this day in history On June 7 1498 Christopher Columbus left on his third voyage of exploration. 1712 The Pennsylvania Assembly banned the importation of slaves. 1775 The United Colonies changed their name to the United States. 1860 The book, Malaeska, the Indian Wife of the White Hunter by Mrs. Ann Stevens, was offered for sale for a dime. It was the first "dime novel." 1892 John Joseph Doyle became the first pinch-hitter in baseball when he was used in a game. 1909 Mary Pickford made her motion picture debut in "The Violin Maker of Cremona." 1914 The first vessel passed through the Panama Canal. 1929 The sovereign state of Vatican City came into existence as copies of the Lateran Treaty were exchanged in Rome. 1932 Over 7,000 war veterans marched in Washington, D.C. demanding their bonuses. 1939 King George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, arrived in the U.S. It was the first visit to the U.S. by a reigning British monarch. 1955 "The $64,000 Question" premiered. 1965 Sony Corporation unveiled its brand-new consumer home videotape recorder. The black and white unit sold for $995. 1968 In Operation Swift Saber, U.S. Marines swept an area 10 miles northwest of Danang in South Vietnam. 1976 "The NBC Nightly News," with John Chancellor and David Brinkley, aired for the first time. 1993 Woody Allen lost his custody battle against Mia Farrow. 1998 James Byrd Jr., at age 49, was murdered in Jasper, TX. Byrd had been dragged to death behind a pickup truck. On February 25, 1999 William King was sentenced to the death penalty for the racial crime while two other men charged awaited trial. 2000 U.S. Federal Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ordered the breakup of Microsoft Corporation.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Jun 2013 03:10:38 +0000