June 30
End of Second Quarter, End of first half of the year
NATIONAL Meteor Watch Day
NATIONAL Social Media Day
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1834 Congress placed the Marine Corps under Navy jurisdiction
1859 Jean Francois Gravelet aka Emile Blondin, a French daredevil acrobat, becomes the first man to walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope
1908 A mysterious explosion, possibly the result of a meteorite, levels thousands of trees in the Tunguska region of Siberia with a force approaching twenty megatons
1936 Margaret Mitchell’s novel, Gone With the Wind, is published
1958 Congress passed a law authorizing the admission of Alaska as the 49th state in the Union, the first new state since 1912
1960 Alfred Hitchcock’s film, Psycho, opens
1997 Hong Kong reverts to China, ending 150 years of British rule
June 29
INTERNATIONAL Mud Day
NATIONAL Camera Day
NATIONAL Hug Holiday
NATIONAL Waffle Iron Day
NATIONAL Handshake Day [last Thursday in June]
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1613 London's Globe Theatre burned down during a performance of Shakespeare's Henry VIII
1652 Massachusetts declares itself an independent commonwealth
1767 The British parliament passes the Townshend Revenue Act, levying taxes on America
1917 The Ukraine proclaims independence from Russia
1925 An earthquake ravages Santa Barbara, California
1938 Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, and Olympic National Park, Washington, are founded
1972 The Supreme Court ruled in Furman v. Georgia that the death penalty could constitute "cruel and unusual" punishment, prompting some states to revise their laws
1995 The shuttle Atlantis and the Russian space station Mir docked, forming the largest man-made satellite ever to orbit the Earth
June 28
INTERNATIONAL Body Piercing Day
NATIONAL Paul Bunyon Day
NATIONAL Insurance Awareness Day
NATIONAL Tapioca Day
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1778 “Molly Pitcher,” Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley, wife of an American artilleryman, carried water to the soldiers during the Revolutionary War Battle of Monmouth, NJ and allegedly took her husband’s place at his gun after he is overcome with heat
1884 Congress declares Labor Day a legal holiday
1902 Congress passes the Spooner bill, authorizing a canal to be built across the Isthmus of Panama
1911 Samuel J. Battle becomes the first African-American policeman in New York City
1914 Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his wife were assassinated, setting off World War I
1919 Germany signs the Treaty of Versailles with the Allies, officially ending World War I
1948 Berlin Airlift begins
1970 Muhammad Ali stands before the Supreme Court regarding his refusal of induction into the US Army during the Vietnam War
1971 The Supreme Court overturns the draft evasion conviction of Muhammad Ali
1978 The Supreme Court ruled in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke that the use of quotas in affirmative action programs was not permissible
1996 The Citadel voted to admit women, ending a 153-year-old men-only policy at the South Carolina military school
1997 Boxer Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield's ear during their heavyweight title fight, earning a 16-month suspension
2000 Elian Gonzalez was returned to his father in Cuba
2004 The US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that detainees at Guantanamo must have access to the US legal system. The Court ruled that the war on terrorism did not give the government a “blank check” to hold a US citizen and foreign-born terror suspects in legal limbo.
June 27
NATIONAL Sunglasses Day
NATIONAL Pineapple Day
NATIONAL Helen Keller Day
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1778 The Liberty Bell came home to Philadelphia after the British left
1829 In Genoa, Italy, English scientist James Smithson dies after a long illness, leaving behind a will with a peculiar footnote. In the event that his only nephew died without any heirs [which is what happened], Smithson decreed that the whole of his estate would go to “the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”
1922 The Newbery Medal for children’s literature was first awarded
1927 The US Marines adopt the English bulldog as their mascot
1929 Scientists at Bell Laboratories in New York revealed a system for transmitting television pictures
1945 The FCC allocates airwaves for 13 TV stations
1950 President Harry S. Truman ordered the Air Force and Navy into the Korean War
1980 President Carter signed legislation reviving draft registration
1985 The legendary Route 66, running from Chicago to Santa Monica, California, was decertified, the victim of the Interstate Highway System
2003 The national Do-Not-Call Registry, formed to combat unwanted telemarketing calls and administered by the Federal Trade Commission, enrolled almost three-quarters of a million phone numbers on its first day
June 26
NATIONAL Beautician's Day
NATIONAL Forgiveness Day
NATIONAL Canoe Day
NATIONAL Chocolate Pudding Day
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1819 The bicycle was patented by W. K. Clarkson
1843 Hong Kong was proclaimed a British crown colony
1884 Congress authorizes commissioning of Naval Academy graduates as ensigns
1963 President John Kennedy announces “Ich bin ein Berliner” at the Berlin Wall
June 25
GLOBAL Beatles Day
NATIONAL Log Cabin Day
NATIONAL Catfish Day
NATIONAL Color TV Day
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1788 Virginia became the 10th state in the Union
1868 Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina were re-admitted to the Union
1868 The US Congress enacts legislation granting an eight-hour day to workers employed by the federal government
1876 General George A. Custer and over 260 men of the Seventh Cavalry are wiped out by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians at Little Bighorn in Montana
1876 Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated his telephone at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia
1903 Marie Curie announces her discovery of radium
1950 Communist North Korean troops invaded South Korea, beginning the Korean War
1951 The first commercial color TV program was transmitted by CBS from New York to Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington, DC
1962 The US Supreme Court bans official prayers in public schools
1981 The US Supreme Court holds male-only draft registration constitutional
June 24
NATIONAL Fairy Day
NATIONAL Swim a Lap Day
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1497 Explorer John Cabot lands in North America in present-day Canada
1664 The colony of New Jersey, named after the Isle of Jersey, is founded
1861 Tennessee becomes 11th state to secede from the Union
1964 The Federal Trade Commission announces that, starting in 1965, cigarette makers must include warning labels about the harmful effects of smoking
June 23
NATIONAL Pink Day
NATIONAL Take Your Dog to Work Day [Friday after Father's Day]
NATIONAL Typewriter Day
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1776 The final draft of Declaration of Independence was submitted to US Congress
1868 Christopher Latham Sholes received a patent for an invention he called a ''Type-Writer"
1961 Antarctic Treaty goes into effect
2003 The US Supreme Court upheld the University of Michigan's School of Law affirmative action policy
June 22
NATIONAL Chocolate Eclair Day
NATIONAL Onion Rings Day
NATIONAL HVAC Tech Day
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1847 The first doughnut with a hole in it was created
1868 Arkansas was re-admitted to the Union
1870 The US Justice Department was created
1910 German bacteriologist Paul Ehrlich announces a definitive cure for syphilis
1944 FDR signs the "Servicemen's Readjustment Act", better known as "the GI Bill of Rights"
1962 The Hovercraft was first tested
1970 President Richard Nixon signs the 26th amendment, lowering the voting age to 18
June 21
First Day of Summer
WORLD Music Day
INTERNATIONAL Yoga Day
NATIONAL Selfie Day
NATIONAL Skateboarding Day
NATIONAL Daylight Appreciation Day
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1788 New Hampshire becomes the ninth and last necessary state to ratify the Constitution of the United States, thereby making the document the law of the land
1834 Cyrus McCormick's mechanical reaper was patented
1898 Guam became a US territory
1939 Baseball legend Lou Gehrig is forced to quit baseball because of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - a disease which wastes muscles
1948 Berlin Airlift begins
1982 John Hinckley Jr. is found not guilty by reason of insanity for attempting to assassinate President Ronald Reagan
1989 The US Supreme Court decided that burning the US flag was protected under the First Amendment
2004 SpaceShipOne lifted off from the Mojave Desert in the initial stage of the world’s first attempted commercial space flight
June 20
WORLD Refugee Day
WORLD Productivity Day
NATIONAL Ice Cream Soda Day
NATIONAL Cherry Tart Day
NATIONAL Hike With a Geek Day
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1782 Congress approved the Great Seal of the United States and the eagle as its symbol
1863 West Virginia admitted into the Union as the 35th state
1867 US buys Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million
1941 The US Army Air Force is established, replacing the Army Air Corps
1955 The AFL and CIO agree to combine names for a merged group
1963 The United States and the Soviet Union agree to establish a hot line between Washington and Moscow
1967 Boxer Muhammad Ali was convicted in Houston of violating Selective Service laws by refusing to be drafted. Ali’s conviction was ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court.
June 19
Juneteenth
WORLD Sauntering Day
NATIONAL Kissing Day
NATIONAL Garfield the Cat Day
NATIONAL Martini Day
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
240 BC Eratosthenes accurately calculates the circumference of the earth
1865 Emancipation Day, also known as Juneteenth, was the day that Union General Granger informed Texas slaves that they were free. Blacks came to celebrate the day as Juneteenth Freedom Day.
1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was approved
June 18
Father's Day
INTERNATIONAL Panic Day
INTERNATIONAL Picnic Day
INTERNATIONAL Yoga Day
NATIONAL Splurge Day
NATIONAL Go Fishing Day
NATIONAL Clean Your Aquarium Day
NATIONAL Turkey Lovers' Day [third Sunday in June]
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1812 The War of 1812 begins when the United States declares war against Great Britain
1815 Battle of Waterloo: Wellington crushes Napoleon, with the help of Blucher's Prussians
1873 Susan B. Anthony is fined $100 for attempting to vote for president
1903 First transcontinental auto trip began in San Francisco and arrived in New York three months later
1928 Aviator Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. She completed the flight from Newfoundland to Wales in about 21 hours.
1983 Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space
June 17
WORLD Juggling Day
NATIONAL Eat Your Vegetables Day
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1775 The Battle of Bunker Hill took place during the American Revolution
1885 The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York City aboard the French ship Isere
1967 China detonated its first hydrogen bomb and became the world’s 4th thermonuclear power
1972 Watergate: Republican operatives break into Democratic Party offices at the Watergate Hotel in Washington
1994 Millions of Americans watch former football player OJ Simpson drive his Ford Bronco through Los Angeles, followed by police
June 16
NATIONAL Fresh Veggies Day
NATIONAL Fudge Day
NATIONAL Flip Flop Day [third Friday in June]
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1858 Abraham Lincoln, in accepting the Republican nomination for the US Senate in Illinois, declares “A house divided against itself cannot stand”
1904 Events in James Joyce's novel Ulysses took place on this day, which is celebrated as Bloomsday, for the main character, Leopold Bloom
1910 The first Father’s Day is celebrated in Spokane, Washington
1935 President Franklin Roosevelt‘s New Deal legislation is passed by the House of Representatives
1952 Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl is published in the United States
June 15
Magna Carta Day
GLOBAL Wind Day
WORLD Meat Free Day
NATIONAL Smile Power Day
NATIONAL Nature Photography Day
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1215 King John signs the Magna Carta
1752 Benjamin Franklin and his son test the relationship between electricity and lightning by flying a kite in a thunder storm
1775 George Washington is named Commander-in-Chief by Congress
1836 Arkansas is admitted into the Union as the 25th state
1844 Charles Goodyear received a patent for the vulcanization of rubber, his process to strengthen rubber
1864 Robert E Lee's home, Arlington, becomes a military cemetery
1992 Vice President Dan Quayle's "potatoe" spelling incident
2002 Rolling Stone Mick Jagger was knighted by Queen Elizabeth
June 14
My oldest son's 23rd birthday
Flag Day
WORLD Blood Donor Day
INTERNATIONAL Bath Day
NATIONAL Monkey Around Day
NATIONAL Bourbon Day
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1642 Massachusetts passes the first compulsory education law in the colonies
1775 The US Army is founded when the Continental Congress authorizes the muster of troops
1777 The Continental Congress authorizes the “stars and stripes” flag for the new United States
1864 Congress orders black soldiers be paid the same as whites
1942 The Supreme Court rules that requiring students to salute the American flag is unconstitutional
1951 The first commercial computer, Univac I, was unveiled
June 13
INTERNATIONAL Axe Throwing Day
NATIONAL Sewing Machine Day
NATIONAL Call Your Doctor Day
NATIONAL Weed Your Garden Day
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1798 Mission San Luis Rey in California was founded
1900 Boxer Rebellion begins in China
1920 The US Post Office Department rules that children may not be sent by parcel post
1966 The Supreme Court issued its landmark Miranda vs. Arizona decision, ruling that criminal suspects must be informed of their constitutional rights prior to questioning by police
1967 Thurgood Marshall was nominated to become the first African American on the US Supreme Court
1971 The New York Times begins publishing the Pentagon Papers
1979 Sioux Indians are awarded $105 million in compensation for the 1877 US seizure of the Black Hills in South Dakota
1983 Pioneer 10, already in space for 11 years, leaves the solar system
June 12
NATIONAL Red Rose Day
NATIONAL Peanut Butter Cookie Day
NATIONAL Superman Day
NATIONAL Loving Day
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1365 King Edward III bans football, to insure Englishmen get their archery practice
1665 Nieuw Amsterdam is incorporated under English law as "New York"
1880 John Lee Richmond pitched baseball's first perfect game. A perfect game occurs when no batter reaches a base during a complete game of at least nine innings.
1921 President Warren Harding urges every young man to attend military training camp
1931 Gangster Al Capone and 68 of his henchmen are indicted for violating Prohibition laws
1939 The Baseball Hall of Fame opened to the public in Cooperstown, New York
1942 Anne Frank begins her diary, on her 13th birthday
1961 President John F. Kennedy signed a Presidential Proclamation calling for the American flag to be flown at the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, “at all times during the day and night”
1967 The Supreme Court rules that states cannot ban interracial marriages
1977 David Berkowitz gets 25 years to life for the Son of Sam murders in New York
1982 750,000 anti-nuclear demonstrators rally in Central Park
1987 Ronald Reagan says, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall"
June 11
NATIONAL Corn on the Cob Day
NATIONAL Making Life Beautiful Day
NATIONAL German Chocolate Cake Day
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1770 Captain James Cook runs aground on the Great Barrier Reef
1919 Sir Barton won the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first horse to capture the Triple Crown
1934 The Disarmament Conference in Geneva ended in failure
1935 Inventor Edwin Armstrong gives the first public demonstration of FM broadcasting in the United States at Alpine, New Jersey
1941 Amendment to act creating Coast Guard (January 28, 1915) provided “The Coast Guard shall be a military service and constitute a branch of the land and naval forces of the United States at all times.”
1963 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is arrested in Florida for trying to integrate restaurants
1977 Seattle Slew won the Belmont Stakes, capturing the Triple Crown
1991 Microsoft released MS DOS 5.0
June 10
WORLD Doll Day
NATIONAL Iced Tea Day
NATIONAL Ball Point Pen Day
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1692 Bridget Bishop is hanged in Salem, Massachusetts, for witchcraft
1776 The Continental Congress appoints a committee to write a Declaration of Independence
1854 The US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, holds its first graduation
1915 Girl Scouts were founded
1935 Alcoholics Anonymous was founded by "Bill W"
1943 The Allies begin bombing Germany around the clock
1967 The Six-Day War between Israel and Syria, Egypt, and Jordan ended
1977 The Apple II, one of the first personal computers, goes on sale
1996 Intel released its 200 Mhz Pentium chip
1978 Affirmed won the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown
2003 Ontario, Canada issued the first full same-sex marriage licenses in North America
June 9
NATIONAL Donald Duck Day
NATIONAL Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1898 China agreed to lease Hong Kong to Britain for 99 years
1934 Donald Duck made his screen debut in The Wise Little Hen
1944 The Republic of Iceland was established
1948 Israel became a state
1973 Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes and became the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years
June 8
WORLD Oceans Day
NATIONAL Best Friends Day
NATIONAL Name Your Poison Day
NATIONAL Jerky Day
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1861 Tennessee votes to secede from the Union and join the Confederacy
1953 The Supreme Court forbids segregated lunch counters in Washington DC
1982 President Reagan became the first American chief executive to address a joint session of the British Parliament
June 7
NATIONAL Chocolate Ice Cream Day
NATIONAL VCR Day
NATIONAL Running Day [first Wednesday in June]
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1767 Daniel Boone sights present-day Kentucky
1775 The United Colonies change their name to the United States
1776 Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduced a resolution in the Continental Congress proposing a Declaration of Independence
1892 Homer Plessy was arrested for his refusal to move from a whites-only seat on a train. This led to the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court decision.
1905 Norway declares independence from Sweden, which acquiesces
1914 The first vessel passes through the Panama Canal
1929 Vatican City became a sovereign state
June 6
D-Day
NATIONAL Yo-Yo Day
NATIONAL Russian Language Day
NATIONAL Drive-in Movie Day
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1844 The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) was founded in London
1930 Frozen foods are sold commercially for the first time
1934 President Franklin Roosevelt signs the Securities Exchange Act, establishing the Securities and Exchange Commission
1944 D-Day: Operation Overlord lands 400,000 Allied American, British, and Canadian troops on the beaches of Normandy in German-occupied France
1949 George Orwell’s novel of a dystopian future, Nineteen Eighty-four, is published
2002 President Bush proposed a new Cabinet department: The Department of Homeland Security
June 5
WORLD Environment Day
NATIONAL Moonshine Day
NATIONAL Hot Air Balloon Day
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1783 Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier make the first public balloon flight
1794 The US Congress prohibits citizens from serving in any foreign armed forces
1851 Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes the first installment of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in The National Era
1884 Civil War hero General William T. Sherman refused the Republican nomination for president with the words, “I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected”
1917 US begins draft registration, 10 million eventually sign up
1933 The United States went off the gold standard
1968 Sirhan Sirhan shoots Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy after Kennedy’s victory in the pivotal California primary election
1973 Doris A. Davis becomes the first African-American woman to govern a city in a major metropolitan area when she is elected mayor of Compton, California
1981 The Centers for Disease Control published the first report about the disease that would later become known as AIDS
2004 Former US President Ronald Reagan dies at age 93
June 4
NATIONAL Applesauce Cake Day
NATIONAL Hug Your Cat Day
NATIONAL Cancer Survivors Day [first Sunday in June]
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1717 The Freemasons are founded in London
1789 The Constitution of the United States goes into effect
1800 The White House was completed and President & Mrs. John Adams moved in
1876 A mere 83 hours after leaving New York City, the Transcontinental Express train arrives in San Francisco
1892 The Sierra Club, led by John Muir, was incorporated in San Francisco
1896 Henry Ford took his first car out for a test drive
1911 Gold is discovered in Alaska’s Indian Creek
1919 The US Senate passes the Women’s Suffrage bill
June 3
NATIONAL Trails Day [first Saturday in June]
NATIONAL Insect Repellent Awareness Day
NATIONAL Repeat Day
NATIONAL Egg Day
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1888 The classic baseball poem “Casey at the Bat,” written by Ernest L. Thayer, is published in the San Francisco Examiner
1989 The Chinese government begins its crackdown on pro-democracy activists in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Hundreds are killed and thousands are arrested.
June 2
NATIONAL Doughnut Day [first Friday in June]
NATIONAL Rocky Road Day
NATIONAL Leave the Office Early Day
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1883 The first baseball game under electric lights is played in Fort Wayne, Indiana
1924 The United States grants full citizenship to American Indians
1942 The American aircraft carriers Enterprise, Hornet, and Yorktown move into their battle positions for the Battle of Midway
1953 Elizabeth II is crowned queen of England at Westminster Abbey
June 1
NATIONAL Dare Day
NATIONAL Flip a Coin Day
NATIONAL Say Something Nice Day
NATIONAL Go Barefoot Day
Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
1638 The first earthquake was recorded in the US at Plymouth, Massachusetts
1792 Kentucky became the 15th state of the union
1796 Tennessee became the 16th state of the union
1938 The first issue of Action Comics, featuring Superman, was published
1961 FM multiplex stereo broadcasting was first heard
1980 Cable News Network (CNN) debuted
2000 At Los Alamos, hard drives with classified nuclear secrets were discovered missing. They were found June 16 behind a photocopier.
