bransonglobe.com HISTORY June 17-18, 2020 • 15 Today in History: Sports, movies and more • 1579 English navigator Francis Drake lands on the coast of California at Drakes Bay, names it “New Albion” • 1631 Mumtaz Mahal dies during childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, then spends more than 20 years building her tomb, the Taj Mahal • • 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill (actually it was Breed’s Hill) 1789 French Revolution: During the meeting of the Estates-General, the Third Estate proclaims itself the ‘National Assembly’ • 1837 Charles Goodyear obtains his 1st rubber patent • 1839 King of Hawaii Kamehameha III issues Edict of toleration which gives Roman Catholics freedom to worship in the Hawaiian Islands. The Hawaii Catholic Church and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace is later established • 1856 Republican Party opens its 1st national convention in Philadelphia • • • • • • 1863 Travelers Insurance Co of Hartford chartered (1st accident insurer) 1882 Tornado kills 130 in Iowa 1885 Statue of Liberty arrives in NYC aboard French ship `Isere’ 1894 1st US poliomyelitis epidemic breaks out in Rutland, Vermont 1901 The College Board introduces its first standardized test, the forerunner to the SAT 1915 The League to Enforce Peace is organised at Independence Hall in Philadelphia with William Howard Taft as president; its program anticipates the League of Nations • 1928 Amelia Earhart leaves Newfoundland to become 1st woman (passenger) to fly Atlantic (as a passenger in a plane piloted by Wilmer Stultz) • 1947 Pan Am Airways chartered as 1st worldwide passenger airline • 1950 1st kidney transplant (Chicago) • 1963 Supreme Court rules against Bible reading/prayer in public schools • 1970 Edwin Land patents the Polaroid camera • 1972 Five men arrested after trying to bug Democratic National Committee office in Watergate Complex, Washington • 1988 Microsoft releases MS DOS 4.0 • 1994 O.J. Simpson doesn’t turn himself in on murder charges, LA police chase his Ford Bronco for 1½ hours before he eventually gives up (seen live on national TV) • 2003 Moneyball, a book about the 2003 Oakland Athletics baseball team and GM Billy Beane’s sabermetric approach, inspired by Bill James, is published • 2008 First day of legal samesex marriage in California • 2017 Bill Cosby trial for aggravated indecent assault declared a mistrial after jurors couldn’t reach a verdict Movies & TV • 2018 “The Incredibles 2” sets a box office record for an animated release, earning $180 million its opening weekend Music • 1967 “Somebody To Love” by Jefferson Airplane peaks at #5 • 1971 Carole King’s album “Tapestry” goes to No. 1 on US album charts and stays there for 15 weeks • 1973 Dolly Parton records her song “I Will Always Love You” (later huge hit for Whitney Houston) for RCA in Nashville • 1978 “Cheeseburger In Paradise” by Jimmy Buffett peaks at #32 Sports • 1953 Most runs scored in 1 inning (17 by Red Sox) • 1954 Rocky Marciano beats Ezzard Charles by unanimous points decision in his 3rd world heavyweight boxing title defence at Yankee Stadium, NYC • 1962 US Open Men’s Golf, Oakmont CC: Jack Nicklaus wins his first major title by 3 strokes in an 18-hole playoff with Arnold Palmer Birthdays • 1910 Red Foley, American country singer (Mr Smith Goes to Washington), born in Blue Lick, Kentucky (d. 1968) • 1943 Newt Gingrich, American politician (Rep-R-GA, 1979-99) and Speaker of the House (1995-97), born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania • 1943 Barry Manilow [Barry Alan Pincus], American singer/pianist (Mandy, I Write the Songs), born in New York City • 1980 Venus Williams, American tennis star considered one of the all-time greats of women’s tennis, born in Lynwood, California
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