This week in history #26

Last week's photos:
1865 Juneteenth
1782 Great Seal of US
1948 Berlin Airlift
1950 Korean War

Last year we looked at obscure holidays. This year, let’s look at major world events that occurred each week.  Make your best guess in the comments as to the years of each event.  No googling!

Week #26

June 26, ____ - The United Nations Charter was signed in San Francisco by 50 nations.

June 29, ____ - The US Supreme Court ruled (5-4) that capital punishment was a violation of the Eighth Amendment prohibiting "cruel and unusual punishment." Four years later, the Court reversed itself and determined the death penalty was not cruel and unusual punishment in cases involving murder.

June 30, ____ - The 26th Amendment to the US Constitution granted the right to vote in all federal, state and local elections to American citizens 18 years of age or older.

July 1, ____ - President Abraham Lincoln signed the first income tax bill, 3% on annual incomes of $600-$10,000 and 5% on incomes over $10,000. Also on this day, the Bureau of Internal Revenue was established.

This week in history #25

Last week's photos:
1966 Miranda v Arizona
1777 US Flag Day
1951 Univac 1
1812 US war against Great Britain

Last year we looked at obscure holidays. This year, let’s look at major world events that occurred each week.  Make your best guess in the comments as to the years of each event.  No googling!

Week #25

June 19, ____ - In Galveston, Texas, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger read General Order No. 3: "The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the [President] of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves..." This day is now celebrated as Juneteenth.

June 20, ____ - The US Congress officially adopted the Great Seal of the United States of America.

June 24, ____ - Soviet Russia began a blockade of Berlin. Two days later the Allies responded with the Berlin Airlift, delivering food, coal, and medical supplies to two million isolated West Berliners.

June 25, ____ - The Korean War began as North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel and launched a full scale invasion of South Korea. Three years later, an armistice was signed, formally dividing the country at the 38th parallel into North and South Korea.

 

This week in history #24

Last week's photos:
1783 Hot air balloon
1872 Susan B Anthony
1944 D-Day
1898 Lease of Hong Kong

Last year we looked at obscure holidays. This year, let’s look at major world events that occurred each week.  Make your best guess in the comments as to the years of each event.  No googling!

Week #24

June 13, ____ - In the case Miranda v Arizona, the US Supreme Court ruled (5-4) that an accused person must be apprised of certain rights before police questioning, including the right to remain silent and the right to have a defense attorney present during interrogation.

June 14, ____ - John Adams introduced a resolution before Congress mandating a United States flag, celebrated each year in the US as Flag Day. 

June 14, ____ - Univac 1, the world's first commercial electronic computer, was installed at the Census Bureau.

June 18, ____ - The US Senate voted 19 to 13 to declare war against Great Britain, in part because of Britain's violation of America's rights on the high seas.

This week in history #23

Last week's photos:
1660 English monarchy restored
1783 PA Evening Post
1889 Johnstown PA flood
1989 Tiananmen Square

Last year we looked at obscure holidays. This year, let’s look at major world events that occurred each week.  Make your best guess in the comments as to the years of each event.  No googling!

Week #23

June 5, ____ - The first sustained flight occurred as a hot-air balloon was launched in France. The 33-foot-diameter balloon ascended about 6,000 feet.

June 6, ____ - Susan B. Anthony was fined for voting in a presidential election in New York. She was arrested, tried and sentenced to pay $100, which she refused. 

June 6, ____ - D-Day, Allied forces landed in Normandy on the northern coast of France. 

June 9, ____ - The British signed a 99-year lease for Hong Kong, an area measuring 400 square miles and administered as a British Crown Colony until July 1, ____, when it reverted to the People's Republic of China.

This week in history #22

Last week's photos:
1844 First telegraph message
1787 Constitutional Convention
1937 Opening of Golden Gate Bridge
1961 Amnesty International began

Last year we looked at obscure holidays. This year, let’s look at major world events that occurred each week.  Make your best guess in the comments as to the years of each event.  No googling!

Week #22

May 29, ____ - The English monarchy was restored after several years of a Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell.

May 30, ____ - The Pennsylvania Evening Post became the first daily newspaper published in America.

May 31, ____ - Over 2,300 persons were killed in the Johnstown flood in Pennsylvania, after heavy rains caused the Connemaugh River Dam to burst, sending a wall of water 75 feet high through the city.

June 4, ____ - The Chinese government ordered troops to fire on unarmed protesters in Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

This week in history #21

Last week's photos:
1792 New York Stock Exchange
1875 Kentucky Derby
1954 Brown v Board of Education
1980 Mount St. Helens eruption

Last year we looked at obscure holidays. This year, let’s look at major world events that occurred each week.  Make your best guess in the comments as to the years of each event.  No googling!

Week #21

May 24, ____ - Samuel Morse sent the first official telegraph message, "What hath God wrought?" from the Capitol building in Washington DC to Baltimore.

May 25, ____ - The Constitutional Convention began in Philadelphia.

May 27, ____ - In San Francisco, 200,000 people walked across the Golden Gate Bridge to celebrate its grand opening.

May 28, ____ - Amnesty International, currently with more than a million members in 150 countries, was founded to free prisoners of conscience, stop torture and the death penalty, and guarantee human rights for women.

This week in history #20

Last week's photos:
1869 Promontory Point
1994 Mandela
1981 Pope John Paul II
1796 Smallpox Vaccine

Last year we looked at obscure holidays. This year, let’s look at major world events that occurred each week.  Make your best guess in the comments as to the years of each event.  No googling!

Week #20

May 17, ____ - Two dozen merchants and brokers established the New York Stock Exchange.

May 17, ____ - The first Kentucky Derby horse race took place at Churchill Downs in Louisville KY.

May 17, ____ - In Brown v. Board of Education, the US Supreme Court unanimously ruled that segregation of public schools solely on the basis of race denied black children equal educational opportunity. "Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."

May 18, ____ - Mount St. Helens volcano erupted in Washington State.