Updated June 25, 2012, 2:28 pm
On June 26, 1963, President Kennedy visited West Berlin, where he made his famous declaration: “Ich bin ein Berliner” (I am a Berliner).
On June 26, 1914, Babe Zaharias, the American athlete known for her achievements in golf, basketball and track and field, was born. Following her death on Sept. 27, 1956, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1894 The American Railway Union, led by Eugene Debs, called a general strike in sympathy with Pullman workers. 1917 The first troops of the American Expeditionary Force arrived in France during World War I. 1919 The New York Daily News was first published. 1925 Charlie Chaplin’s comedy “The Gold Rush” premiered in Hollywood. 1945 The United Nations charter was signed by 50 countries in San Francisco. 1948 The Berlin Airlift began in earnest as the United States, Britain and France began ferrying supplies to the isolated western sector of Berlin after the Soviet Union cut off land and water routes. 1950 President Harry S. Truman authorized the Air Force and Navy to enter the Korean conflict. 1973 Former White House counsel John W. Dean told the Senate Watergate Committee about an “enemies list” kept by the Nixon White House. 1990 President George H.W. Bush, who had campaigned for office on a pledge of “no new taxes,” conceded that tax increases would have to be included in any deficit-reduction package. 1996 The Supreme Court ordered the Virginia Military Institute to admit women or forgo state support. 2000 Rival scientific teams completed the first rough map of the human genetic code. 2003 The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, struck down state bans on gay sex. 2003 Strom Thurmond, the second longest-serving senator in U.S. history, died in Edgefield, S.C., at age 100. 2008 The Supreme Court struck down a handgun ban in the District of Columbia as it affirmed, 5-4, an individual right to gun ownership. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter turns 38 years old today.
AP Photo/Carlos Osorio
Actor Sean Hayes (“Will and Grace”) turns 42 years old today.
AP Photo/Peter Kramer
1922 Eleanor Parker, Actress (“The Sound of Music”), turns 90 1938 Neil Abercrombie, Governor of Hawaii, turns 74 1939 Charles Robb, Former Virginia governor and U.S. senator, turns 73 1946 Brenda Holloway, R&B singer, turns 66 1951 Robert Davi, Actor, turns 61 1955 Mick Jones, Rock singer, musician (The Clash, Big Audio Dynamite), turns 57 1956 Chris Isaak, Rock singer, musician, turns 56 1957 Patty Smyth, Rock singer, musician, turns 55 1968 Shannon Sharpe, Football Hall of Famer, turns 44 1970 Chris O’Donnell, Actor, turns 42 1970 Nick Offerman, Actor (“Parks and Recreation”), turns 42 1974 Gretchen Wilson, Country singer, turns 38 1976 Chad Pennington, Football player, turns 36 1980 Jason Schwartzman, Actor, turns 32 1980 Michael Vick, Football player, turns 32
Historic Birthdays
Babe Zaharias 6/26/1911 – 9/27/1956 American athlete.Go to obituary »
44 Arthur Middleton 6/26/1742 – 1/1/1787
American; signed the Declaration of Independence94 Bernard Berenson 6/26/1865 – 10/6/1959
American art critic63 Albert Siklos 6/26/1878 – 4/3/1942
Hungarian cellist, composer and musicologist80 Pearl Buck 6/26/1892 – 3/6/1973
American Nobel Prize-winning author (1938)80 Willy Messerschmitt 6/26/1898 – 9/17/1978
German aircraft engineer and designer87 Stuart Symington 6/26/1901 – 12/14/1988
American politician; U.S. senator from Missouri (1953-76)75 William Lear 6/26/1902 – 5/14/1978
American industrialist and electrical engineer87 Antonia Brico 6/26/1902 – 8/3/1989
Dutch-born American conductor and pianist59 Peter Lorre 6/26/1904 – 3/23/1964
Hungarian-born American film actor
