Action_Comics_1June 1

1938, the first Superman comic was published. It sold for ten cents. Estimated top value for the comic today, in mint condition, is around $350,000.

June 2

1969, during maneuvers at night, the destroyer USS Frank E. Evans was cut in half when it turned towards the Australian aircraft carrier Melbourne. The Evans was an escort ship for the carrier and had been assigned to escort the Melbourne off the coast of Vietnam.

June 3

1932, Lou Gehrig set the first major league baseball record for hitting four consecutive home runs in a single game. He almost made a fifth homer but it was caught in a leaping catch over the center field fence.

June 4

1896, Henry Ford finished and test drove his quadricycle, his first gasoline-powered automobile. He sold it for $200 and built another in 1899.

June 5

1967, the Six-Day War began when Israel launched simultaneous attacks against Egypt and Syria, Jordan also joined the fray, but the Arab coalition was no match for Israel’s proficient armed forces. In six days of fighting, Israel occupied the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, the Golan Heights of Syria, and the West Bank and Arab sector of East Jerusalem. By the time the United Nations cease-fire took effect on June 11, Israel had more than doubled its size. The occupied lands taken are still a subject of contention more than forty years later.

June 6

1944, Operation Overlord began as American, British and Canadian forces take the beaches in Normandy, France. The day has become known as “D-Day.”

June 8

1789, future president James Madison introduced twelve amendments to the Constitution before the U.S. House of Representatives. Ten quickly are approved becoming known as the Bill of Rights. The second amendment of the twelve was not ratified by a majority until 1992. It is the 27th Amendment and also referred to as the Madison Amendment. It stated that any salary increase for members of Congress would not take effect until the next term.

June 10

1924, the Republican National Convention was broadcast by the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). It was the first political convention to be broadcast on the radio.

June 11

1825, the cornerstone is laid for Fort Hamilton in New York City (Brooklyn).

Lewis_and_ClarkJune 13

1805, while scouting ahead, Meriwether Lewis and four companions discovered the Great Falls of the Missouri River.

June 14

1982, the Argentine Falklands Islands War ended with a surrender to the British.

June 15

1776, Delaware voted to separate from Pennsylvania and British rule.

1934, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is founded.

June 18

1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave his “Finest Hour” speech.

June 19

1865, slaves in Galveston, Texas are finally informed of their freedom. This date is recognized as Juneteenth and celebrated annually. Juneteenth is recognized as a state holiday in 41 states and the District of Columbia. It has an alternative name as Freedom Day.

June 21

1945, the eighty-two-day-long battle, code-named Operation Iceberg, ended with an Allies victory, defeating the Imperial Japanese forces at an island just 340 miles from the Japanese mainland. The battle, nicknamed “Typhoon of Steel” from the kamikaze attacks, resulted in the highest number of casualties in the Pacific theater during WWII for both the Japanese and the Allies. The main island won from the battle was Okinawa.

June 22

1911, King George V and his wife, Princess Mary of Teck, were crowned king-emperor and queen consort, respectively, of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions.

June 24

1983, America’s first woman in space, Sally Ride, returned to earth after a six-day expedition aboard the space shuttle Challenger.

June 25

1950, Korean War begins as North Korea invaded South Korea.

June 27

1893, the stock markets crashed in New York and by year’s end over 600 banks and 74 railroads went out of business.

1985, U.S. Route 66 was officially removed from the U.S. Highway System.

June 28

1778, Mary “Molly Pitcher” Hays McCauley, the wife of an American artilleryman, carried water to the soldiers during the battle of Monmouth, near Freehold, New Jersey.

June 29

1804, two Army Privates in the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Private Hugh Hall and Private John Collins, were court-martialed and lashed for getting drunk while on duty. Hall received 50 lashes on his open back and Collins received 100 lashes.June 30

1859, Charles Blondin was the first person to cross Niagara Falls on a tight rope.

1894, Korea declared its independence from China and called upon Japan for aid.

corvette1flint53June 30

1953, the first Chevrolet Corvette was manufactured in Flint, Michigan.

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