Caribbean American Heritage Month.  Caribbean American Heritage Month was first proclaimed in 2006 by President George W. Bush, who said in his proclamation “ . . . [W]e celebrate the great contributions of Caribbean Americans to the fabric of our Nation, and we pay tribute to the common culture and bonds of friendship that unite the United States and the Caribbean countries. . . . For centuries, Caribbean Americans have enriched our society and added to the strength of America. They have been leaders in government, sports, entertainment, the arts, and many other fields. . . . We are united by our common values and shared history, and I join all Americans in celebrating the rich Caribbean heritage and the many ways in which Caribbean Americans have helped shape this Nation.” Some notable Americans of Caribbean descent include the first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, W.E.B. Du Bois, Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, Shirley Chisholm, Sidney Poitier, and Roberto Clemente.

 Gay and Lesbian Pride Month.  On June 11, 1999, President William J. Clinton issued a presidential proclamation designating June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising and the birth of the modern gay and lesbian civil rights movement. In that proclamation, the president said "...Since our earliest days as a nation, Americans have strived to make real the ideals of equality and freedom so eloquently expressed in our Declaration of Independence and Constitution. We now have a rare opportunity to enter a new century and a new millennium as one country, living those principles, recognizing our common values, and building on our shared strengths. I encourage all Americans to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that celebrate our diversity, and to remember throughout the year the gay and lesbian Americans whose many and varied contributions have enriched our national life." The International Pride Theme for 2009 is “Your Rights, Our Rights, Human Rights.”

 Brigham Young (1801–1877) : The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Religious leader. Converted after reading the Book of Mormon, Brigham Young became the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and, fleeing persecution, led its followers to establish the center of the church at Salt Lake City.

 Children's Day : People's Republic of China.  

 Whit Monday : Christian. (m)

 Children's Day : Laos.  Public holiday.

 Madaraka (Self-Rule) Day : Kenya.  This marks the day in 1964 that Kenya attained self-rule as a republic with Jomo Kenyatta as its first president.

 Queen's Birthday : New Zealand.  This day celebrates the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, who is not only Queen of the United Kingdom but also Queen of Australia and New Zealand, where her birthday is celebrated on the first Monday in June. (m)

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 Dorothy West (1907–1998) : African American.  Writer. Nicknamed "the Kid" by Langston Hughes, Dorothy West was, when she died, the last remaining member of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. Born into a Black upper middle class Boston family, West first published at 14 and later attended Boston University and the Columbia School of Journalism. In 1934, she founded the literary journal, Challenge to give young Black writers a place to publish. West later joined the Federal Writers Project. In 1947, she left New York for Martha's Vineyard, where she lived the rest of her life. West's novel, The Wedding, begun in the 1960s and published in 1995, focuses as much on class as on race; in 1998 it aired as a television miniseries produced by Oprah Winfrey.

 Granting of citizenship to American Indians (1924) : United States.  On this day, Congress extended the rights of citizenship to all American Indians born in the United States. Previously, only part of the American Indian population had been granted citizenship through treaties, statutes, naturalization, and service in the armed forces.

 Republic Day : Italy.  The Italian Republic was established on June 2, 1946, by a popular referendum in which the people chose a Republic over a Monarchy.

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 Charles Richard Drew (1904–1950) : African American.  Physician. A pioneer in blood research, Dr. Drew introduced the use of plasma on the battlefield; organized the world's first mass blood bank project, Blood for Britain; and established the American Red Cross Blood Bank, of which he was the first director.

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 Anniversary of the 1979 Coup : Ghana.  

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 Constitution Day : Denmark.  This day commemorates Denmark's adoption of a constitutional monarchy in 1849, ending absolute rule by the monarchy.

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 Memorial Day : South Korea.  This day is set aside to honor soldiers and civilians who have given their lives for their country.

 National Day : Sweden.  This day commemorates Sweden’s gaining independence from Denmark and the ascension to the throne of King Gustavus in 1523.

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 Pentecost : Coptic Orthodox Christian, Eastern Orthodox Christian.  Pentecost is observed on this day according to the Julian calendar followed by Coptic Orthodox Christians and Eastern Orthodox Christians. Observed fifty days after Easter, Pentecost commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Pentecost is called Trinity Sunday and the following Sunday is All Saints Day. (m)

 Trinity Sunday : Christian. (m)

 Seafarers’ Day (Sjómannadagur) : Iceland.  Dedicated to Iceland’s sailors and fishermen, Seafarers’ Day celebrates the importance of sailors and the sea to Icelandic history and economy. On the Friday before Seafarers’ Day, all the fishermen of Iceland take the day off from work and begin the celebration. The festivities continue throughout the weekend with parties, parades, speeches, competitive regattas, swimming and rowing races, sea rescue competitions, and other events. (See entry for Leif Ericsson Day on October 9.) (m)

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 Monday of the Holy Spirit : Eastern Orthodox Christian. (m)

 Queen's Birthday : Australia.  This holiday honors the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, the monarch of Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Canada, and Australia. As queen of both England and Australia, Elizabeth II is head of state and represented by the governor general. This holiday is not celebrated in Western Australia. (m)

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 (Rabbi) Arthur Hertzberg (born Avraham Hertzberg) (1921–2006) : Jewish American.  Conservative rabbi, scholar, and activist. Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg was an internationally renowned Judaic scholar, educator, and leader in the world Jewish community. Born in Lubaczow, Poland, Hertzberg came to the United States with his family in 1926. When he was twenty-two, Hertzberg participated in the 1943 Rabbis’ March on Washington, and in 1947 he traveled to Palestine to work toward the creation of the state of Israel. In the 1960s, Hertzberg endeavored to have the Roman Catholic Church acknowledge responsibility for what he believed to be the Church’s silence during the Holocaust. A civil rights activist, he walked in the historic 1963 March on Washington with Martin Luther King Jr. and the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery known as “Bloody Sunday.” In the aftermath of the Six-Day War in 1967, Hertzberg took the controversial position of advocating for the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. He served as president of the American Jewish Congress from 1972 to 1978 and as vice president of the World Jewish Congress from 1975 to 1991. His writings include The French Enlightenment and the Jews: The Origins of Modern Anti-Semitism (1968) and The Zionist Idea: A Historical Analysis and Reader (1970).

 Accession of King Abdullah : Jordan.  This day commemorates the accession on June 9, 1999 of His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein, who assumed his constitutional powers as Monarch of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on February 7, 1999, the day his father, the late King Hussein, passed away.

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 Portuguese National Day : Portugal.  This national holiday commemorates the death in 1580 of Luís Vaz de Camões, author of the greatest literary work in Portuguese, the epic poem Os Lusíadas.

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 Feast of Corpus Christi : Roman Catholic.  The Feast of Corpus Christi (Latin for “Body of Christ”) is a moveable Christian feast commemorating the Holy Eucharist. Observed on the first Thursday after Trinity Sunday, Corpus Christi mirrors Holy Thursday, the Thursday before Easter and the day on which Christians believe the first Eucharist, The Last Supper, took place. (m)

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 Anne Frank (1929–1945) : Jewish Dutch.  This young girl hid with her family from the Nazis in a secret apartment during the occupation of the Netherlands. The hiding place was eventually discovered and the family deported to concentration camps, but Anne's diary, discovered and published after her death, became the most widely read of all personal accounts of the Holocaust.

 Independence Day : Philippines.  On this day in 1898 the Philippines declared its independence from Spain. Many Filipinos in the United States also celebrate this day.

Recognizing the Festival/Holiday: Filipino Americans all over the United States celebrate Philippine Independence Day. Featured are parades, folk dances, food and craft fairs, music, and various other forms of cultural performances. Filipino Americans also observe Philippine-American Friendship Day on July 4, as well as Rizal Day on December 30 to commemorate the martyrdom of their national hero, José Rizal.

 Russia Day : Russia.  This holiday celebrates both the Russian parliament’s formal declaration of sovereignty on this day in 1990 and the June 12, 1991 election of Boris Yeltsin, the first democratically elected president of Russia in the one-thousand-year history of the state.

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 Luis Alvarez (1911–1988) : Mexican American.  Physicist. Alvarez's greatest contribution to science was his research on subatomic particles, for which he won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1968. During World War II he created a ground-controlled radar system for aircraft landings, and later collaborated in the building of the atomic bomb. In 1970 he and his son Walter proposed the theory that the extinction of the dinosaurs had been caused by the collision of a comet or asteroid with the earth.

 Carlos Chávez (1899–1978) : Mexican.  Composer, conductor, and educator. In the course of his long career, Chávez left his mark on nearly every aspect of musical life in Mexico. He organized Mexico's first symphony orchestra and conducted it for 20 years, introduced modern European music to Mexican audiences, directed the National Conservatory, and overhauled the system of music education in Mexican schools as head of the department of fine arts in the ministry of education. His field research into Mexican folk music enriched his own compositions, which are notable for their complex rhythmic patterns, simple melodic lines, and strong percussive effects.

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 Flag Day : United States.  

 Puerto Rican Day Parade : United States.  Since 1958, New York and other major cities have held parades on the second Sunday in June to celebrate the contributions of the Puerto Rican people to the history of their city. The parades feature floats, singers, and dancers in colorful costumes. These parades are similar to St. Patrick’s Day, Italian, and Polish parades that have been held for decades in cities throughout the country. (m)

 All Saints Day : Eastern Orthodox Christian.  Eastern Orthodox Christians observe the festival of All Saints on the Sunday after Pentecost, marking the close of the Easter season. (m)

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 Flag Day observed : Argentina.  Public holiday. (m)

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 Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev Sahib : Sikh.  

 Youth Day : South Africa.  Public holiday.

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 Susan LaFlesche Picotte (1865–1915) : American Indian (Omaha).  Physician. Youngest daughter of Chief Joseph LaFlesche (Iron Eye) and his wife Mary (Iron Woman). After her education in the East, Picotte returned to the reservation as a doctor and spent four years traveling among the 1,300 widely scattered Omahas, caring for the sick and hurt and educating them about health and sanitation. Widowed in 1905 and with two sons, she moved in 1906 to the new town of Walthill on the reservation, where she spent her life practicing medicine, establishing a hospital, and serving her community as a leader in church and civic activities.

 Independence Day : Iceland.  Iceland declared full independence from Denmark in 1944, becoming the Republic of Iceland. The date of June 17 was chosen as the official holiday because it was the birthday of Jón Sigurðsson (1811–1879), the nineteenth-century leader of Iceland’s peaceful campaign for independence. Sigurðsson was a scholar and statesman who worked for the restoration of the AlÞingi, the ancient Icelandic national assembly and the oldest parliament in the world. The AlÞingi’s independence was restricted after Iceland was annexed by Norway in 1263, and eventually abolished in 1800. Sigurðsson helped to reestablish the AlÞingi as a consultative assembly in 1845, and later became its speaker. The AlÞingi would regain its legislative power in 1874, when Denmark granted a constitution to Iceland, which was then a Danish colony. In 1944, the people of Iceland voted to cut all political ties with Denmark, and Iceland officially gained its independence. People throughout the country celebrate this national holiday with traditional costumes, parades, speeches, street theater, sideshows, and outdoor dancing in the midnight sun.

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 Evacuation Day : Egypt.  This marks the proclamation of the Egyptian republic after a military coup deposed King Farouk in 1952.

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 Juneteenth : African American.  This commemorates the emancipation of all slaves in Texas by the Union general Gordon Grange. As news of the Emancipation Proclamation issued in January moved westward, he announced on this day that, “The people of Texas are informed that in accord with a Proclamation of the Executive of the United States all slaves are free . . . .”

Recognizing the Festival/Holiday: This is a time for various celebrations in African American communities, including speeches, rallies, and displays of art and music. For more information, consult http://www.juneteenth.com.

 Feast of the Sacred Heart : Roman Catholic.  This holy day, also known as the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, is observed in the Roman Catholic Church nineteen days after Pentecost and eight days after the Feast of Corpus Christi. It always falls on a Friday, with the earliest possible date being May 29 and the latest possible date being July 2. The Mass is similar to that celebrated on Good Friday, and many devotional exercises are observed. Devotion to the Sacred Heart is one of the most popular of all devotions in the Roman Catholic Church. In Colombia, the Feast of the Sacred Heart, or Sagrado Corazon, is observed on the following Monday. (m)

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 Charles Waddell Chesnutt (1858–1932) : African American.  Writer. Chesnutt was an innovator in literary realism who in his novels and short stories explored the issue of racial identity in American life. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, to free Blacks from North Carolina, his paternal grandfather was a White slaveholder. Chesnutt’s skin was light enough that, had he wished, he could have passed for a White man, a theme he explored in his writing. His first novel, The House Behind the Cedars (1900), is about mixed race siblings who pass for White in the postbellum American South. The Marrow of Tradition (1901) deals with the 1898 race riot in Wilmington, North Carolina. He was the first African American writer to portray life in the North in The Northern Stories of Charles W. Chesnutt, which chronicles the North’s evolution into a multiracial urban society during the historic period between the Civil War and World War I. In 2008 the U.S. Postal Service honored him with a postage stamp as part of its Black Heritage Series.

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 Joseph H. Rainey (1832–1887) : African American.  Congressman. The first African American elected to the United States House of Representatives, Rainey was elected to five terms. He served his North Carolina district from 1869 to 1879, supporting improvement of conditions for Indians on reservations and the granting of full constitutional rights to Blacks.

 Litha (Summer Solstice) : Pagan and Wiccan.  This is the Sabbat observed on the summer solstice. (m)

 Summer Solstice : General. (m)

 Father's Day : Panama, United States.  Public holiday. (m)

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 Sagrado Corazon observed : Colombia.  This is a public holiday in Colombia. (See entry for Feast of the Sacred Heart.) (m)

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 Wilma Rudolph (1940–1994) : African American.  Athlete. Although Wilma Rudolph spent her childhood wearing a leg brace to support a lame leg, she overcame her handicap and became a champion sprinter, eventually setting a world record in the 200-meter dash. In the 1960 Olympics she was the most successful competitor in track and field events, as the individual winner of the 100- and 200-meter dashes and a member of the winning team in the 4 x 100-meter relay.

 National Day : Luxembourg.  Also celebrated as the King's birthday, this day commemorates Luxembourg's gaining independence from Belgium and the Netherlands in 1848.

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 Battle of Carabobo : Venezuela.  This celebrates the victory over Spain in the decisive battle for independence in 1821.

 Manila Day : Philippines.  On June 24, 1571 Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi established a permanent settlement in Manila, proclaiming it the island’s capital. In 1574 King Philip II of Spain commemorated the city, giving it the title Insigne y Siempre Leal Ciudad de España ("Distinguished and Ever Loyal City of Spain").

 Festival of St. John the Baptist (St. Jean-Baptiste Day) : Canada, Puerto Rico.  This holiday commemorates the feast day of St. John the Baptist. On this day, Canadians honor St. Jean-Baptiste, the patron saint of French Canada, and celebrate their country’s rich French heritage. In the province of Quebec, St. Jean-Baptiste Day is an official holiday known as the Fête nationale du Québec and is celebrated with parades, concerts, and other festivities. In Puerto Rico, the Festival of St. John the Baptist is a national holiday honoring the country’s patron saint. The island was originally named San Juan Bautista in honor of St. John the Baptist, and the capital city, San Juan, still bears his name. This is one of Puerto Rico’s most important holidays, celebrated with music, feasting, parades, and dancing.

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 Battle of Little Bighorn (1876) : American Indian.  On this date at Little Bighorn River, General George A. Custer was killed and his command annihilated by combined forces of Sioux and Cheyenne Indians. The determined resistance of the nomadic Plains tribes in the protection of their hunting grounds and way of life earned them a number of military victories before they were defeated by the stronger U.S. government forces. (See entry for December 15.)

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 Helen Keller (1880–1968) : People with Disabilities.  Author and educator. Left deaf and blind by illness at the age of 19 months, Helen Keller learned to speak and then to read and write Braille with the help of her remarkable teacher, Annie Sullivan. After graduating cum laude from Radcliffe College in 1904, she devoted her life to writing and social activism, particularly in aid of people with one or both of her disabilities. She traveled throughout the world, spoke out on public issues, and wrote numerous books, including The Story of My Life (1902) and Helen Keller's Journal (1938). Her extraordinary achievements made her an international heroine and an inspiration to millions.

 Stonewall Rebellion (1969) : Gay, Lesbian.  In the early morning of this day, New York City police entered a gay bar on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village and began harassing and taunting the patrons with anti-gay comments. The patrons fought back in a protest that lasted for the next three days. For many gays and lesbians, this protest marks the first organized effort in the United States by gays and lesbians to openly gain equality under the law.

 National Veterans Day : United Kingdom.  

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 St. Peter and St. Paul Day : Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, Venezuela.  Public holiday.

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