Post by MacBeth on Jun 17, 2009 5:27:46 GMT -5
In 1775, the Revolutionary War Battle of Bunker Hill took place near Boston. The battle (which actually occurred on Breed's Hill) was a costly victory for the British, who suffered heavy losses while dislodging the rebels.
In 1789, the Third Estate in France declared itself a national assembly and undertook to frame a constitution.
In 1856, the Republican Party opened its first convention, in Philadelphia.
In 1885, the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor aboard the French ship Isere.
In 1928, Amelia Earhart embarked on a trans-Atlantic flight from Newfoundland to Wales with pilots Wilmer Stultz and Louis Gordon, becoming the first woman to make the trip as a passenger.
In 1939, In Versailles, Eugene Weidmann becomes the last person to be publicly guillotined.
In 1940, France asked Germany for terms of surrender in World War II.
In 1944, the republic of Iceland was established.
In 1959, a British court awarded American entertainer Liberace 8,000 pounds (the equivalent of $22,400) in his libel suit against the Daily Mirror over an article that Liberace charged implied he was a homosexual.
In 1961, Soviet ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev defected to the West while his troupe was in Paris.
In 1963, The Supreme Court struck down rules requiring the recitation of the Lord's Prayer or the reading of Biblical verses in public schools.
In 1968, Ohio Express' "Yummy Yummy Yummy (I've got love in my tummy)" goes gold.
In 1969, the fun and raunchy musical review "Oh! Calcutta!" opened in New York.
In 1971, the United States and Japan signed a treaty under which Okinawa would revert to Japanese control.
In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon's eventual downfall began with the arrest of five burglars inside Democratic national headquarters in Washington, D.C.'s Watergate complex.
In 1974, the IRA explodes a bomb in Houses of Parliament. An hour before the explosion, the IRA calls to warn of the threat but officers fail to clear the building in time and 11 are killed.
In 1986, President Ronald Reagan announced the retirement of Chief Justice Warren Burger, who was succeeded by William Rehnquist.
In 1999, the Republican-controlled House narrowly voted to loosen restrictions on sales at gun shows, marking a victory for the National Rifle Association.
In 2004, a bipartisan report found that officials, blindsided by terrorists and beset by poor communications, were so slow to react on Sept. 11, 2001, that the last of four hijacked planes had crashed by the time Vice President Dick Cheney ordered hostile aircraft shot down. President George W. Bush disputed the Sept. 11 commission's finding that Saddam Hussein had no strong ties to al-Qaida.
In 2008, hundreds of same-sex couples got married across California on the first full day that gay marriage became legal by order of the state's highest court. (However, California voters later approved Proposition 8, which restricted nuptials to a union between a man and a woman.)
In 1789, the Third Estate in France declared itself a national assembly and undertook to frame a constitution.
In 1856, the Republican Party opened its first convention, in Philadelphia.
In 1885, the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor aboard the French ship Isere.
In 1928, Amelia Earhart embarked on a trans-Atlantic flight from Newfoundland to Wales with pilots Wilmer Stultz and Louis Gordon, becoming the first woman to make the trip as a passenger.
In 1939, In Versailles, Eugene Weidmann becomes the last person to be publicly guillotined.
In 1940, France asked Germany for terms of surrender in World War II.
In 1944, the republic of Iceland was established.
In 1959, a British court awarded American entertainer Liberace 8,000 pounds (the equivalent of $22,400) in his libel suit against the Daily Mirror over an article that Liberace charged implied he was a homosexual.
In 1961, Soviet ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev defected to the West while his troupe was in Paris.
In 1963, The Supreme Court struck down rules requiring the recitation of the Lord's Prayer or the reading of Biblical verses in public schools.
In 1968, Ohio Express' "Yummy Yummy Yummy (I've got love in my tummy)" goes gold.
In 1969, the fun and raunchy musical review "Oh! Calcutta!" opened in New York.
In 1971, the United States and Japan signed a treaty under which Okinawa would revert to Japanese control.
In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon's eventual downfall began with the arrest of five burglars inside Democratic national headquarters in Washington, D.C.'s Watergate complex.
In 1974, the IRA explodes a bomb in Houses of Parliament. An hour before the explosion, the IRA calls to warn of the threat but officers fail to clear the building in time and 11 are killed.
In 1986, President Ronald Reagan announced the retirement of Chief Justice Warren Burger, who was succeeded by William Rehnquist.
In 1999, the Republican-controlled House narrowly voted to loosen restrictions on sales at gun shows, marking a victory for the National Rifle Association.
In 2004, a bipartisan report found that officials, blindsided by terrorists and beset by poor communications, were so slow to react on Sept. 11, 2001, that the last of four hijacked planes had crashed by the time Vice President Dick Cheney ordered hostile aircraft shot down. President George W. Bush disputed the Sept. 11 commission's finding that Saddam Hussein had no strong ties to al-Qaida.
In 2008, hundreds of same-sex couples got married across California on the first full day that gay marriage became legal by order of the state's highest court. (However, California voters later approved Proposition 8, which restricted nuptials to a union between a man and a woman.)
