Updated June 21, 2012, 2:28 pm
On June 22, 1940, during World War II, Adolf Hitler gained a stunning victory as France was forced to sign an armistice eight days after German forces overran Paris.
On June 22, 1898, Erich Maria Remarque, the German-born author of “All Quiet on the Western Front”, was born. Following his death on Sept. 25, 1970, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1815 Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated for the second time. 1868 Arkansas was re-admitted to the Union. 1870 Congress created the Department of Justice. 1938 Heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis knocked out Max Schmeling of Germany in the first round of their rematch in New York City’s Yankee Stadium. 1940 France was forced to sign an armistice eight days after German forces overran Paris during World War II. 1941 Germany invaded the Soviet Union during World War II. 1944 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the GI Bill of Rights, authorizing a broad package of benefits for World War II veterans. 1945 The World War II battle for Okinawa ended; 12,520 Americans and 110,000 Japanese were killed in the 83-day campaign. 1969 Singer-actress Judy Garland died at age 47. 1970 President Richard Nixon signed a measure lowering the voting age to 18. 1977 Former Attorney General John N. Mitchell began serving a sentence for his role in the Watergate cover-up. 1981 Mark David Chapman pleaded guilty to killing rock musician John Lennon. 1986 Diego Maradona scored both goals in Argentina’s 2-1 World Cup quarterfinal victory over England in Mexico City – including one that he punched in, unseen by the referee. When asked about the play later, Maradona said, “It was the hand of God.” 1992 The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that hate-crime laws that ban cross-burning and similar expressions of racial bias violate free-speech rights. 1993 Former first lady Pat Nixon died at age 81. 2009 Jon and Kate Gosselin, stars of the reality TV series “Jon & Kate Plus 8,” announced plans to divorce. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Actress Meryl Streep turns 63 years old today.
AP Photo/Evan Agostini
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., turns 79 years old today.
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
1928 Ralph Waite, Actor (“The Waltons”), turns 84 1936 Kris Kristofferson, Country singer, actor, turns 76 1943 Brit Hume, Broadcast journalist, turns 69 1944 Peter Asher, Singer (Peter and Gordon), turns 68 1947 David L. Lander, Actor (“Laverne and Shirley”), turns 65 1948 Todd Rundgren, Rock singer, musician, turns 64 1949 Alan Osmond, Singer (The Osmonds), turns 63 1949 Lindsay Wagner, Actress (“The Bionic Woman”), turns 63 1952 Graham Greene, Actor, turns 60 1953 Cyndi Lauper, Singer, turns 59 1960 Tracy Pollan, Actress, turns 52 1962 Clyde Drexler, Basketball Hall of Famer, turns 50 1964 Dan Brown, Author (“The Da Vinci Code”), turns 48 1971 Mary Lynn Rajskub, Actress (“24”), turns 41 1973 Carson Daly, TV personality, turns 39 1974 Donald Faison, Actor (“Scrubs”), turns 38 1978 Champ Bailey, Football player, turns 34
Historic Birthdays
Erich Maria Remarque 6/22/1898 – 9/25/1970 German novelist; wrote “All Quiet on the Western Front”.Go to obituary »
66 Giuseppe Mazzini 6/22/1805 – 3/10/1872
Italian propagandist and revolutionary67 William McDougall 6/22/1871 – 11/28/1938
English-born American psychologist87 Sir Julian Huxley 6/22/1887 – 2/14/1975
English biologist, philosopher, educator and author85 Carl Hubbell 6/22/1903 – 11/21/1988
American professional baseball player48 Michael Todd 6/22/1909 – 3/22/1958
American producer and showman88 John Hunt 6/22/1910 – 11/8/1998
English mountaineer, explorer and army officer59 Gower Champion 6/22/1921 – 8/25/1980
American choreographer, dancer and director70 Joseph Papp 6/22/1921 – 10/31/1991
American theatrical producer and director22 Freddie Prinze 6/22/1954 – 1/29/1977
American TV actor and comedian
