Trevor WholohanThis Day in History June 20th
June 20th 2007 01:14
1782 - The U.S. Congress approved the Great Seal of the United States.
1793 - Eli Whitney applied for a cotton gin patent. He received the patent on March 14. The cotton gin initiated the American mass-production concept.
1863 - West Virginia admitted as 35th US state
1867 - Pres Andrew Johnson announces purchase of Alaska
1941 - The U.S. Army Air Force was established, replacing the Army Air Corps.
1947 - Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel was murdered in Beverly Hills, CA, at the order of mob associates angered over the soaring costs of his project, the Flamingo resort in Las Vegas, NV.
1948 - "Toast of the Town" debuted on CBS-TV. The show was hosted by Ed Sullivan.
1950 - Willie Mays graduated from high school and immediately signed with the New York Giants.
1963 - Leave it to Beaver ends.
1963 - The United States and Soviet Union signed an agreement to set up a hot line communication link between the two countries.
1967 - Muhammad Ali was convicted in Houston of violating Selective Service laws by refusing to be drafted. The U.S. Supreme Court later overturned the conviction.
1969 - 150,000 attend Newport '69, Jimi Hendrix gets $120,000 to appear
1977 - Oil enters Trans-Alaska pipeline exits 38 days later at Valdez
1979 - ABC News correspondent Bill Stewart was shot to death in Managua, Nicaragua, by a member of President Anastasio Somoza's national guard.
1986 - Drs at Bethesda Naval remove 2 small benign polyps from Reagan's colon
1987 - Johnny Carson marries 4th wife Alexis Mass
1988 - Price is Right model Janice Pennington is knocked out by a TV camera
1990 - Nelson Mandela lands in NYC to begin a tour of the US
1991 - German parliament decides to move the capital from Bonn back to Berlin.
1994 - In Los Angeles, O.J. Simpson pled innocent to the killing of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
1997 - The tobacco industry agreed to a massive settlement in exchange for major relief from mounting lawsuits and legal bills.
2001 - Barry Bonds, of the San Francisco Giants, hit his 38th home run of the season. The home run broke the major league baseball record for homers before the midseason All-Star break.
2001 - In Texas, Andrea Yates was arrested for drowning her five children in a bathtub.
2002 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the execution of mentally retarded murderers was unconstitutionally cruel. The vote was 6 in favor and 3 against.
2004 - Ken Griffey Jr. becomes the 20th member of the 500 home run club with a home run at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.
Famous Birthday’s
1909 - Errol Flynn actor (Captain Blood, Robin Hood, Against All Flags)Died 1959
1924 - Audie Murphy Kingston Tx, WWII hero/actor (Destry, Joe Butterfly) Died 1971
1924 - Chet Atkins Luttrell Tenn, guitarist (Me & My Guitar)
1942 - Brian Wilson Inglewood Calif, singer (Beachboys-In My Room)
1945 - Anne Murray Nova Scotia, Canada, singer (Snow Bird) 1946 - Bob Vila, Host of This Old House
1950 - Lionel Richie singer (Commodores, Hello, Penny Lover)
1952 - John Goodman actor (Roseanne, Everyone's All American)
1953 - Cyndi Lauper Brooklyn, singer (Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Vibes)
1955 - Michael Anthony rocker (Van Halen-Jump, 1984)
1957 - Butch Patrick Inglewood Calif, actor (Real McCoys, Eddie-Munsters)
1967 - Nicole Kidman, Australian Actress(Batman Forever, Cold Mtn., Bewitched)
Joke of the Day
Canadian Pension
Having reached the age of 62, I went to apply for Canada Pension last week.
After waiting in line for a very long time, I finally got to the counter.
The woman there asked me for my driver’s license to verify my age.
I looked in my pockets and realized, to my great dismay, that I had left my wallet on the nightstand in my bedroom. I told the lady that I was very sorry, but I seemed to have left my wallet at home. “I’ll have to go get it and come back later,” I said.
At that point, she said to me, “Unbutton your shirt.” I was confused, but I opened my shirt, revealing lots of curly silver hair. She said, “That silver hair on your chest is proof enough for me,” and, with that, she promptly processed my application.
When I got home, I couldn’t wait to tell my wife about my experience at the Canada Pension Office. She listened to the whole story and then said,
“You should have dropped your pants, you might have gotten disability, too.”
World Record
Most Valuable Jewel At Auction
A 100.10-carat, pear-shaped, "D" flawless diamond was sold for $16,548,750 at Sotheby’s, Switzerland, on May 17, 1995. It was bought by Sheikh Ahmed Fitaihi, for his jewellery shops in Saudi Arabia. "D" is the highest color grade given to diamonds and indicates that the diamond is the finest white.
Most Valuable Letter
The highest price ever paid on the open market for a single signed letter was $748,000, in 1991 at Christie's, New York City, USA. The letter was by Abraham Lincoln, written on January 8, 1863, defending the Emancipation Proclamation. The later was addressed to Major General John Alexander McClernand in Memphis, Tennessee.
| 36 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
Comment by MelissaA
Fun Facts