What Happened in June 1919

Historical Events

23rd US Men's Open

Jun 12 US Open Men's Golf, Brae Burn CC: Walter Hagen defeats Mike Brady by 1 stroke in an 18-hole playoff to win his second and final US Open

Jun 14 1st nonstop air crossing of Atlantic (Alcock & Brown) leaves Newfoundland
Jun 15 1st nonstop Atlantic flight (Alcock & Brown) lands in Ireland
Jun 17 "Barney Google" cartoon strip, by Billy De Beck, premieres
Jun 19 Opposed to dismemberment of Turkey by the Allies, Mustafa Kemal declares his Turkish Nationalist Congress, headquartered in Ankara, independent of Constantinople
Jun 20 150 die at the Teatro Yaguez fire, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico

Signing of the Treaty of Versailles

Jun 20 Philipp Scheidemann resigns as chancellor of the new German Republic, which he helped establish, refusing to sign the Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles is signed in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles, Paris

Jun 20 Treaty of Versailles: Germany ends incorporation of Austria
Jun 20 US National Championship Women's Tennis, Philadelphia CC: Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman beats Marion Zinderstein 6-1, 6-2 for her 4th US singles title
Jun 21 Social Democrat Gustav Bauer forms a German government

Scuttling at Scapa Flow

Jun 21 The German Navy, feeling betrayed by the terms of the Versailles Treaty, scuttles most of its ships interned at Great Britain's Scapa Flow Naval base in the Orkney Islands

German Navy ship SMS Bayern after being scuttled on the orders of German Admiral Ludwig von Reuter

Universal Negro Improvement Association

Jun 23 Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) incorporates

Jun 23 Nitti government forms in Italy
Jun 25 1st advanced monoplane airliner flight (Junkers F13)
Jun 25 Revolt of Spartacus in Hamburg
Jun 26 NY Daily News begins publishing
Jun 28 Boston Red Sox Carl Mays pitches a complete doubleheader against NY Yankees, winning 1st game, 2-0, losing 2nd game, 4-1 (Polo Grounds, NYC)
Jun 28 Treaty of Versailles, ending WWI and establishing the League of Nations, is signed in France

Events in 1919

Famous Birthdays

Jun 2 Boris Klyuzner, Russian Soviet composer, born in Astrakhan, Russia (d. 1975)
Jun 2 Nat Mayer Shapiro, American painter (d. 2005)
Jun 4 Dorothy Howell Rodham, Mother of US First Lady, Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2011)
Jun 5 Akeo Watanabe, Japanese conductor (Japan Philharmonic, 1956-68 & 1978-83), born in Tokyo, Japan (d. 1990)
Jun 5 Richard Scarry, American children's author and illustrator (What Do People Do All Day?), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1994)
Jun 6 Charles Pringle, British air marshal, born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 2012)
Jun 6 Lord Carrington [Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington], British conservative politician, former British Foreign Secretary (1979-82) and NATO Secretary General (1984-8), born in Chelsea, London (d. 2018)
Jun 8 Guy Overton, New Zealand cricket fast bowler (3 Tests, 9 wickets), born in Dunedin, New Zealand (d. 1993)
Jun 9 Izaak Boleslavsky, Soviet chess player, born in Zolotonosha, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (d. 1977)
Jun 10 Haidar Abdel-Shafi, Palestinian Negotiator and community leader (d. 2007)
Jun 10 Kevin O'Flanagan, Irish rugby union winger (1 Test; London Irish RFC), soccer striker (FAI 10 caps; Ireland 3 caps) and administrator (International Olympic Committee 1976-94), born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 2006)
Jun 11 Richard Todd, Irish-born British actor (Dorian Gray, Assassin Yangtse Incident), born in Dublin (d. 2009)
Jun 12 Uta Hagen, German-American actress and theatre practitioner (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), born in Göttingen, Germany (d. 2004)
Jun 13 Leif Kayser, Danish composer and organist, born in Copenhagen (d. 2001)
Jun 14 Gene Barry [Eugene Klass], American actor (The Atomic City, Bat Masterson), born in New York City (d. 2009)
Jun 14 Sam Wanamaker, American-English actor (Holocaust, Competition, Raw Deal), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1993)

Jun 15 Van T. Barfoot, American Army colonel and Medal of Honour recipient, born in Edinburg, Mississippi (d. 2012)
Jun 17 Galina Ustvolskaya, Russian composer, born in Petrograd, Russia (d. 2006)
Jun 17 Kingman Brewster, American educator and president of Yale University, born in Longmeadow, Massachusetts (d. 1988)
Jun 17 Max Dendermonde [Hendrik Hazelhoff], Dutch literary, born in Winschoten, Netherlands (d. 2004)
Jun 18 Edwin Clarke, British neurologist, medical historian,and museum keeper, born in Felling-on-Tyne, England (d. 1996)
Jun 18 Jerome Karle, American chemist (Nobel 1985) and Manhattan Project member, born in New York (d. 2013)
Jun 18 Melville "Mel" Brandt, American actor and NBC staff announcer (Faraway Hill), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2008)
Jun 18 Ted Leadbitter, British politician (Labour), born in Easington, England (d. 1996)
Jun 19 Pauline Kael, American film critic (NY Times, For Keeps), born in Petaluma, California (d. 2001)
Jun 21 Gérard Pelletier, French Canadian journalist, politician, and diplomat, born in Victoriaville, Canada (d. 1997)
Jun 21 Paolo Soleri, Italian-American architect, born in Turin, Italy (d. 2013)
Jun 22 Gower Champion, American stage dancer, choreographer, actor, and theater director (42nd Street; Showboat; Marge & Gower Champion Show), born in Geneva, Illinois (d. 1980)
Jun 23 Muhammad Boudiaf, Algerian political leader (d. 1992)
Jun 24 Albert "Al" Molinaro, American actor (The Odd Couple, Happy Days), born in Kenosha, Wisconsin (d. 2015)
Jun 24 Don Salls, American football linebacker (Alabama) and coach (Jacksonville State University 1946-52, 1954-64), born in Trenton, New Jersey (d. 2021)
Jun 26 Peter Rawlinson, Baron Rawlinson of Ewell, British MP and attorney general, born in Birkenhead, England (d. 2006)
Jun 29 Lloyd Richards, Canadian-American theaterical director (Joe Turner’s Come and Gone), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 2006)
Jun 29 Slim Pickens [Louis Burton Lindley Jr], American rodeo performer and actor (Dr Strangelove; Blazing Saddles), born in Kingsburg, California (d. 1983)
Jun 30 Ed Yost, American inventor of the modern hot air balloon and known as "Father of the Modern Day Hot-Air Balloon.", born in Bristow, Iowa (d. 2007)
Jun 30 Lee Krieger, American actor (Clambake, One Way Wahini), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1967)