Tidbits of History, June 15

June 15 is World Gin Day
Smile Power Day
Fly a Kite Day

Feast day of Saint Bernard, born about 1020 in France, died in June of 1081. Patron saint of mountaineers, skiers, skateboarding, backpacking and the Alps. Legend has it that he decided to devote himself to the service of the Church and refused an honorable marriage proposed by his father. It is said that he had to sneak out of the castle on the night before an arranged wedding, and that during his flight from the castle, he threw himself from his window, only to be captured by angels and lowered gently to the ground 40 feet below. As an archdeacon, Bernard set up a hospice at the highest point of a pass across the Pennine Alps, 8000 feet above sea level. The pass was used by French and German pilgrims on their way to Rome and was subject to avalanches, and snow drifts. It is because of this that the rescue St. Bernard dogs were named.

Magna Carta Day , anniversary of the day in 1215 that King John signed the Magna Carta.

In 1752, Benjamin Franklin proved that lightning is electricity (traditional date, the exact date is unknown).

1775 – American Revolutionary War: George Washington was appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army.

1776 – Delaware Separation Day Delaware voted to suspend government under the British Crown and separate officially from Pennsylvania.

1804 – New Hampshire approves the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratifying the document. The Twelfth Amendment refined the process whereby a President and a Vice President are elected by the electors of the Electoral College.

Arkansas headerArkansas admission day in 1836 as the twenty-fifth state

  • Capital: Little Rock
  • Nickname: The Natural State/Wonder State/Land of Opportunity
  • Bird: Mockingbird
  • Flower: Apple Blossom
  • Tree: Pine
  • Motto: The People Rule

See our page about Arkansas for more interesting facts and trivia about Arkansas.

1846 – The Oregon Treaty established the 49th parallel as the border between the United States and Canada, from the Rocky Mountains to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

James K. Polk May 11 ,184614Death of ‎James K. Polk , eleventh President of the United States on June 15, 1849. He died in Nashville, Tennessee at age 53. He lived only 103 days after leaving the presidency.

Arlington National Cemetery was established. George Washington Parke Custis, grandson of Martha Washington, acquired the land that now is Arlington National Cemetery in 1802, and began construction of Arlington House. The estate passed to Custis’ daughter, Mary Anna, who had married United States Army officer Robert E. Lee. Upon her death, the Arlington estate passed to her eldest son, George Washington Custis Lee. On July 16, 1862, Congress passed legislation authorizing the U.S. federal government to purchase land for national cemeteries for military dead, and put the U.S. Army Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs in charge of this program. Within weeks, his staff reported that Arlington Estate was the most suitable property in the area. The property was high and free from floods (which might unearth graves), it had a view of the District of Columbia, and it was aesthetically pleasing. It was also the home of the leader of the armed forces of the Confederate States of America, and denying Robert E. Lee use of his home after the war was a valuable political consideration. Meigs formally authorized establishment of burials on June 15, 1864.

Tidbits of History, June 1

June 1 is
National Hazelnut Cake Day
Dare Day
Flip a Coin Day

Heimlich Maneuver Day (For instructions see Perform the Heimlich)
In 1974 – The Heimlich maneuver for rescuing choking victims is published in the journal Emergency Medicine. Named for Henry Judah Heimlich, the maneuver is a technique of abdominal thrusts. Dr. Heimlich is also recognized as the inventor of the Heimlich Chest Drain Valve and a system of portable oxygen for ambulatory patients. (Heimlich is the uncle of Anson Williams, who is known for his portrayal as Warren “Potsie” Weber on the 70s hit TV show Happy Days.)

Friar John Cor records the first known batch of Scotch Whisky on June 1, 1495.

June 1, 1533 – Anne Boleyn was crowned Queen of England.  She was executed in 1536.

On June 1, 1660, Mary Dyer was hanged for defying a law banning Quakers from the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

1774 – The British government ordered the Port of Boston closed.

Benedict Arnold, a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, was court-martialed for malfeasance on June 1, 1779. He was cleared of all but two minor charges in 1780.

Kentucky header Kentucky Statehood Day; joined the Union in 1792 as the fifteenth state. It was originally a part of Virginia. Officially named the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

  • Capital: Frankfort
  • Nickname: Bluegrass State
  • Bird: Cardinal
  • Fruit: Blackberry
  • Gemstone: Freshwater Pearl
  • Flower: Goldenrod
  • Tree: Tulip Poplar
  • Motto: United we stand, divided we fall

See our page for Kentucky for more interesting facts and trivia about Kentucky.

Tennessee HeaderTennessee Statehood Day; joined the Union in 1796 as the sixteenth state. Initially part of North Carolina; then became known as the Southwest Territory from 1790-1796.

  • Capital: Nashville
  • Nickname: Volunteer State
  • Bird: Mockingbird
  • Fruit: Tomato
  • Flower: Iris
  • Tree: Tulip Poplar
  • Motto: Agriculture and commerce
  • Slogan: Tennessee: America at its Best

See our page for Tennessee for more interesting facts and trivia about Tennessee.

Birthday of Brigham Young (June 1, 1801), American Mormon leader; founder of Salt Lake City

June 1, 1812 – The U.S. President James Madison asked the Congress to declare war on the United Kingdom.

1813 – James Lawrence, the mortally-wounded commander of the USS Chesapeake, gives his final order: “Don’t give up the ship!”

In 1831 – James Clark Ross discovered the Magnetic North Pole.

15buchananDeath of James Buchanan, fifteenth President of the United States on June 1, 1868. He died at his home “Wheatland” in Lancaster, Pennsylvania at age 77 of respiratory failure.

In 1890 – The United States Census Bureau begins using Herman Hollerith’s tabulating machine to count census returns. Hollerith developed a mechanical tabulator based on punched cards. He was the founder of the Tabulating Machine Company which later became IBM. Most of the 1890 Census materials were destroyed in a 1921 fire.

June 1, 1916, Louis Brandeis was appointed to the United States Supreme Court. He was nominated by President Woodrow Wilson. It was written of him that “Brandeis was a militant crusader for social justice whoever his opponent might be. He was dangerous not only because of his brilliance, his arithmetic, his courage. He was dangerous because he was incorruptible.” Using his social conscience, Brandeis became a leader of the Progressive movement, and used the law as the instrument for social change. Starting in 1890, he helped develop the “right to privacy” concept.

1938 – Baseball helmets were worn for the first time.

On June 1,1943, British Overseas Airways Corporation Flight 777 was shot down over the Bay of Biscay by German Junkers Ju 88s, killing 17 including the actor Leslie Howard and leading to speculation that its shooting down was an attempt to kill the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

Zimbabwe, formerly RhodesiaZimbabwe came into existence on June 1, 1970. It was formerly known as Rhodesia.

1980 – Cable News Network (CNN) begins broadcasting. It was founded by Ted Turner and is part of the Turner Broadcasting System.

Tidbits of History, May 29

Learn About Composting Day
End of Middle Ages Day
National Biscuit Day

Birthday of Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736), American Revolutionary statesman who said “Give me Liberty or give me Death”.
The famous speech was given to the Virginia Convention. Henry was attempting to convince the Virginia House of Burgesses to pass a resolution delivering the Virginia troops to the Revolutionary War effort.

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace – but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

May 29, 1660 – Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland becomes King, restoring the monarchy there.

 

Rhode Island header, May 29, 1790Rhode Island Admission Day Admitted to the Union in 1790 as the thirteenth state.

  • Capital: Providence
  • Nickname: The Ocean State/Little Rhody
  • Bird: Rhode Island Red
  • Flower: Violet
  • Tree: Red Maple
  • Motto: Hope

See our page for Rhode Island for more interesting facts and trivia about Rhode Island.

Wisconsin header, May 29, 1848Wisconsin Day Admitted May 29, 1848 as the thirtieth state.

  • Capital: Madison
  • Nickname: Badger State
  • Bird: Robin
  • Flower: Wood violet
  • Tree: Sugar Maple
  • Motto: Forward

See our page for Wisconsin for more interesting facts and trivia about Wisconsin.

1849 – Abraham Lincoln said:

“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.”

1886 – The Pharmacist John Pemberton placed his first advertisement for Coca-Cola, the ad appearing in The Atlanta Journal.

Kennedy assassinated 1963Birthday of John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917), thirty-fifth president of the United States.

On May 29, 1922 the US Supreme Court ruled that organized baseball is a sport and not a business and thus is not subject to antitrust laws.

1942 – Bing Crosby, the Ken Darby Singers and the John Scott Trotter Orchestra record Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas”, the best-selling Christmas single in history.

May 29, 1953 – Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay become the first people known to have reached the top of Mount Everest from the Nepalese side.

1978 – First class postage increased to 15 cents. It was increased another 3 cents to 18 cents in 1981.

Tidbits of History, May 23

May 23 is
Lucky Penny Day – “See a penny, pick it up… All day long you’ll have good luck.”
Superstitions related to Lucky Penny

World Turtle Day
National Taffy Day

South Carolina HeaderSouth Carolina Admission Day 1788 as the eighth state

  • Capital: Columbia
  • Nickname: Palmetto State
  • Bird: Carolina Wren
  • Flower: Yellow Jessamine
  • Tree: Palmetto
  • Motto: Prepared in mind and resources/While I breathe, I hope

See our page on South Carolina for more interesting facts and trivia about South Carolina.

May 23, 1568 – The Netherlands declared independence from Spain.

1701 – After being convicted of piracy and of the murder of gunner, William Moore, Captain William Kidd was hanged in London, England.

1829 – Accordion patent granted to Cyrill Demian in Vienna, Austrian Empire. Demian’s instrument bore little resemblance to modern instruments. It only had a left hand buttonboard, with the right hand simply operating the bellows.

1873 – The Canadian Parliament established the North-West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Bonnie and Clyde captured May 23, 1934 1934 – The American bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were ambushed by police and killed in Black Lake, Louisiana.

1945 – World War II: Heinrich Himmler, the head of the Schutzstaffel, (Nazi SS) committed suicide while in Allied custody. On Hitler’s behalf, Himmler formed the Einsatzgruppen and built extermination camps. As facilitator and overseer of the concentration camps, Himmler directed the killing of some six million Jews, between 200,000 and 500,000 Romani people, and other victims; the total number of civilians killed by the regime is estimated at eleven to fourteen million people. Most of them were Polish and Soviet citizens.

May 23, 1949 – The Federal Republic of Germany was founded. Commonly called West Germany, it reunited with East Germany in 1990.

Tidbits of History, May 11

May 11 is National Twilight Zone Day in the USA.
National Technology Day (India)

Eat What You Want Day

May 11, 1647 Peter Stuyvesant arrived in New Amsterdam to replace Willem Kieft as Director-General of New Netherland, the Dutch colonial settlement in present-day New York City.

May 11, 1812 – Spencer Perceval became the only Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to be assassinated. The assassin, John Bellingham, was a merchant who believed he had been unjustly imprisoned in Russia and was entitled to compensation from the Government, but all his petitions had been rejected.

James K. Polk May 11 ,184614President James K. Polk asked for and received a Declaration of War against Mexico, starting the Mexican–American War on May 11, 1846.

Birthday of Ottmar Mergenthaler (May 11, 1854), American inventor who developed the first Linotype Machine in 1884. Before Mergenthaler’s invention, no daily newspaper in the world had more than eight pages

Minnesota headerMinnesota Admission Day, 1858 as the thirty-second state

  • Capital: St. Paul
  • Nickname: North Star State/Gopher State/Bread and Butter State
  • Bird: Common Loon
  • Flower: Pink & White Lady’s slipper
  • Tree: Norway Pine
  • Motto: The star of the north

See our page for more interesting facts and trivia about Minnesota.

Birthday of Irving Berlin [Isadore Balin]( May 11, 1888), composer and lyricist. Some of his most popular songs are:

  • Alexander’s Ragtime Band (called “the first real American musical work”
  • A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody (in 1919),
  • Blue Skies
  • Cheek to Cheek,
  • Easter Parade,
  • The Girl That I Marry,
  • God Bless America,
  • I’ve Got My Love to Keep me Warm,
  • There’s No Business Like Show Business, and
  • White Christmas.

Pullman Strike of 1894: Four thousand Pullman Palace Car Company workers went on a wildcat strike in Illinois.

1904 Birthday of Salvador Dali (May 11, 1904), painter, surrealist artist. His works can be viewed at Wikiart

An act of the U.S. Congress establishes Glacier National Park in Montana on May 11, 1910.