1982 06 26 Marie Osmond marries Steve Craig
1982 06 26 US vetos UN Security Council resolution for a limited withdrawal from Beirut of Israeli & Palestine Liberation Organization forces
1983 06 26 Loving premieres on TV
1983 06 26 Show Boat closes at Uris Theater NYC after 73 performances
1983 06 26 Ayako Okamoto wins LPGA Rochester Golf International
1984 06 26 First flight of Shuttle Discovery (41-D) scrubbed at T -4
1984 06 26 Barbra Streisand records Here We Are at Last
1984 06 26 Tiny Tim gets married
1986 06 26 South African journalist Zwelakhe Sisulu arrested
1987 06 26 Losing 9-0 to Red Sox, Yanks score 11 in 3rd & win 12-11 in 10 inn
1987 06 26 Supreme Court Justice Lewis F Powell Jr announces his retirement
1988 06 26 Kathy Postlewait wins LPGA McDonald's Golf Championship
1989 06 26 Canada updates coins with a new potrait of the Queen
1989 06 26 Melanie Griffith & Don Johnson marry for 2nd time
1989 06 26 Supreme Court rules 16 year olds can receive death penalty
1990 06 26 122øF in Phoenix Arizona
1990 06 26 8 KS & OK radio stations boycott k d lang, due to her anti-meat ad
1990 06 26 New Kid on the Block Donnie Wahlberg release from hospital after fall
1991 06 26 Getting Married opens at Circle in Sq Theater NYC for 70 perfs
1991 06 26 ANC leader Nelson Mandela addresses congress
1991 06 26 Amy Elizabeth Goodman, of California, crowned America's Junior Miss
1991 06 26 Charlotte Hornets make Larry Johnson of UNLV, NBA's #1 draft pick
1991 06 26 Ky medical examiner announces Zachary Taylor died of natural causes
1992 06 26 India leases Tin Bigha corridor to Bangladesh
1992 06 26 NYC's MTA votes to ban cigarette ads on Jan 1, 1993
1992 06 26 Supreme Court rules fund soliciting can be banned at airports
1993 06 26 Late Night with David Letterman airs for last time on NBC-TV
1993 06 26 Actress Julia Roberts & country singer Lyle Lovett wed
1993 06 26 NY Met Eddie Murray is 20th to get 1,600 RBIs
1993 06 26 Rebecca Jones, of Georgia, 18, crowned America's Junior Miss
1993 06 26 US Tomahawk-rockets hit Iraqi secret service, Baghdad
1994 06 26 Broken Glass closes at Booth Theater NYC after 73 performances
1994 06 26 Medea closes at Longacre Theater NYC after 82 performances
1994 06 26 104øF (40øC) at Denver Colorado
1994 06 26 107øF (41.6øC) at Albuquerque New Mexico
1994 06 26 112øF (44.4øC) at El Paso Texas
1994 06 26 122øF (50øC) at Laughlin Nevada
1994 06 26 126øF (52.2øC) in Death Valley Calif
1994 06 26 Actor Brandon Cruz (32) weds Elizabeth Finkelstein (26)
1994 06 26 Air Ivory Fokker's-27 crashes at Abidjan (16 killed/1 lives)
1994 06 26 Donna Andrews wins ShopRite LPGA Golf Classic
1994 06 26 Kirby Puckett pass Rod Carew with 2,088 hit as Twin's top hit leader
1994 06 26 PLO-leader Yasser Arafat returns to Gaza after 27 years
1994 06 26 US loses to Romania 1-0 in 1994 soccer world cup
1995 06 26 Gunmen ambush Egyptian pres Hosni Mubarak, escapes unharmed
1997 06 26 Galileo, Ganymede Observations (Orbit 9)
1997 06 26 Supreme Court strikes down Internet indecency law
1997 06 26 Supreme Court upholds doctor-assisted suicide ban

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