On This Day for June 12 - Election of Boris Yeltsin, Anne Frank is featured, and more

This message contains graphics. If you do not see the graphics, click here to view. June 12 FEATURED BIOGRAPHY Anne Frank READ MORE   FEATURED EVENT 1991 Election of Boris Yeltsin READ MORE   Advertisement Advertisement   MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY 2016: The deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history up to that time occurred when Omar Mateen opened fire at Pulse, an LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing 49 people and wounding more than 50. 2003: American actor Gregory Peck—who often portrayed characters of honesty and integrity, most notably Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)—died in Los Angeles. [Test your knowledge of A-list actors.] 1987: Speaking about the Berlin Wall as he stood at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, U.S. Pres. Ronald Reagan famously entreated the Soviet leader, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." [Watch a video of the speech.] 1924: George H.W. Bush, vice president of the United States (1981–89) who became the 41st president of the United States (1989–93), was born. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about U.S. presidents.] 1898: The Philippines, under revolutionary leader Emilio Aguinaldo, declared its independence from Spain . 1991: A series of major explosions began inside Mount Pinatubo, a volcano in western Luzon, Philippines—its first eruption in 600 years. [ Take our quiz about volcanoes.] SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY 1924 George H.W. Bush president of United States 1929 Anne Frank German diarist 1915 David Rockefeller American banker 1890 Egon Schiele Austrian artist 1941 Chick Corea American musician 1897 Anthony Eden prime minister of United Kingdom SEE ALL BIOS ON THIS DAY   Advertisement   FOLLOW: To unsubscribe from Britannica e-mails, click here. Encyclopædia Britannica 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 Chicago, Illinois 60654 United States © 2020 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Privacy Policy • Help