Historical Events on June 26

1483 Duke of Gloucester succeeds as King Richard III of England after Parliament declared Edward V illegitimate

1842 Ellen G. White is baptized by John Hobart in Portland, Maine

1857 The first 62 recipients are awarded the Victoria Cross for valour in the Crimean war by Queen Victoria

1870 Richard Wagner's opera "Valkyrie", second in his Ring Cycle premieres in Munich, featuring "Ride of the Valkyries"

1894 Karl Benz of Germany receives US patent for gasoline-driven auto

1902 Order of Merit instituted by King Edward VII

1902 Aga Khan III is appointed Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire

1914 The Indian Relief Act, passes after a protracted period of Passive Resistance led by Gandhi; it abolishes a £3 tax imposed on Indians who had not renewed their indentures and recognizes "the validity of Indian customary marriages"

1925 British Open Men's Golf, Prestwick GC: English born American Jim Barnes captures his only Open title, 1 stroke ahead of runners-up Ted Ray and Archie Compston

1925 "The Gold Rush", directed, starring and written by Charlie Chaplin, is released

1928 First meeting of the International Congresses of Modern Architects (CIAM) at Lake Leman, Switzerland organized by Le Corbusier

1934 FDR signs Federal Credit Union Act, establishing Credit Unions

1934 W.E.B. Du Bois resigns position at NAACP

1946 Fred Allen's last radio show, his guest is Jack Benny

1952 Nelson Mandela & 51 others infringe South Africa curfew

1953 Lavrentiy Beria, one of the trio of Russian leaders after Stalin's death and the former secret police chief, is ousted from power and arrested

1955 LPGA Western Open Women's Golf, Maple Bluff CC: Patty Berg wins her 5th WO title by 2 strokes from Louise Suggs and Fay Croker; first WO played at stroke play

1958 Gaston Eyskens becomes Premier of Belgium

1959 Ingemar Johansson TKOs Floyd Patterson in 3 for heavyweight boxing title

1959 Queen Elizabeth & President Eisenhower open St Lawrence Seaway

1963 US President John F. Kennedy gives his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" (intended to mean "I am a Berliner", but may actually mean "I am a doughnut") speech in West Berlin

1967 Pope Paul VI names 27 new cardinals including Karol Józef Wojtyła, the Archbishop of Cracow and future Pope John Paul II

1970 Frank Robinson hits 2 grand slams as Baltimore Orioles beat Washington Senators 12-2

1975 Indian PM Indira Gandhi declares a state of emergency

1977 Elvis Presley sings in Indianapolis, the last performance of his career

1979 "Moonraker", 11th James Bond film starring Roger Moore, premieres in London

1984 Barbra Streisand records "Here We Are at Last"

1985 Portugal's Socialist Prime Minister Mário Soares resigns amid predictions that Parliament would be dissolved and elections called

1993 NY Met Eddie Murray is 20th to get 1,600 RBIs

1993 The U.S. launches a cruise missile attack targeting Baghdad intelligence headquarters in retaliation for a thwarted assassination attempt against former President George H. W. Bush in April in Kuwait.

1994 Kirby Puckett pass Rod Carew with 2,088 hit as Twin's top hit leader

1994 PLO leader Yasser Arafat returns to Gaza after 27 years

1994 Senior Players Championship Men's Golf, TPC of Michigan: 1992 champion Dave Stockton wins by 6 strokes from Jim Albus

1995 Gunmen ambush Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak who escapes unharmed

1997 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1st book in J. K. Rowling's best-selling series, is published

2003 NBA Draft: St. Vincent–St. Mary HS (Akron, Ohio) small forward LeBron James first pick by Cleveland Cavaliers

2012 Animated film "Ice Age: Continental Drift", directed by Steve Martino and Mike Thurmeier with voices by Ray Romano and John Leguizamo premieres in Buenos Aires

2013 Peter Ustinov's "The Moment of Truth" opens at Southwark Playhouse in London starring Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley)

2014 Luis Suárez is expelled from the 2014 FIFA World Cup following his biting incident

2015 Greek Credit Crisis: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras calls for a Greek referendum on new bailout terms