Top 10 June 16 Birthdays

Honorable Mention: June 16, 1644: Henrietta Anne Stuart. A daughter of King Charles I of England and his French wife, Queen Henrietta Maria, she and her mother had to flee England after its Civil War led to the execution of her father in 1649. Her mother's cousin, King Louis XIV, protected them, and married Henrietta off to his brother, Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, Anjou, Valois and Chartres. (He was 20, she was 16, so it wasn't that bad, especially by the standards of the time.)

Following the death of Oliver Cromwell, her brother was restored to the throne as King Charles II in 1660. And with England at war with the Netherlands, she did something few before her considered possible: She negotiated a treaty between historic enemies England and France, the Secret Treaty of Dover in 1670.

Within days of the Treaty, she died, believing she had been poisoned. However, earlier illnesses suggest that she had an ulcer, and it finally ruptured, killing her shortly after her 26th birthday. She had 4 children, including a daughter who married a King of Spain, a daughter who married a King of Sardinia, a member of the House of Savoy. 

And it is through that Savoy marriage that her great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson, Franz von Bayern, Duke of Bavaria, about to turn 89 years old, is the person that supporters of the House of Stuart (there are still a few), again removed from the throne with the death of Queen Anne in 1714, claim is the rightful monarch of Great Britain. (He is also the rightful King of the German province of Bavaria, but does not actively pursue either claim, nor do his heirs.) 

Dishonorable Mention: June 16, 1912: Enoch Powell. His racist, anti-immigrant "Rivers of Blood" speech before Britain's House of Commons in 1968 made him that country's answer to George Wallace. But while racism is on the rise in America, few people have the guts to wear a "WALLACE WAS RIGHT" button in public. There are people in England willing to wear "POWELL WAS RIGHT" buttons.

10. June 16, 1967: Jürgen Klopp. A forward who played most of his soccer career for German team Mainz 05, he managed them to promotion to Germany's national league, the Bundesliga, in 2004. He later led Borussia Dortmund to the Bundesliga title in 2011 and 2012, and the UEFA Champions League Final in 2013.

In 2015, he was named manager of Liverpool F.C. He's led them to the Champions League Final in 2018, won it in 2019, won the Premier League in 2020 (Liverpool's 1st title in 30 years); and, this season, came very close to winning all 4 trophies available to him: He won a domestic "cup double," the FA Cup and the League Cup, finished 2nd in the PL, and reached the CL Final again. He is considered one of the most entertaining managers in the sport's history.

Honorable Mention: June 16, 1821: Old Tom Morris. Golf is not a sport, but he was one of its pioneers. Born in St. Andrews, Scotland, the birthplace of the game, he was considered its top player in the 1860s. He was a co-founder of the British Open in 1860, and won of the 1st 8.

The 9th, in 1868, was won by his 17-year-old son, who became known as Young Tom Morris. He is still the youngest winner of one of golf's "Grand Slam" events. He also won the 10th, 11th and 12th. Father and son formed a challenge duo (that was a thing back then), and beat all comers. And then, on Christmas Day 1875, days after participating in a marathon challenge match (without his father) in typically awful Scottish weather, he died of a lung issue, only 24. Despite his heartbreak, Old Tom continued to play and design courses until his own death, in 1908.

Honorable Mention: June 16, 1946: Derek Sanderson. A center, he helped the Boston Bruins win the Stanley Cup in 1970 and 1972. Drugs ended his playing career, but after getting clean, he became one of the most popular broadcasters in hockey.

Somewhat Honorable Mention: June 16, 1948: Ron LeFlore. The Detroit native learned baseball while in the infamous State Prison of South Michigan (a.k.a. Jackson State) for armed robbery. A fellow inmate had a friend who ran a bar popular with Detroit athletes, which led to his parole and signing by the Detroit Tigers.

The center fielder played 9 seasons in the major leagues, making the 1976 All-Star Game, batting .288 for his career, and leading both leagues in stolen bases: The American League with 68 for the 1978 Tigers, and the National League with 97 for the 1980 Montreal Expos. (To this day, only 4 players have stolen more in a single season since 1895, and only 3 since 1962.) He stole 455 bases in his career, a considerably more legal theft than he was previously used to.

He has never returned to a life of violent crime. However, he has twice been arrested for failure to pay child support: After attending the closing ceremony for Tiger Stadium in 1999, and during an autograph signing in 2007. Hence, "Somewhat Honorable."

Honorable Mention: June 16, 1949: Caju. Born Paulo Cézar Lima, the midfielder starred for all 4 of Rio de Janeiro's major soccer teams: Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense and Vasco da Gama. He was a member of the Brazil team that won the 1970 World Cup, although he was an unused substitute for the Final.

Honorable Mention: June 16, 1954: Matthew Saad Muhammad. "Miracle Matthew" was Light Heavyweight Champion of the World from 1979 to 1982.

Honorable Mention: June 16, 1958: Darrell Griffith. "Dr. Dunkenstein" led the University of Louisville to college basketball's 1980 National Championship. With the Utah Jazz, he was the 1981 NBA Rookie of the Year, and twice led the league in 3-point field goal percentage. Injuries kept him from reaching Hall of Fame-level achievements, but both UL and the Jazz retired his Number 35.

Honorable Mention: June 16, 1959: James Hellwig. Professional wrestling is not a sport, but he was its Ultimate Warrior.

Honorable Mention: June 16, 1970: Cobi Jones. The UCLA soccer star played for the U.S. national team in the 1994, 1998 and 2002 World Cups, and helped them win the CONCACAF Gold Cup (the "continental title" for North American, Central American and Caribbean national teams) in 2000 and 2002.

After playing in England's Premier League with Coventry City, he helped the Los Angeles Galaxy win the U.S. Open Cup in 2001, the MLS Cup in 2002, and both trophies in 2005. He is now a broadcaster for them, and was named to MLS' 25th Anniversary Team.

Honorable Mention: June 16, 1970: Phil Mickelson. Golf is not a sport, but he is its greatest lefthanded player ever. He won the Masters in 2004, 2006 and 2010; the PGA Championship in 2005 and 2021, the latter at age 51, making him the oldest player ever to win a Grand Slam event; and the British Open in 2013. He has not completed "the career Grand Slam," because he's never won the U.S Open, which is usually considered the most difficult of the 4. He has finished 2nd in it a record 6 times.

Honorable Mention: June 16, 1977: Kerry Wood. In 1998, "Kid K" became the 1st National League player to strike out 20 batters in a game, won the NL's Rookie of the Year, and helped the Chicago Cubs reach the Playoffs. He reached the All-Star Game in 2003, and got the Cubs to within 1 win of the Pennant. He made the All-Star Game again in 2008, and again helped the Cubs reach the Playoffs.

But injuries derailed what should have been a Hall of Fame career. The season he turned 22, he missed entirely. At 29, he appeared in only 4 games. At 30, he was converted into a reliever, in the hope that it would be easier on his arm. At first, it was, but he still kept getting hurt, and threw his last professional pitch at 35. He finished with 86 wins (probably 1/3rd as many as he should have had), 63 saves, and 1,582 strikeouts (maybe half as many as he should have had).

9. June 16, 1937: Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. He is a unique individual: The only person in the history of humanity to be a country's monarch, lose the throne, and then win elected as the country's head of government.

In 1943, just 6 years old, he became Czar of Bulgaria upon the death of his father, Boris III. In 1946, after World War II, the Communist Party abolished the monarchy, and Czar Simeon II was out of a job at age 9. He lived in exile in Italy, Spain and America, and worked in various businesses. In 1990, after the fall of Communism, he was issued a Bulgarian passport. In 2001, he formed a political party, and it won the national election, making him Prime Minister. He served just 1 term, and retired. He remains popular among his people, probably because he isn't trying to restore the monarchy. He is a cousin of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.

8. June 16, 1882: Mohammad Mosaddegh. Elected President of Iran in 1951, he issued sweeping reforms designed at taking the country into the modern world. He was named Time magazine's Man of the Year. But when he nationalized the oil industry, it angered the British government, and their MI6 and our CIA began working together to overthrow him. They succeeded in 1953, and it was a terrible mistake: For the next 26 years, Iran was ruled by the Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, a modernist but also a fascist; and for the 43 years since, Iran has been ruled by the Ayatollahs, backward Muslim extremists.

7. June 16, 1937: Erich Segal. He wrote Love Story, one of the most popular novels of the late 1960s, which became one of the most popular films of the early 1970s.

6. June 16, 1983: Joyce Carol Oates. An acclaimed novelist, and probably America's greatest living author of short stories.

5. June 16, 1951: Roberto Durán. Known as "Hands of Stone," the Panamanian won his 1st 31 professional fights, and became Lightweight Champion of the World in 1972, and became perhaps the best holder of that title. He gave it up in 1980 to challenge Sugar Ray Leonard for the Welterweight Championship. He won a unanimous decision, and was now 72-1 for his career.

Leonard wanted a rematch, and got the upper hand early, and started taunting Durán. Like Rocky Balboa in his first fight with Apollo Creed, Durán thought he was in a fight, not a show, and got disgusted, telling the referee, "No más!" (Spanish for "No more!") Leonard was awarded the fight and got the title back, and Durán was accused of quitting, ruining his reputation in the macho culture of Latin America. He then lost 2 of his next 4 fights.

In 1983, he went into Madison Square Garden, and knocked Davey Moore out to win the Super Welterweight Championship, regaining his good name. But he made the mistake of challenging Marvelous Marvin Hagler for the Middleweight Championship, and lost. He made a bigger mistake in accepting the challenge of Thomas Hearns, who was too big and too strong, and knocked him out in the 2nd round.

He wasn't done, though: In 1989, he beat Iran Barkley for the WBC Middleweight title. But his ego got the better of him: He wanted another shot at Leonard. Later in the year, he got it, and went the distance, but lost. He made 4 more challenges for various boxing titles, losing them all, before Héctor "Macho" Camacho ended his career in 2001. Durán's final record was 103-16 -- meaning that, after winning 72 of his 1st 73, he went 31-15 the rest of the way.

4. June 16, 1890: Stan Laurel. With Oliver Hardy, he formed one of the most popular film comedy teams of all time.

Honorable Mention: June 16, 1955: Laurie Metcalf. She played Jackie Harris, the title character's sister, on Roseanne.

Somewhat Honorable Mention: June 16, 1972: John Cho. The problem isn't with his acting, it's with the films he's in. He plays Harold in the Harold & Kumar films, which are movies about stoners, by stoners, for stoners, and I am not one. And he played Sulu in the J.J. Abrams "Bad Reboot" of Star Trek.

Honorable Mention: June 16, 1982: Missy Peregrym. She plays Special Agent Maggie Bell on the CBS series FBI -- when she's not having a baby, that is. (For the 2nd time in the show's 4 seasons, she's had to be written out of the last few episodes, because while Missy is married and pregnant, Maggie is neither.)

3. June 16, 1941: Lamont Dozier. With the brothers Brian and Eddie Holland, he wrote some of Motown Records' biggest hits. For The Supremes: "Where Did Our Love Go," "Baby Love," "Stop! in the Name of Love," "You Can't Hurry Love" and "You Keep Me Hangin' On." For the Four Tops: "Baby I Need Your Loving," "I Can't Help Myself" and "Reach Out I'll Be There." For Marvin Gaye: "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)." For Martha & the Vandellas: "Heat Wave" and "Nowhere to Run." For the Isley Brothers: "This Old Heart of Mine."

Honorable Mention: June 16, 1942: Eddie Levert. Lead singer of The O'Jays.

Dishonorable Mention: June 16, 1971: Tupac Shakur. The rapper remains loved by many, but was guilty of despicable crimes.

2. June 16, 1723: Adam Smith. In 1776, the same year that America declared its independence from Britain, the Scotsman wrote An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. It has been called the first modern work of economics, and Smith is thus called "The Father of Capitalism."

But all those conservatives who like to call Smith "The Father of the Free Market" ignore his advocation of the division of labor and the rights of working people. He was not in favor of capitalism being completely unregulated.

1. June 16, 1917: Katharine Graham. Her father, Eugene Meyer, owned The Washington Post, and, without a son, handed control of it to her husband, Donald Graham. But he was mentally ill, and took his own life in 1963. So "Kay" Graham took control of the paper.

She was on good terms with Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. Not so much with Richard Nixon. In 1971, she decided to publish what became known as "The Pentagon Papers," detailing America's involvement in Vietnam. Nixon fought to stop it, even though the cutoff date was his Inauguration, as it was JFK and LBJ that she was really throwing overboard. (That's the expression that would have been used then, instead of the more recent "threw them under the bus.")

Desperate to prevent "leaks" in his Administration, Nixon hired men known as the "Plumbers," and, among other things, they broke into the Democratic National Committee's headquarters at the Watergate hotel and office complex in Washington. Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein investigated, and, as they got closer and closer to Nixon, Mrs. Graham stood by them, until Nixon resigned.

This may have made her, except for Eleanor Roosevelt, the most consequential American woman of the 20th Century. She later won a Pulitzer Prize for her memoirs.

Still alive as of this writing: Klopp, Sanderson, LeFlore, Caju, Griffith, Jones, Mickelson, Wood, Oates, Durán, Metcalf, Cho, Dozier and Levert.