This day in history...

On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee, delegate to the Continental Congress from Virginia, offers a resolution that states: "That these United Colonies are, and of right out to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved...." John Adams of Massachusetts seconds the motion, but it is quickly evident that delegates from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and South Carolina are not ready to vote on the Lee Resolution. It is tabled until July 1, but in the meantime, a committee including Thomas Jefferson of Virginia is formed to draft a formal declaration of independence.


On June 7, 1929, the Italian government and the Holy See (the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome) sign the Lateran Treaty, which recognizes Vatican City as an independent state within the borders of Italy. Built on 121 acres on Vatican Hill in Rome, Vatican City's focal point is St. Peter's Basilica, built in the 4th century. The site from which Christianity is officiated did not actually become the Pope's home until the late 19th century. Throughout the centuries, political forces of Italy frequently clashed with the church, though the Holy See itself was rarely targeted, until the Lateran Treaty established the Vatican's formal independence.


On June 7, 1972, Grease makes its Broadway debut at the Broadhurst Theatre in NYC. The musical, a look at the teen "greaser" culture of the 50's and based on the high school experiences of co-writer Jim Jacobs, was originally written for a Chicago theatre company a year before. The "vulgarity" was toned down and several songs re-written to eliminate obscure Chicago references for its Broadway release. It closed in 1980 after 3,388 performances, the longest running show on Broadway to that date (it is now 16th longest). Among the stars to play in Grease during its run were Barry Bostwick (the original Danny), Adrienne Barbeau (the original Rizzo), Richard Gere (Sonny), John Travolta (Doody, prior to playing Danny in the 1978 movie), Patrick Swayze (Danny) and Marilu Henner, who played Marty both on Broadway and with the original Chicago theatre company production. (original cast recording with photos)

 

On June 8, 632, Muhammad dies in the city of Medina, in present day Saudi Arabia. Muhammad was a middle aged, moderately successful merchant in Mecca in 610 when, legend says, he was visited by the archangel Gabriel (depicted below) and ordered to spread news of "the true religion" to his fellow Arabs. Over the next 12 years, he compiled from his own writings and other spiritual men the works that become the Quran, the cornerstone of Islam. Driven from Mecca by its pagan political leaders in 622, Muhammad relocated to Medina and built up his power base, returning to Mecca as conqueror in 629. Islam continued to grow after his death and, at its height, spread from India through the Middle East, across northern Africa and into Europe's Iberian Peninsula. Today it is the world's second largest religion.


June 8, 1967 (day 4 of the Six Day War), the American intelligence gathering ship USS Liberty is attacked by Israeli aircraft and boats in international waters off the coast of Egypt. In two separate assaults, 34 of her 294 man crew were killed and 171 wounded, including Captain William McGonagle. A distress call from the Liberty was received by the aircraft carrier Saratoga, which launched fighter planes to defend the lightly armored and armed ship, but for reasons never explained, SecDef Robert McNamara countermanded the order and the planes were recalled. The Israelis claimed the attack was a mistake and offered to pay nearly $7 million in damages, but many historians believe the attack was a deliberate attempt to cover up the Israelis planned attack on the Golan Heights the following day, plans of which the Liberty almost certainly heard.

 

No, how do you really feel?

 

On June 9, 68 A.D., Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, fifth emperor of Rome, commits suicide by servant, forcing his personal secretary to kill him. Nero had learned by courier that the Senate had tried him in absentia, declared him an enemy of the people, and had sentenced him to death. In fact, though they had tried and convicted him, the Senate was undecided on how to deal with Nero, who's populist programs angered the upper crust of Roman society. Nero's death at age 30 spelled the end of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty, and touched off a brief civil war that saw four different emperors take control over the next year; the last of the four, Vespasian, founded the Flauvian Dynasty.


On June 9, 1543, Jacques Cartier discovers the St. Lawrence River. Cartier was on an expedition commissioned by French King Francis I to find the rumored "Northwest Passage" across the New World to Asia. Cartier would make 3 expeditions to what is now eastern Canada, leading France to claim the region around the St. Lawrence as its own in the 17th century.


On June 9, 1856, the first of the so-called Mormon "Handcart Companies" departs Iowa City, bound for Salt Lake City. Brigham Young had founded the city in Utah 10 years earlier as a sanctuary for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, who were heavily persecuted in the Midwest. Migration to SLC was brisk for a decade, but when several poor harvests left the faithful without the financial means to make the journey, Young offered a surprising alternative: "Let them come on foot with handcarts or wheelbarrows; let them gird up their loins and walk through and nothing shall hinder or stay them.” Incredibly, his followers accepted the challenge, and on this day, about 500 set out on foot, each family pushing and pulling a handcart loaded down with their possessions. Few of the first group completed the journey, many hampered by the cheaply built carts they were using. But over the next four years, the population of SLC grew by about 3,000, all families making the 1,000 mile journey on foot while pulling a loaded down handcart.
(Handcart Pioneer Monument in Salt Lake City)

 

On June 10, 1940, Norway surrenders to Germany. The Nazis had invaded Norway two months earlier, despite its declared neutrality when war broke out in 1939. In the opening moves of the invasion, the Germans were helped from within by Fifth Columnists led by former Norwegian Defense Minister Vidkun Quisling (below). On the same day, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini declares war on France and Great Britain. Despite friendly relations with Germany, Mussolini had held off on a commitment to support Hitler, as Italy lacked the raw materials for all-out war. France had just surrendered to Germany; the British responded to Mussolini's declaration by interning all Italians who had been in country less than 20 years.


On June 10, 1829, The (first) Boat Race is contested on the Thames River near London, as the 8-man crew from the University of Oxford easily beat its rivals from the University of Cambridge. The rivals met again in 1836 and again in 1856, when The Boat Race became an annual event, interrupted only by WW's I and II, and Covid last year. Cambridge holds an 85-80 lead in the series, with the 1877 Race being a dead heat. In 1927 a women's Race was added to the event; Cambridge leads that series as well, 45-30. The Boat Race 2021 was contested on April 4, with Cambridge sweeping the event.

 

On June 11, 1944 - D-Day +5 in Normandy - the American, British and Canadian invasion forces, which have been advancing as 5 separate units according to their landing zones, link up for the first time in the hedgerow country beyond the invasion beaches. About 150,000 troops had come ashore by nightfall of June 6. With the linkup on the 11th, the Allies now present a continuous line of 330,000 troops.


On June 11, 1963, Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc immolates himself on the streets of Saigon, in protest of the oppression of Buddhism by the Catholic-led South Vietnamese government. President Ngo Dinh Diem was a staunch Roman Catholic and had been limiting the rights of the majority Buddhist population for years, despite growing unrest. On the 11th, about 350 Buddhist monks and nuns marched to an intersection just a few blocks from the Presidential palace. The day before, U.S. correspondents had been tipped that "something big" would happen, but only a couple, including Malcolm Browne of the AP and David Halbestrom of the New York Times were present when Quang Duc emerged from a car and seated himself in the Lotus position on a cushion. Another monk emptied the contents of a 5-gallon gas can over him, and after a prayer, Quang Duc struck a match and dropped it in his lap, instantly turning his body into a holocaust. Halbertrom would write that Quang Duc never made a sound and never moved a muscle in the 10 minutes before his body collapsed on itself. Browne's photo of the suicide (below) would win a Pulitzer Prize; Diem would term the act "troubling". In the following months, other monks would duplicate Quang Duc's death, until Diem was assassinated in a U.S.-backed military coup on November 2.


On June 11, 1982 on the final night of the Cannes Film Festival, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial is screened for the first time. Steven Spielberg's tale of an alien stranded on earth and befriended by a young boy and his siblings, who hide him from authorities until his colleagues return for him, captured the American imagination. The film was nominated for 9 Academy Awards but only won 4 minor Oscars, including Best Musical Score and awards for its effects. Gandhi beat E.T. for Best Picture. Nevertheless, the film elevated Spielberg to superstar director status, and launched the careers of child stars Drew Barrymore and Henry Thomas.