June 12: Key Historical Events‍ and Noteworthy Birthdays

⁤ Updated June 12, 2025

Today, June ⁢12, marks​ the 163rd ⁣day ⁤of‍ the year. Here’s a look back at some critically important events that occurred on this date throughout ⁢history.

In 2016, the Orlando ⁤nightclub shooting at Pulse claimed ‌49⁤ lives and injured 53, marking⁤ it as the deadliest mass shooting in ‍U.S. history at the time. Gunman Omar Mateen pledged allegiance to the Islamic State‌ group before being killed⁤ by police.

The Baseball Hall ⁢of Fame ⁣was dedicated in Cooperstown, new York, on this day in 1939.

Anne⁤ Frank received a ⁣diary for her 13th birthday⁢ in 1942, shortly before her family went into hiding from‌ the Nazis⁣ in Amsterdam.

Civil rights leader Medgar Evers was murdered ⁤outside his home in Jackson,Mississippi,in‍ 1963. Byron De La ⁢Beckwith was later convicted of ​the crime in 1994.

In ‍1964, ⁣Nelson Mandela and ‍seven other anti-apartheid activists were sentenced to life in prison in ‌South Africa.

The U.S.⁣ Supreme⁢ court ruled state ​bans on interracial marriage ⁣unconstitutional in 1967 with Loving v. Virginia.

David⁢ Berkowitz, the “Son of Sam,” received a sentence of 25⁣ years to life for each of the six killings he committed in New York City; the sentencing‌ occurred in 1978.

President Ronald⁣ Reagan​ famously challenged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall” during a 1987 visit to Berlin.

Boris Yeltsin won Russia’s ‍first presidential election in 1991.

Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald ⁤goldman were killed in Los Angeles in 1994. O.J. Simpson was later acquitted of the ⁢murders in a criminal trial but found liable ​in a ‌civil suit.

What’s next

As we reflect on these historical events, remember their impact‍ on shaping our present and future.