1596 – The Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz discovered the Arctic archipelago of Spitsbergen on the 17th June 1596.

1631 – Mumtaz Mahal died during childbirth on the 17th June 1631. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, then spent the next 17 years building her mausoleum, the Taj Mahal.

1867 – John Robert Gregg the American inventor was born on the 17th day of June in 1867 (d. 1948).

1867 – Henry Lawson the Australian poet was born on the 17th day of June in 1867 (d. 1922).

1885 – The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor on the 17th June 1885.

1898 ~ M. C. Escher the Dutch artist was born Maurits Cornelis Escher in  Leeuwarden, Friesland, Netherlands on the 17th June in 1898 (died 27th March 1972 aged 73).

1907 ~ Charles Eames, Jr  the American designer who made major contributions to modern architecture and modern furniture was born in St. Louis, Missouri on the 17th June 1907 (died 21st August 1978 aged 71).  Charles Eames and his wife Ray-Bernice Eames (1912~1988) also worked together in the fields of industrial and graphic design, fine art and film. www.EamesDesigns.com | www.EamesFoundation.org

1943 – Barry Manilow the American singer was born on the 17th day of June in 1943.

1944 – Iceland declared independence from Denmark and became a republic on the 17th June 1944.

1947 – Paul Young the English singer and percussionist from Mike + The Mechanics was born on the 17th day of June in 1947 (d. 2000).

1967 – Eric Stefani the original from No Doubt, and now cartoon animator was born on the 17th day of June in 1967.

1980 – Venus Williams the American tennis player was born on the 17th day of June in 1980.

1988 – Stephanie Rice the Australian swimmer was born on the 17th day of June in 1988.

1994 –  O.J. Simpson was arrested for the murders of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman, after a televised highway chase on the 17th day of June in 1994.

2013 ~ HARRiSON CRAiG won The Voice in Australia on the 17th June 2013.

Today in History for June 17th ~ video presented by the Associated Press… 

1779 – Spain declared war on the Kingdom of Great Britain on the 16th June 1779, and the Great Siege of Gibraltar began.

1792 – Thomas Mitchell the Australian explorer was born on the 16th June 1792 (d. 1855).

1816 – Lord Byron read Fantasmagoriana to his 4 house guests Percy Shelley, Mary Shelley, Claire Clairmont, and John Polidoriat the Villa Diodati on the 16th June 1816, which inspired his challenge that each guest write a ghost story, which culminated in Mary Shelley writing the novel Frankenstein, John Polidori writing the short story The Vampyre, and Byron writing the poem Darkness.

1829 – Geronimo the Native American leader was born on the 16th June 1829 (d. 1909).

1858 – Abraham Lincoln delivered his House Divided speech in Springfield, Illinois on the 16th June 1858.

1883 – The Victoria Hall theatre panic in Sunderland, England killed 183 children on the 16th June 1883.

1890 – Stan Laurel the English actor and comedian was born on the 16th June 1890 (d. 1965).

1903 – The Ford Motor Company was incorporated on the 16th June 1903.

1911 – IBM was founded as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in Endicott, New York on the 16th June 1911

1911 – A 772 gram stony meteorite hit the earth near Kilbourn, Wisconsin damaging a barn on the 16th June 1911.

1952 – Gino Vannelli the Canadian singer-songwriterwas was born on the 16th June 1952.

1963 – Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the 1st woman in space on the 16th June 1963, during Soviet Space Program: Vostok 6 Mission.

1967 – The Monterey Pop Festival began on the 16th June 1967.

1971 – Tupac Shakur the American rapper was born on the 16th June 1971 (d. 1996).

1975 ~ Peter Helliar the Australian comedian, actor, writer, producer, director, radio & television presenter was born in Melbourne on the 16th June 1975. Peter Helliar is known for his work on television as Rove McManus‘ sidekick on The Loft Live and Rove Live, and as Bryan Strauchan aka Strauchanie on Before the Game ~ www.strauchanie.com.au | Peter Helliar’s Twitter verified: www.Twitter.com/PJHelliar | Peter Helliar’s official Facebook: www.Facebook.com/PeterHelliar 

1977 – Oracle Corporation was incorporated in Redwood Shores, California, as Software Development Laboratories (SDL) on the 16th June 1977, by Larry Ellison, Bob Miner and Ed Oates. .

1990 ~ John Newman the British singer and musician was born on the 16th June 1990. John Newman is best known for the song Love Me Again which peaked at No.1 on the UK Singles Chart in July 2013, as well as being a featured artist on Rudimental‘s 2012 singles Feel the Love and Not Giving In.

2010 – Bhutan became the first country to institute a total ban on tobacco on the 16th June 2010.

2012 – China successfully launched its Shenzhou 9 spacecraft on the 16th June 2012, carrying 3 astronauts, including the 1st female Chinese astronaut, Liu Yang, to the Tiangong-1 orbital module.

2012 – The United States Air Force‘s robotic Boeing X-37B spaceplane returned to Earth on the 16th June 2012, after a classified 469-day orbital mission.

Today in History for June 16th ~ video presented by the Associated Press… 

1300 – The city of Bilbao was founded on the 15th June 1300.

1502 – Christopher Columbus landed on the island of Martinique on the 15th June 1502, on his 4th voyage.

1667 – The first human blood transfusion was administered by Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys on the 15th June 1667

1843 – Edvard Grieg the Norwegian pianist and composer was born on the 15th June 1843 (died 1907).

1937 – Waylon Jennings the American singer-songwriter from The Highwaymen was born on the 15th June 1937 (d. 2002).

1941 ~ Harry Nilsson the American singer-songwriter and musician was born on the 15th June 1941 (died 1994 aged 52). Nilsson achieved the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s, with his hit singles Everybody’s Talkin’ (1969), Without You (1971) and Coconut (1972). Nilsson’s career is notable because he was one of the few major pop-rock recording artists of his era to achieve significant commercial success without ever performing major public concerts or regular tours. He was awarded Grammys for 2 of his recordings; best male contemporary vocal in 1969 for Everybody’s Talkin’ in the Academy Award-winning movie Midnight Cowboy, and best male pop vocal in 1972 for Without You.

1945 ~ Mike Rudd the New Zealand-born leader of Australian progressive rock bands Spectrum and Ariel was born on the 15th June 1945.

1946 – Noddy Holder the English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Slade was born on the 15th June 1946.

1946 – Demis Roussos the Greek singer was born on the 15th June 1946.

1949 – Russell Hitchcock the Australian singer from Air Supply was born on the 15th June 1949.

1951 – Steve Walsh the American singer-songwriter and keyboardist from Kansas was born on the 15th June 1951.

1958 ~ Neil Arthur the singer from Blancmange was born on the 15th June 1958.

1963 – Helen Hunt the American actress was born on the 15th June 1963.

1964 – Courteney Cox the American actress, director, and producer was born on the 15th June 1964.

1969 – Ice Cube the American rapper, producer, director, and actor was born on the 15th June 1969.

1976 – Gary Lightbody the Irish singer-songwriter and musician from Snow Patrol was born on the 15th June 1976.

1984 – Luke Hodge the Australian footballer was born on the 15th June 1984.

2012 ~ Nik Wallenda became the 1st person in the World to walk a tightrope stretched over Niagara Falls on the 15th June 2012.

Today in History for June 15th ~ video presented by the Associated Press…