On June 9th...

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68 Roman Emperor Nero committed suicide.

922 The French Republic chose Robert I as King of France.

1531 Pope Clemens VII and King Francois I of France signed a secret treaty against Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.

1534 Jacques Cartier sailed into the mouth of the St. Lawrence River.

1549 The Book of Common Prayer was adopted by the Church of England.

1672 Czar Peter the Great of Russia was born.

1732 James Edward Oglethorpe and 20 others were granted a charter to found Georgia.

1768 Samuel Slater, founder of the American factory system, was born.

1772 Residents of Providence, Rhode Island, burned the grounded British revenue cutter Gaspee to the waterline.

1781 Inventor George Stephenson was born.

1790 The Philadelphia Spelling Book* became the first book to be copyrighted under U. S. laws.

1791 Playwright John H. Payne was born.

1822 Charles Graham patented false teeth.

1856 Five hundred Mormons left Iowa City, Iowa, for their journey to Salt Lake City, Utah.

1860 Malaeska: The Indian Wife of the White Hunter*, by Mrs. Ann Stevens, became the first "dime novel" in the United States.

1863 The Battle of Brandy Station (Virginia), the largest cavalry engagement of the Civil War, was fought.

1864 The Battle of Kenesaw Mountain was fought.

1865 Composer Carl Nielsen was born.

1870 Author Charles Dickens died.

1877 C. Holloway rode Cloverbrook to victory in the Belmont Stakes.

1883 Jim McLaughlin rode George Kinney to victory in the Belmont Stakes.

1887 Jim McLaughlin rode Hanover to victory in the Belmont Stakes.

1888 Jim McLaughlin rode Sir Dixon to victory in the Belmont Stakes.

1891 Composer Cole Porter was born.

1892 W. Hayward rode Patron to victory in the Belmont Stakes.

1899 James J. Jeffries KO'd Bob Fitzsimmons in the 11th round for the heavyweight boxing title.

1900 Conductor Fred Waring was born.

1902 The first Automat restaurant opened, at 818 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1909 Alice Huyler Ramsey became the first woman to complete a cross-country drive, from Manhattan, New York, to San Francisco, California.

1911 Temperance crusader Carrie Nation died.

1915 Electric guitar pioneer Les Paul was born.

1916 U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara was born.

1923 Earl Sande rode Zev to victory in the Belmont Stakes.

1926 American politician Sanford Ballard Dole died.

1927 Victoria Woodhull, the first female candidate for U. S. President, died.

1928 Charles Kingsford-Smith and Charles Ulm completed a California-to-Brisbane, Australia, flight to become the first to fly across the Pacific.
1928 Clarence Kummer rode Vito to victory in the Belmont Stakes.

1930 Television news commentator Marvin Kalb was born.

1934 The first Donald Duck cartoon, "Wise Little Hen," was released.
1934 Wayne D. Wright rode Peace Chance to victory in the Belmont Stakes.
1934 Comedian Jackie Mason was born.
1934 Singer Jackie Wilson was born.

1939 Sportscaster Dick Vitale was born.

1940 Norway surrendered to Germany.

1941 An ammunition plant at Fort Smederovo in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, exploded, killing 1,500 people.

1942 German SS troops killed almost every person in the village of Lidice, Czechoslovakia.

1945 Eddie Arcaro rode Hoop Jr. to victory in the Kentucky Derby.

1946 Fire at the Canfield Hotel in Dubuque, Iowa, killed 19 persons.
1946 King Ananda Mahidol of Thailand died.
1946 New York Giant Mel Ott became the first manager to be ejected from both games of a doubleheader.

1947 Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz, former President of Poland, died.

1949 Georgia Neese Clark was confirmed as the first woman Treasurer of the United States.

1953 Worcester County, Massachusetts, was struck by a tornado that killed 94 persons, injured another 1,310, and left about 10,000 homeless.
1953 The last new episode of the "Milton Berle Show/Texaco Star Theater" aired on NBC-TV.

1956 An earthquake killed about 400 people in Afghanistan.

1958 A gas explosion inside a coal mine near Sunakawa, Japan, killed 10 miners.
1958 Queen Elizabeth II officially opened London Gatwick Airport, atCrawley, West Sussex, England.

1959 The first U. S. ballistic-missile submarine, George Washington, was launched at Groton, Connecticut.

1960 Typhoon Mary battered Fukien Province, China, and Hong Kong, killing an estimated 1,600 persons.

1961 Actor Michael J. Fox was born.
1961 Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin was born.

1962 Bill Shoemake rode Jaipur to victory in the Belmont Stakes.

1963 Actor Johnny Depp was born.

1967 Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser resigned from office, but reassumed office almost immediately due to public pressure.

1969 Warren Burger was confirmed as Chief Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court.

1970 A military junta ousted Argentine President Juan Carlos Ongania.

1972 Heavyrain caused a dam to burst at Rapid City, South Dakota, killing 237 persons.

1973 Ron Turcote rode Secretariat to victory in the Belmont Stakes, and to the first Triple Crown in 25 years.

1974 Writer Miguel Ángel Asturias died.

1975 Fire in a prison hospital atSanford, Florida, killed 10 prisoners and 1 guard.
1975 Bill Shoemaker rode Avatarto victory in the Belmont Stakes.

1977 John Paola spelled "cambist" to win the National Spelling Bee.

1978 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ended its 148-year policy of excluding black men from the priesthood.
1978 Larry Holmes KO'd Ken Norton in the 15th round for the heavyweight boxing title.

1979 Ruben Hernandez rode Coastal to victory in the Belmont Stakes.
1979 Michael Cairney toppled 169,713 dominoes to set a record.

1980 Comedian Richard Pryor suffered burns from free basing cocaine.

1981 Actress Natalie Portman was born.
1981 Game show host Allen Ludden died.

1982 General Efraín Rios Montt declared himself President of Guatemala.

1983 Blake Giddens spelled "purim"to win the National Spelling Bee.

1984 Laffit Pincay, Jr., rode Swale to victory in the Belmont Stakes.
1984 Jurgen Hingsen scored 8,798 points to set a new record for the decathlon.

1985 The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics for the NBA Championship.

1989 A tornado killed one person in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1989 Biologist George Wells Beadle died.

1990 Michael Kinane rode Go & Go to victory in the Belmont Stakes.
1990 Czechoslovakia defeated USA for the FIFA World Cup.

1993 The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Los Angeles Kings for the Stanley Cup.

1994 An Angolan plane bombed a school in Waku Kungo, killing 89 persons.
1994 Economist Jan Tinbergen died.

1999 The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization signed a peace treaty, ending the Kosovo War.

2001 GaryStevens rode Point Given to victory in the Belmont Stakes.
2001 The Colorado Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils for the Stanley Cup.

2002 Se Ri Pak won the LPGA Championship.

2003 The New Jersey Devils defeated the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for the Stanley Cup.

2007 John Velazquez rode Rags To Riches to victory in the Belmont Stakes.

2010 The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers for the Stanley Cup.

2012 John Velazquez rode Union Rags to victory in the Belmont Stakes.

2013 Inbee Park won the LPGA Championship.

2017 Actor Adam West died.

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This page was last updated on August 22, 2018.