On this day, June 15
1864 Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton signed an order establishing a military burial ground that became Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
1904 More than 1,000 people died when fire erupted aboard the steamboat General Slocum in New York’s East River.
1938 Johnny Vander Meer pitched his second consecutive no-hitter, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-0 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers in the first night game at Ebbets Field, four days after leaving the Boston Bees hitless by a score of 3-0.
1988 City officials unveiled plans for the Pittsburgh Technology Center at the former Jones & Laughlin steel mill site along the Monongahela River.
2008 The Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Oakland opens “T.rex vs. T.rex,” the final phase of its $36 million renovation of the Hall of Dinosaurs.
Some items are from Stefan Lorant’s “Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City” (digital.library.pitt.edu/chronology).
— Compiled by Rick Nowlin Today’s birthdays: R&B singer Ruby Nash Garnett (Ruby and the Romantics), 88. Funk musician Leo Nocentelli (The Meters), 76. Actor Simon Callow, 73. Singer Russell Hitchcock (Air Supply), 73. Rock singer Steve Walsh, 71. Chinese President Xi Jinping, 69. Actor-comedian Jim Belushi, 68. Country singer Terri Gibbs, 68. Actor Julie Hagerty, 67. Actor Polly Draper, 67. Rock musician Brad Gillis (Night Ranger), 65. Baseball Hall of Famer Wade Boggs, 64. Actor Eileen Davidson, 63. Actor Helen Hunt, 59. Rock musician Scott Rockenfield (Queensryche), 59. Actor Courteney Cox, 58. Country musician
Tony Ardoin, 58. Country musician Michael Britt (Lonestar), 56. Actor-rapper Ice Cube, 53. Actor Leah Remini, 52. Actor Jake Busey, 51. Actor Neil Patrick Harris, 49. Actor Greg Vaughan, 49. Actor Elizabeth Reaser, 47. Rock singer Dryden Mitchell (Alien Ant Farm), 46. Former child actor Christopher Castile, 42. Rock musician Billy Martin (Good Charlotte), 41. Actor Jordi Vilasuso, 41. Rock musician Wayne Sermon (Imagine Dragons), 38. Actor Denzel Whitaker, 32. Olympic gold medal gymnast Madison Kocian, 25. Actor Sterling Jerins, 18. Thought for today: “In trying to make something new, half the undertaking lies in discovering whether it can be done. Once it has been established that it can, duplication is inevitable.”