On June 13, 1381, the Peasants' Revolt is launched in London. Over the previous several decades, the domestic economy of England had reacted to the population losses of the Bubonic Plague with higher wages and a more mobile peasant working class. Parliament resisted the change with laws designed to maintain the nobility's hold over the peasantry, and on the 13th, a peasant army led by Wat Tyler (below) stormed London. King Richard II quickly acquiesced, meeting with some of the peasant "officers" the next day and agreeing to several demands, including the abolition of serfdom. But on the same day, Tyler and others in the revolt seized the Tower of London and executed the Archbishop of Canterbury. Richard met with Tyler on the 15th and in a fit of rage, the mayor of London, who was also at the meet, killed Tyler. The revolt was put down over the next couple of weeks and Richard reversed all of his concessions. On June 13, 1967, President Lyndon Johnson nominates Thurgood Marshall, an African-American and U.S. Appeals Court Judge, to the U.S. Supreme Court. The great-grandson of slaves, Marshall had served as chief counsel to the NAACP from 1938-61, during which time he argued 32 civil rights cases before SCOTUS, winning 29, most notably 1954's Brown vs Board of Education. The Senate approved the nomination on August 30 and 2 days later, Chief Justice Earl Warren swore in Marshall, making him America's first black Supreme Court Justice. On June 13, 1983, Pioneer 10 departs our solar system. Launched March 2, 1972, Pioneer 10 had navigated the asteroid belt and sent back to Earth the first detailed photographs of Jupiter before leaving the system. NASA officially ended the Pioneer 10 Project March 31, 1997, with the probe some 6 billion miles from Earth. Pioneer 10's exterior includes a 6"x 9" plaque with drawings of a man and woman, a star map indicating the location of our Sun, and another map showing the probe's flight path, on the chance it encounters an alien intelligence. It is estimated the probe will reach the star Ross 246 in the constellation Taurus in the year 34,600 A.D.
On June 14, 1775, the Second Continental Congress creates the Continental Army (later to be renamed the Army of the United States) and appoints George Washington commanding general. The first troops are colonial militia units, and like Washington, many of the officers have experience with the British Army. For its first hundred years, the army maintained only a small full time peacekeeping force, expanding through volunteerism in times of war. It was not until World War I that serious expansion of the full time force (the "Regular Army") began. Today the regular army's strength is about 480,000, but expands to more than a million when the Army Reserve and Army National Guard are added. On June 14, 1846, American settlers in California revolt against the Mexican government. Mexico controlled California, though American citizens greatly outnumbered Mexicans there. With war between the two nations presumably on the horizon, the Americans launched a preemptive strike to keep Cali out of the war. At some point, rebels created a crude flag of a white cotton sheet and red paint, featuring a lone star, a grizzly bear and the words "California Republic." With aid from a small U.S. cavalry force in the region, rebels took control of several key points over the next few weeks, including the Presidio at San Francisco. But almost as soon as it began, the "Bear Flag Revolt" and the California Republic faded away, as the prospect of statehood appealed to the rebels more than independence. The Bear Flag would endure, however, soon adopted as the state flag. On June 14, 1789, Captain William Bligh and 18 crew members of the HMS Bounty arrive on the island of Timor in the East Indies in an open boat. Bligh and the others were set adrift on April 28 when others in the crew, led by First Mate Fletcher Christian, mutinied during a botanical mission to transport breadfruit plants from Tahiti to British colonies in the Caribbean. Provided with a 23-foot long boat provisioned with 25 gallons of water, 150 pounds of bread, 30 pounds of pork, and a dozen bottles of rum and wine, Bligh guided castaways about 3,600 miles to safety without the loss of a single life. Bligh was acquitted of the loss of the Bounty at court martial and given command of the HMS Providence, with which he completed the botanical mission originally assigned him with the Bounty in 1793.
Bligh was promoted to be a Vice Admiral of the Blue and made governor of New South Wales (Australia) where he suffered another mutiny.
On June 15, 1846, the U.S. and Great Britain sign the Oregon Treaty, establishing the the border between the U.S. and British Canada. The border had been in dispute for decades, and mass American migration via the Oregon Trail over the previous 10 years made a formal agreement imperative. The Oregon Treaty establishes the 49th Parallel as the boundary, giving the U.S. land that will eventually become Washington, Idaho and Montana, but allows GB navigation rights in the Columbia River. On June 16, 1844, Charles Goodyear is granted U.S. Patent 3633 for his process of vulcanizing rubber. Goodyear was a failed hardware store owner 15 years previously when he became fascinated with gum elastic (natural rubber), becoming a self-taught expert on the substance. He would find work with different rubber companies and made several breakthroughs on its use, some at the expense of his health due to the toxic chemicals involved. His process for combining rubber and sulfur over a hot stove, causing it to vulcanize, made the rubber much more pliable while improving its resistance to extreme heat and cold. The discovery made rubber a practical material for hundreds of products, mostly footwear early on, and eventually, of course, tires. On June 16, 1864, Montgomery Meigs, Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army, authorizes the use of land overlooking the Potomac River in Arlington, VA for a national cemetery. Soldiers' cemeteries in the region had been quickly filled by the Civil War, and the land at Arlington was ideal, especially because of its high elevation. Burials began immediately (the first, a Private William Christman of Pennsylvania, was actually a month before), but the U.S. government had not formally acquired the property, once owned by the family of Martha Washington and currently the property of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, from whom it had been confiscated. Formal acquisition did not come until Lee's widow was paid for the land in 1883, the purchase including the magnificent Arlington Mansion. Today, Arlington National Cemetery spans 640 acres and is the final resting place for over 400,000 men and women. Nearly 7,000 new burials are conducted annually.
On June 17, 1631, Mumtaz Mahal, favorite wife of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, dies while giving birth to their 14th child (who survived the birth). In his grief, Jahan commissions court architect Ustad Ahmad Lahauri to design and construct a grand tomb for his beloved, and later, himself. The result is the Taj Mahal, completed in 1658. The tomb is the centerpiece of a 42-acre complex of gardens, a mosque and a guest house. Construction cost was 32 million rupees, (about $956 million when adjusted for inflation and converted to American dollars). Located in Agra, India, the Taj Mahal attracts more than 7 million visitors a year. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983, and in the first decade of the 21st century, was voted one of the 7 New Wonders of the World in a web-based vote.
On June 21, 1877, ten "Molly Maguires" are hung for murder in Pennsylvania. The Molly Maguires were a secret society who supported coal miners in Ireland (and Irish miners in Pennsylvania), usually through acts of violence against those who acted against the miners' interests. In this case, unionized miners had been clashing with authorities in PA for several years, culminating in the murder of a local constable. Mine owners had hired the Pinkerton Detective Agency to infiltrate the unions, and testimony from their undercover agents led to the convictions. On June 21, 1970, Brazil becomes the first nation to win three World Cups, beating Italy 4-1 in the championship match in Mexico City. The finals marks the first time that two previous World Cup winners met in the championship match. The legendary Pele (below) scored a goal and had two assists in the finals for Brazil, who was also a member of Brazil's titles in 1958 and 1962. Pele becomes the first - and to date, only - person to win three World Cups. On June 21, 1919, the German High Seas Fleet is scuttled at Scapa Flow, Scotland. Following the terms of the November, 1918 armistice, 74 ships of the High Seas Fleet (including 16 battleships) sailed into Scapa Flow, the British Navy's principle anchorage on the North Sea. A skeleton crew remained on each ship while the Allied nations debated their disposition at the Paris Peace Conferences. Admiral Ludwig Von Reuter remained on location in command of the surrendered fleet. As the debates dragged on (the Brits and the U.S. wanted the ships dismantled, France and Italy wanted possession, to which the Germans objected), the British became concerned that the Germans may scuttle the ships, which is what happened. On June 19, Von Reuter sent written orders to the crews, including Paragraph No. 11, "be prepared to scuttle if it appears the enemy will attempt to take control of your ship without our government's assent." On the 20th, the British began to make preparations to secure the ships, and Von Reuter responded, signalling the crews by signal lamps and semaphore to execute Paragraph 11. By noon on the 21st, the ships were visibly sinking. The British managed to save a few, but 52 of the 74 ships, including 15 of the 16 battleships, went to the bottom. Most have been salvaged over the decades as the world's primary source of "low-background steel" (steel produced since the nuclear testing of the '40s and '50s is slightly different due to the increase of background radiation in the atmosphere. Low-background steel is in high demand for medical equipment, geiger counters, etc.)
On June 22, 1941, the Germans launch Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of Russia. The Germans strike on three fronts with 19 divisions, supported by 3,000 tanks, 2,500 aircraft and 7,000 artillery pieces. The two nations had signed a pact in 1939, not so much an alliance as a "you do your thing, we'll do our thing and we'll leave each other alone." But Hitler became convinced that the Russians had signed a secret alliance with the British, leading him to conceive Barbarossa in late 1940. On June 22, 1775, the Continental Congress authorizes the issue of $2 million in bills of credit, essentially the first American money. The Massachusetts Bay Colony had issued currency 90 years before, but this is the first wide-spread issuance of a national currency. The Congress was hoping it had created a means of paying for the expanding Revolutionary War, but with nothing but the promise of future tax revenue backing the currency (called "Continentals"), it had little economic value. George Washington would state that "a wagon load of currency barely pays for a wagon load of supplies." On June 22, 2001, The Fast and the Furious debuts in American theaters. Based on a 1998 magazine article detailing the street racing culture of NYC called "Racer X," the film stars Paul Walker as a Los Angeles police officer charged with exposing a truck hijacking ring. Along the way he becomes entangled in their street racing circle. The Fast and the Furious gets mixed reviews but is a hit at the box office, and has spawned 9 sequels to date.
MC, I got It today . . . On June 25, 1876, Native American forces led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull defeat the U.S. Army troops of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer in the Battle of the Little Bighorn near southern Montana’s Little Bighorn River. Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, Lakota Sioux leaders, strongly resisted the mid-19th-century efforts of the U.S. government to confine their people to reservations. In 1875, after gold was discovered in South Dakota’s Black Hills, the U.S. Army ignored previous treaty agreements and invaded the region. This betrayal led many Sioux and Cheyenne tribesmen to leave their reservations and join Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse in Montana. By the late spring of 1876, more than 10,000 Native Americans had gathered in a camp along the Little Bighorn River–which they called the Greasy Grass—in defiance of a U.S. War Department order to return to their reservations or risk being attacked. In mid-June, three columns of U.S. soldiers lined up against the camp and prepared to march. A force of 1,200 Native Americans turned back the first column on June 17. Five days later, General Alfred Terry ordered Custer’s 7th Cavalry to scout ahead for enemy troops. On the morning of June 25, Custer drew near the camp and decided to press on ahead rather than wait for reinforcements. At mid-day, Custer’s 600 men entered the Little Bighorn Valley. Among the Native Americans, word quickly spread of the impending attack. The older Sitting Bull rallied the warriors and saw to the safety of the women and children, while Crazy Horse set off with a large force to meet the attackers head on. Despite Custer’s desperate attempts to regroup his men, they were quickly overwhelmed. Custer and some 200 men in his battalion were attacked by as many as 3,000 Native Americans; within an hour, Custer and every last one of his soldier were dead.
On June 26, 1963, President John F. Kennedy gives a speech in West Berlin. Standing nearly in the shadow of the Berlin Wall, Kennedy affirms the solidarity of the free world with the citizens of West Berlin, stating, “Ich bin ein Berliner” or “I am also a citizen of Berlin.” On June 26, 1993, President Bill Clinton orders a cruise missile strike on Iraqi intelligence headquarters in downtown Baghdad. Three months earlier, Kuwaiti intelligence foiled an attempt to assassinate former President George H.W. Bush, who was visiting Iraq's tiny neighbor to be honored for his role in the Persian Gulf War. Having received intelligence that tied the attempt (a massive car bomb found in Kuwait City) to Iraq, Clinton ordered 2 cruisers in the region to launch a total of 23 Tomahawk missiles, which annihilated the building and killed several citizens. On June 26, 2003, the Supreme Court essentially makes homosexuality legal. The case is Lawrence vs Texas, a 1998 case which involves Harris County authorities arresting two men caught in a homosexual act while investigating a gun brandishing report. Texas, at the time, is one of 13 states with "anti sodomy laws" that specifically forbid "deviate sexual intercourse with another individual of the same sex." In striking down the law (in a 6-3 decision), SCOTUS cites the same privacy issues that led to 1973's Roe v Wade. In his dissenting opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia writes that the Court has "taken sides in a cultural war."
On June 27, 1940, the Germans bring their Enigma communications system online. The Enigma machine, built by German engineers based on a Dutch concept in the late 20's, provided what the Nazis thought was absolutely secure communications between newly-occupied France and Berlin. They did not know that Polish intelligence had acquired material in 1932 that helped them (with the help of British intelligence) reverse engineer Enigma before it was even brought on line. On June 27, 1922, the American Library Association gives the first Newbery Medal, honoring the year's best children's book, to Hendrick Willem van Loon for The Story of Mankind. Named for 18th century English author James Newbery, considered the father of children's literature, the award was conceived by magazine editor Frederick Melcher. He brought the idea to the summer (1921) meeting of the Children's Librarian's Section of the ALA, who enthusiastically backed the idea. In 1937, Melcher and the ALA introduced the companion Caldecott Medal, awarded to the year's best picture book. Together, the Newbery and Caldecott Medals are considered the top awards in American children's literature, while a select number of noteworthy books each year are designated Newbery or Caldecott Honor Books. On June 27, 1939, one of the most famous scenes in American cinema history is filmed; the climactic confrontation at the front door in Gone With The Wind. Rhett Butler, played by Clark Gable, has finally decided he will no longer tolerate his wife Scarlett O'Hara's (Vivan Leigh) fawning attention to Ashley Wilkes and is walking out on her. Rhett packs a bag and heads out. Scarlett tearfully chases him to the door and the classic exchange is delivered: Scarlett: "Rhett, if you go, where shall I go? What shall I do?" Rhett: "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." Director Victor Fleming would also shoot an alternate version of the exchange, with Rhett saying, "Frankly, my dear, I just don't care," in case the censors nixed the version with Rhett's mild oath, an unthinkable utterance for film at the time. Ultimately, the censors allowed the original line to be released, but fined producer David O. Selznick $5,000. Gone With The Wind --Frankly, My Dear - YouTube
