323 BC – Alexander the Great, Macedonian king, dies from either fever or excessive wine at 32, (or the 11th June)
671 – Emperor Tenji of Japan introduces a water clock (clepsydra) called Rokoku. The instrument, which measure time and indicates hours, is placed in the capital of Ōtsu.
1099 – El Cid [Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar], Spanish general strategist, dies at 59
1540 – Thomas Cromwell arrested in Westminster
1692 – Salem witch trials: Bridget Bishop is hanged at Gallows Hill near Salem, Massachusetts, for “certaine Detestable Arts called Witchcraft & Sorceries”.
1768 – British customs officials seize John Hancock’s ship, “The Liberty”, on the suspicion that Hancock had illegally unloaded cargo without paying duties a month earlier
1793 – French Revolution: Following the arrests of Girondin leaders, the Jacobins gain control of the Committee of Public Safety installing the revolutionary dictatorship.
1801 – Tripoli declares war on US for refusing tribute
1838 – Myall Creek massacre: Twenty-eight Aboriginal Australians are murdered.
1871 – Sinmiyangyo: Captain McLane Tilton leads 109 Marines in naval attack on Han River forts on Kanghwa Island, Korea.
1882 – Anti-colonization mass society of Alexandria Egypt kills 50 Europeans
1898 – US Marines land in Cuba during Spanish-American War
1903 – In Belgrade, Yugoslavia, a military coup d’etat- led by the Queen’s brother-in-law and other offices – kills King Alexander I of Serbia, Queen Draga, and many officers
1910 – Howlin’ Wolf, [Chester Arthur Burnett], harmonica (Big City Blues) Born
1912 – The Villisca Axe Murders were discovered in Villisca, Iowa.
1916 – An Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire led by Lawrence of Arabia breaks out.
1922 – Judy Garland, [Frances Gumm], Minnesota, actress/singer (Wizard of Oz) Born
1925 – Nat Hentoff, columnist/novelist (Village Voice, The Cold Society) Born
1928 – Maurice Sendak, author/illustrator (Where The Wild Things Are), born in NYC, New York (d. 2012)
1933 – John Dillinger robs his first bank, in New Carlisle, Ohio. He takes $10, 600
1933 – Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Park flip their car into a ravine, and Parker suffers serious third degree burns from the accident which would affect her for the rest of her life
1935 – Dr. Robert Smith takes his last drink, and Alcoholics Anonymous is founded in Akron, Ohio, United States, by him and Bill Wilson.
1940 – Marcus Garvey, Jamaican journalist and activist, US African American leader (Back to Africa Movement), founded the Black Star Line (b. 1887) died.
1940 – World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt denounces Italy’s actions with his “Stab in the Back” speech at the graduation ceremonies of the University of Virginia.
1940 – World War II: Norway surrenders to German forces.
1940 – World War II: Italy declares war on France and the United Kingdom.
1942 – World War II: Nazis burn the Czech village of Lidice in reprisal for the killing of Reinhard Heydrich.
1944 – World War II: Six hundred forty-two men, women and children are killed in the Oradour-sur-Glane Massacre in France.
1944 – World War II: In Distomo, Boeotia, Greece 218 men, women and children are massacred by German troops.
1946 – Jack Johnson, 1st African American world heavyweight boxing champion, dies in a car accident aged 68
1946 – Rear Admiral Sidney W Souers, USNR, ends term as 1st director of CIA. Lieutenant General Hoyt S Vandenberg, USA, becomes 2nd director of CIA
1947 – Saab produces its first automobile.
1952 – Pres Harry Truman desires nationalizing steel industry
1953 – John Edwards, American lawyer and politician was birthed
1957 – John Diefenbaker leads the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada to a stunning upset in the Canadian federal election, 1957, ending 22 years of Liberal Party government.
1961 – Kelley Deal, American singer and guitarist (The Breeders and The Kelley Deal 6000) was born.
1961 – Kim Deal, American singer-songwriter and bass player (Pixies, The Breeders, and The Amps) was born.
1963 – Equal Pay Act of 1963 aimed at abolishing wage disparity based on sex (see Gender pay gap). It was signed into law on June 10, 1963 by John F. Kennedy as part of his New Frontier Program
1964 – United States Senate breaks a 75-day filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, leading to the bill’s passage.
1964 – Jimmy Chamberlin, American drummer, songwriter, and producer (The Smashing Pumpkins, Zwan, Starchildren, and The Jimmy Chamberlin Complex) was born.
1965 – Joey Santiago, Filipino-American guitarist and songwriter (Pixies and The Martinis) was born.
1966 – Janis Joplin’s 1st live concert (Avalon Ballroom in SF)
1967 – Spencer Tracy, US actor (7th Cross, Father ot Bride), dies at 67
1967 – The Six-Day War ends: Israel and Syria agree to a cease-fire.
1967 – USSR drops diplomatic relations with Israel
1968 – AL games at Balt & Chicago postponed honoring Robert Kennedy
1971 – Joel “JoJo” Hailey, American singer-songwriter (K-Ci & JoJo and Jodeci) was born.
1971 – Bobby Jindal, American politician, 55th Governor of Louisiana was birthed.
1973 – William M Inge, US playwright (Come Back Little Sheba), dies at 60
1975 – Rockefeller panel reports on 300,000 illegal CIA files on Americans
1977 – James Earl Ray escapes from Brushy Mountain State Prison in Petros, Tennessee, but is recaptured on June 13.
1977 – The Apple II, one of the first personal computers, goes on sale.
1980 – The African National Congress in South Africa publishes a call to fight from their imprisoned leader Nelson Mandela.
1983 – Leelee Sobieski, New York City, American actress (Eyes Wide Shut, Deep Impact, Joan of Arc, Uprising) Born
1985 – Claus von Bulow acquitted on charges he tried to murder his wife
1986 – In South Africa, the three-year-old ‘State of Emergency’ is renewed for another twelve months, followed by an organized campaign of civil disobedience against it.
1988 – Louis L’Amour, western writer (Bowdrie), dies at 80 of cancer
1990 – Rap group 2 Live crew members arrested in Fla for obscenity
1991 – “Twin Peaks” on ABC-TV
1991 – Eleven-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard was kidnapped in South Lake Tahoe, California; she would remain a captive until 2009.
1993 – Richard Webb, actor (Captain Midnight), shoots himself at 77
1994 – Mary Maxwell Gates, philanthropist/mother of Bill Gates, dies at 64
1997 – Before fleeing his northern stronghold, Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot orders the killing of his defense chief Son Sen and 11 of Sen’s family members.
1999 – Kosovo War: NATO suspends its air strikes after Slobodan Milošević agrees to withdraw Serbian forces from Kosovo.
2002 – The first direct electronic communication experiment between the nervous systems of two humans is carried out by Kevin Warwick in the United Kingdom.
2002 – John Gotti, American mob boss (b. 1940) died.
2003 – The Spirit Rover is launched, beginning NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover mission.
2004 – Ray Charles, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (b. 1930) died.
2007 – “The Sopranos” series finale on HBO (infamous “cut to black” ending)