Today in History, June 15th
On June 15, 1215, King John sealed Magna Carta at Runnymede. Plus Washington takes command and Nik Wallenda crosses Niagara Falls.
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June 15 is best known for 1215, when England’s King John set his seal on Magna Carta at Runnymede, a charter that became a lasting symbol of the rule of law. The date also saw George Washington named to command the Continental Army in 1775 and Nik Wallenda walk a tightrope across Niagara Falls in 2012.
The big story: King John seals Magna Carta (1215)
King John was not having a good reign. He had lost Normandy to the French king, squeezed his nobles with heavy taxes to pay for wars abroad, and feuded with Pope Innocent III. After another failed attempt to win back Normandy in 1214, his barons revolted, with encouragement from Archbishop Stephen Langton of Canterbury. Outmatched, John met them at Runnymede, a meadow beside the Thames. On June 15, 1215, he set his royal seal to their demands, which, lightly revised, became Magna Carta, the “Great Charter.” Its 63 clauses mostly dealt with feudal rights, but one of them promised that no free man would be imprisoned except by the lawful judgment of his peers or the law of the land. The peace didn’t last. Civil war broke out within months, and John ignored the deal. Still, his son Henry III reissued the charter several times, and by 1225 it had entered English statute law. Four originals from 1215 survive.
More events on June 15
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1300 | Dante Alighieri became one of the six priors who governed Florence. |
| 1389 | The Ottoman Empire defeated Serbian forces at the Battle of Kosovo. |
| 1775 | The Continental Congress named George Washington commander in chief of the Continental Army. |
| 1776 | The assembly of Pennsylvania’s Lower Counties declared independence, creating the state of Delaware. |
| 1844 | Charles Goodyear received a patent for vulcanized rubber. |
| 1846 | The U.S. and Britain signed the Oregon Treaty, fixing the border west of the Rockies at the 49th parallel. |
| 1864 | Arlington National Cemetery was established on land taken from Robert E. Lee’s Virginia estate. |
| 1904 | Fire swept the excursion steamer General Slocum on New York’s East River, killing more than 1,000 people. |
| 1917 | Congress passed the Espionage Act during World War I. |
| 1944 | U.S. Marines landed on Saipan in the Mariana Islands. |
| 2007 | Bob Barker stepped down as host of “The Price Is Right” after more than 30 years. |
| 2012 | Nik Wallenda became the first person to walk a high wire across Niagara Falls. |
Born on June 15
- 1937: Waylon Jennings, country music singer, born in Littlefield, Texas.
- 1963: Helen Hunt, Academy Award-winning actress of “As Good as It Gets.”
- 1969: Ice Cube (O’Shea Jackson), rapper and actor, born in Los Angeles.
Sources
- Magna Carta sealed, History.com
- This Day in History: June 15, History.com
- On This Day: June 15, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Waylon Jennings, Biography.com
- Helen Hunt, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Ice Cube, Biography.com
