Category Archives: Presidential History

June 6 is National Gardening Exercise Day
National Yo-Yo Day

June 6, 1586 – Francis Drake’s forces raid St. Augustine in Spanish Florida as part of Drake’s “Great Expedition”. Drake was the second to circumnavigate the globe. He was a hero to the English but a pirate to the Spaniards.

Birthday of Nathan Hale (June 6, 1755), American soldier of the American Revolution whose last words were: “I regret that I have but one life to give for my country.” He had been attempting to gather intelligence when he was captured by the British and executed.

On June 6, 1833, In Ellicott’s Mills, Maryland, President Andrew Jackson boarded a Baltimore & Ohio Railroad train for a pleasure trip to Baltimore. Jackson, who had never been on a train before, was the first president to take a ride on the “Iron Horse,” as locomotives were known then.

1844 – The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was founded in London in 1834.

The electric iron was invented in 1882 by Henry W. Seeley, a New York inventor. Seeley patented his “electric flatiron” on June 6, 1882. His iron weighed almost 15 pounds and took a long time to warm up. Other electric irons had also been invented, including one from France (1882), but it used a carbon arc to heat the iron.

June 6, 1932 – The Revenue Act of 1932 was enacted, creating the first gas tax in the United States, at a rate of 1 cent per US gallon.

In 1934 – New Deal: the U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Securities Act of 1933 into law, establishing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

June 6, 1944 – World War II: the Battle of Normandy began. D-Day, code named Operation Overlord, commenced with the landing of 155,000 Allied troops on the beaches of Normandy in France. The allied soldiers quickly broke through the Atlantic Wall and pushed inland in the largest amphibious military operation in history.

June 6, 1968 – Robert F. Kennedy, Democratic Party senator from New York and brother of 35th President John F. Kennedy, died from gunshot wounds inflicted on June 5.

June 6, 1988 – Japanese-American internees (promise broken, May 1989)
President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Civil Liberties Act, which apologized for the internment on behalf of the U.S. government and authorized a payment of $20,000 to each individual camp survivor. The legislation admitted that government actions were based on “race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership”. The U.S. government eventually disbursed more than $1.6 billion in reparations to 82,219 Japanese Americans who had been interned and their heirs

June 5 is World Environment Day
National Running Day
National Gingerbread Day
National Ketchup / Catsup Day Both words are derived from the Chinese ke-tsiap, a pickled fish sauce. It made its way to Malaysia where it became kechap and ketjap in Indonesia. Catsup and katchup are acceptable spellings used interchangeably with ketchup, however, ketchup is the way it is popularly used today.

Anniversary of the baptism of Adam Smith, (June 5, 1723), Scottish economist and philosopher, author of “Wealth of Nations”

Great Lakes’ steamers – The Canadian-built Frontenac was launched on Sept 7, 1816. The Ontario was launched in the spring of 1817. The Ontario began active service first in April, 1817 and the Frontenac made its first trip on June 5th, 1817.

June 5, 1851, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s anti-slavery serial, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, or Life Among the Lowly, started a ten-month (40-week) serial published in The National Era, an abolitionist periodical published in Washington, D.C.

Birthday of John Maynard Keynes (1883), English economist, financial expert and author.

Birthday of William Boyd (June 5, 1895), better known as Hopalong Cassidy. Boyd portrayed Hopalong Cassidy in 66 films and then on TV in the 1950s. His horse was named Topper.

Marshall Plan: In a speech at Harvard University on June 5, 1947, the United States Secretary of State, George Marshall, called for economic aid to war-torn Europe.

Elvis Presley introduced his new single, “Hound Dog”, on The Milton Berle Show on June 5, 1956, scandalizing the audience with his suggestive hip movements.

2001 – Tropical Storm Allison made landfall on the upper-Texas coastline as a strong tropical storm and dumps large amounts of rain over Houston, Texas. The storm causes $5.5 billion in damages, making Allison the second costliest tropical storm in U.S. history.

2004 – Death of Ronald Wilson Reagan , fortieth President of the United States. He died in Bel Air, California at age 93 from pneumonia, complicated by Alzheimer’s disease.

June 3 is Repeat Day

According toNational Day Calendar.com

Observed on June 3rd, National Repeat Day could be an opportunity for some and a bad omen for others.

Repeating a foot massage or a day with a dear friend would make this holiday special.  Repeating a root canal or Hurricane Katrina are not suggested for this day.

It is also National Doughnut Day.  Doughnuts are a good explanation for National Repeat Day.

Another way to celebrate is by repeating some of the simple tasks of the day.  Wash the dishes twice.  Make the same meal for lunch as you do for supper.  Watch the same movie twice.  The 1993 film Groundhog Day comes to mind.  Send duplicate text messages.

Have a great day! Have a great day!

June 3 is also National Egg Day
and National Chocolate Macaroon Day

Chimborazo Day celebrates the highest point on Earth, the point closest to the Moon.   Mount Chimborazo, Ecuador, tops out at 20,702 feet, almost two miles lower than Everest. But that’s only compared to sea level. If we take the equatorial bulge into account—in other words, if we measure what peak is farthest from the center of the Earth—Chimborazo sticks more than 7,000 feet farther into space than any of the Himalayas do, since they’re located thousands of miles north of the Equator.

Shavuot, a Jewish holiday celebrating the day that God gave the Torah to the nation of Israel assembled at Mount Sinai.

On this day in 1539, Hernando de Soto claimed Florida for Spain.

Samuel de Champlain completed his third voyage to New France at Tadoussac, Quebec on June 3, 1608.

Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo founded in California by Father Junipero Serra on this day in 1770. Now called the Carmel Mission at Carmel-by-the-sea, California, near Monterey.

June 3, 1781, Jack Jouett began his midnight ride to warn Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia legislature of an impending raid by Banastre Tarleton.

June 3, 1800, U.S. President John Adams moved to Washington, DC. He was the first President to live in what later became the capital of the United States. John Adams’ blessing is engraved in the mantel in the State Dining Room of the White House. The benediction reads, “I Pray Heaven To Bestow The Best Of Blessings On This House And All that shall hereafter Inhabit it. May none but Honest and Wise Men ever rule under This Roof.” The words are taken from a letter written to Abigail Adams by Adams in 1800 and were engraved on the mantel in 1945 during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Birthday of Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808), president of the Confederate States.

In 1851, the New York Knickerbockers became the first baseball team to wear uniforms which consisted of straw hats, white shirts and blue long trousers.

The first long-distance electric power transmission line in the United States was completed, running 14 miles (23 km) between a generator at Willamette Falls and downtown Portland, Oregon on June 3, 1889.

June 3, 1932 – Lou Gehrig and his teammate Tony Lazzeri hit four home runs in one game, and hit for the natural cycle, respectively. These two feats are both less common than a perfect game, which has occurred twenty-one times in one-hundred and twenty years.

June 3,1937: The Duke of Windsor married Wallis Simpson.  “Duke of Windsor” was a title in the United Kingdom. It was created on 8 March 1937, for Prince Edward, former King Edward VIII, following his abdication in December 1936.

1942 The Aleutian Islands Campaign was a military campaign conducted by the United States in the Aleutian Islands, part of the Alaska Territory…in World War II, starting on 3 June 1942. A small Japanese force occupied the islands of Attu and Kiska, but the remoteness of the islands and the difficulties of weather and terrain meant that it took nearly a year for a far larger U.S./Canadian force to eject them. The islands’ strategic value was their ability to control Pacific Great Circle routes. This control of the Pacific transportation routes is why U.S. General Billy Mitchell stated to the U.S. Congress in 1935, “I believe that in the future, whoever holds Alaska will hold the world. I think it is the most important strategic place in the world.” The Japanese reasoned that control of the Aleutians would prevent a possible U.S. attack across the Northern Pacific. Similarly, the U.S. feared that the islands would be used as bases from which to launch aerial assaults against the West Coast.

On June 3, 1965, Edward White became the first American astronaut to do a “space walk” when he left the Gemini 4 capsule.

June 2 is National Bubba Day National Bubba Day is celebrated across the United States each year on June 2nd. According to Wikipedia, “bubba” is a relationship nickname formed from brother and given to boys, especially eldest male siblings, to indicate their role in the  family.

National Rocky Road Day

I Love My Dentist Day

International Sex Workers’ Day (aka International Whore Day)

In the year 455, the Sack of Rome: Vandals entered Rome, and plundered the city for two weeks.

The first Récollet missionaries arrived at Quebec City, from Rouen, France in 1615. The Récollet are more commonly known as the Franciscans. The Recollect friars are said to have brewed the first beer in New France in 1620.

On June 2, 1692, Bridget Bishop was the first person to go to trial in the Salem witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts. Found guilty, she was hanged on June 10.

Birthday of Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 2, 1731), First Lady 1789-1797, wife of George Washington.

June 2, 1774, Intolerable Acts: Amendment to original Quartering Act enacted, allowed governor in colonial America to house British soldiers in uninhabited houses, outhouses, barns, or other buildings if suitable quarters not provided.

Birthday of Helen Herron Taft (June 2, 1861), wife of William Howard Taft; first lady from 1909-1913.

June 2, 1886 – The U.S. President Grover Cleveland married Frances Folsom in the White House, becoming the only president to wed in the executive mansion.

Birthday of Edwin J. Shoemaker (June 2, 1907), American inventor and engineer who created the recliner chair and started the La-Z-Boy furniture company.

June 2, 1924 – The U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act (aka the Snyder Act) into law, granting citizenship to all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the United States.

In 1928, Kraft’s Velveeta Cheese was invented. It was packaged using the 1921 invention of a tinfoil lining that could house the cheese inside a wooden box. Its special cooking properties quickly caught on. When melted, it was as smooth as velvet (hence its name), and it would never curdle when heated.

June 2, 1953 – The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, who was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Her Other Realms and Territories & Head of the Commonwealth, the first major international event to be televised. She wore three different crowns on this day – one on the way to Westminster Abbey, one to be crowned Queen, and one for the procession from the Abbey.

June 2, 1997 – In Denver, Colorado, Timothy McVeigh was convicted on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was executed four years later.

May 30 is Water a Flower Day
National Mint Julep Day

May 30 is also My Bucket’s Got a Hole in it Day This song has a nice “catchy” tune and is based on a conversation, between Henry and Liza, about a leaky bucket. It describes a deadlock situation as follows:

“Henry has got a leaky bucket, and Liza tells him to repair it. But to fix the leaky bucket, he needs straw. To cut the straw, he needs a knife. To sharpen the knife, he needs to wet the sharpening stone. To wet the stone, he needs water. However, when Henry asks how to get the water, Liza’s answer is “in a bucket”. It is implied that only one bucket is available — the leaky one, which, if it could carry water, would not need repairing in the first place.” (Wikipedia)

May 30, 1498, Columbus departed with 6 ships for his third trip to America. He sailed to Porto Santo Island, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, and Trinidad. He named the islands Bella Forma (now Tobago) and Concepcion (now Granada).

King Henry VIII of England married Jane Seymour in 1536, a lady-in-waiting to his first two wives.  She died of complications less than two weeks after the birth of her only child, a son who became King Edward VI. She was the only one of Henry’s wives to receive a queen’s funeral, and his only consort to be buried beside him in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

In Florida, Hernando de Soto landed at Tampa Bay on May 30, 1539 with 600 soldiers with the goal of finding gold.

1806 – Andrew Jackson killed Charles Dickinson in a duel after Dickinson had accused Jackson’s wife of bigamy. Jackson deeply resented attacks on his wife’s honor. Charles Dickinson had published an attack on Jackson in the local newspaper, and it resulted in a written challenge from Jackson to a duel. Since Dickinson was considered an expert shot, Jackson determined it would be best to let Dickinson turn and fire first, hoping that his aim might be spoiled in his quickness; Jackson would wait and take careful aim at Dickinson. Dickinson did fire first, hitting Jackson in the chest. Under the rules of dueling, Dickinson had to remain still as Jackson took aim and shot and killed him. However, the bullet that struck Jackson was so close to his heart that it could never be safely removed.

1854 – The Kansas–Nebraska Act became law, establishing the US territories of Nebraska and Kansas.

1868 – Decoration Day (the predecessor of the modern “Memorial Day”) was observed in the United States for the first time. It was observed on May 30 until 1971 when Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act which moved it to the last Monday in May.

1889 – Brassiere was invented by Herminie Cadolle of France. It was a two-piece undergarment, the lower part being a corset and the upper supporting the breasts with shoulder straps.

1914 – The new, and then the largest, Cunard ocean liner RMS Aquitania, 45,647 tons, set sail on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England, to New York, New York.

Anniversary of the dedication in 1922 of the Lincoln Memorial.

1948 – Schenectady Blue Jays Tom Lasorda strikes out 25 in 15-inning game. The Blue Jays were a minor league team affiliated with the Philadelphia Phillies. On May 31, 1948, future Los Angeles Dodgers Hall of Fame Manager Tommy Lasorda struck out 25 batters for the Schenectady Blue Jays in a 6-5, 15 inning victory over the Amsterdam Rugmakers.

May 26 is National Blueberry Cheesecake Day
National Cherry Dessert Day

Sally Ride Day honors Sally Ride, the first American woman to go into space. She was born May 26, 1951 in Los Angeles, California. On June 18, 1983, she became the first American woman in space as a crew member on Space Shuttle Challenger. She died July 23, 2012 of pancreatic cancer.

May 26, 1647- Alse Young became the first person executed as a witch in the American colonies, when she was hanged in Hartford, Connecticut. Her daughter was accused of witchcraft in Massachusetts 30 years later.

The Indian Removal Act was passed by the U.S. Congress on May 26, 1830; it was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson two days later. It authorized Jackson to negotiate with five Indian tribes in the South to be removed to federal territory west of the Mississippi in exchange for their homelands. Eventually led to the Trail of Tears in 1831.

1857 –Dred Scott was emancipated by the Blow family, his original owners in 1857, three months after the Supreme Court ruled that any person descended from Africans was not a citizen of the U.S.

1864 – Montana is organized as a United States territory.

1896 – Charles Dow publishes the first edition of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. By tracking the closing stock prices of twelve companies, adding up their stock prices and dividing by twelve, Dow came up with his average. The index became a popular indicator of stock market activity. The initial twelve companies, none of which are still components of the DJIA, were:

• American Cotton Oil Company, now part of Unilever;
• American Sugar Company, now Domino Foods, Inc.;
• American Tobacco Company, broken up in a 1911 antitrust action;
• Chicago Gas Company, now an operating subsidiary of Integrys Energy Group;
• Distilling and Cattle Feeding Company, now Millennium Chemicals;
• General Electric, removed from the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 2018;
• Laclede Gas Company, now Spire Inc,;
• National Lead Company, now NL Industries;
• North American Company, broken up by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 1946;
• Tennessee Coal, Iron, and Railroad Company, now U.S. Steel, removed from the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1991;
• U.S. Leather Company, dissolved in 1952;
• United States Rubber Company, now Michelin .

The very first average price of industrial stocks, on May 26, 1896, was $40.94.

May 26, 1897 – Dracula, a novel by the Irish author Bram Stoker, was published.

House on Un-American Activities formed on May 26, 1938; it was abolished in 1975.

May 26, 1998, The United States Supreme Court ruled that Ellis Island, the historic gateway for millions of immigrants, is mainly in the state of New Jersey, not New York.

May 26, 2004, The United States Army veteran Terry Nichols was found guilty of 161 state murder charges for helping carry out the Oklahoma City bombing. He was incarcerated at a super-maximum security prison in Florence, Colorado.

National Missing Children’s Day in honor of Etan Patz who disappeared on this day in 1979. Etan was the first ever missing child to be pictured on the side of a milk carton.  It wasn’t until 2012 that Pedro Hernandez became a suspect. A former bodega stock clerk confessed to luring 6-year-old Etan Patz into a basement and attacking him; he was found guilty of murder and kidnapping and sentenced to 25 to life in 2017, 38 years after Etan disappeared.

Tap Dance Day, celebrated on the birthday of Bill “Bojangles” Robinson(May 25,1878).

National Brown-Bag-It Day

National Wine Day

Birthday of Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803), American essayist, poet, and lecturer.

1878 – Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore opened at the Opera Comique in London. Also called “The Lass that Loved a Sailor”.

1895 – The playwright, poet, and novelist Oscar Wilde was convicted of “committing acts of gross indecency with other male persons” and sentenced to serve two years in prison.

1925 – Scopes Trial: John T. Scopes was indicted for teaching Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution in Tennessee.

May 25, 1961, Apollo program: The U.S. President John F. Kennedy announced, before a special joint session of the Congress, his goal to initiate a project to put a “man on the Moon” before the end of the decade.

“I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space.”

1968 – Saint Louis Gateway Arch was dedicated.

May 22 is Buy a Musical Instrument Day
National Vanilla Pudding Day

On May 22, 1807, a Grand Jury indicted former Vice President of the United States, Aaron Burr on a charge of treason. He was acquitted.

Birthday of Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813), German composer famous for his operas, “Tännhauser”, and “Lohengrin”. Part of the third Act of Lohengrin is better known as “Here Comes the Bride” or “The Wedding March”.

Birthday of Mary Cassatt (May 22, 1844), American artist noted for her pictures of mothers and children. Examples of her work can be viewed at Wikiart: Mary Cassatt

In 1849, Abraham Lincoln was issued a patent for an invention to lift boats over obstacles in a river, the only patent ever issued to a U.S. President.

On this day in 1856, Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina beat Senator Charles Sumner with a cane in the hall of the United States Senate for a speech Sumner had made attacking Southerners who sympathized with the pro-slavery violence in Kansas (“Bleeding Kansas”).

Birthday of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (May 22, 1859), British novelist known as the creator of Sherlock Holmes.

U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Amnesty Act into law in 1872, restoring full civil and political rights to all but about 500 Confederate sympathizers.

In 1906, the Wright brothers are granted U.S. patent number 821,393 for their “Flying-Machine”.

May 22, 1964, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announced the goals of his Great Society social reforms to bring an “end to poverty and racial injustice” in America.

May 22, 1972 – Ceylon changes its name to Sri Lanka and became a Republic.

May 22, 1980 – The Pac-man game is released.