This Day in History – July 3, 2011

1754 George Washington surrenders to French, Ft Necessity (7 Years’ War) 1775 Washington takes command of Continental Army at Cambridge, Mass 1778 British forces massacre 360 men, women & children in Wyoming, Pa 1806 Michael Keens exhibits 1st cultivated strawberry 1814 Americans capture Fort Erie, Canada 1819 1st savings bank in US (Bank of Savings in NYC) opens its doors 1839 1st state normal school in US opens, Lexington, Mass, with 3 students 1841 John Couch Adams decides to determine the position of an unknown planet by irregularities it causes in the motion of Uranus 1852 Congress authorizes US’s 2nd mint (San Francisco, Calif) 1861 Pony Express arrives in SF with overland letters from NY 1863 Battle of Gettysburg Pa ends, major victory for North 1886 1st NY Tribune printing using 1st commercial linotype machine 1890 Idaho admitted as 43rd US state 1898 Joshua Slocum completes 1st solo circumnavigation of the globe 1913 Common tern banded in Maine; found dead in 1919 in Africa (1st bird known to have crossed the Atlantic 1915 US military forces occupy Haiti, remain until 1934 1916 1st of 3 fatal shark attacks occurred near NJ shore (4 die) 1930 Veterans Administration created 1934 FDIC pays off 1st insured depositors, Fon du Lac Bank, East Peoria IL 1939 Ernst Heinkel demonstrates 800-kph rocket plane to Hitler 1939 Lou Gehrig day; Gehrig makes “luckiest man” speech 1958 “The Andy Williams Show” premiers on ABC (later on CBS & NBC) 1967 “News at 10” premieres on English TV 1978 Supreme Court rules 5-4, FCC had a right to reprimand NY radio station WBAI for broadcasting George Carlin’s “Filthy Words” 1983 Calvin Smith of US becomes fastest man alive (9.93 s for 100 m) 1984 Supreme Court rules Jaycees may be forced to admit women as members 1985 CBS announces a 21% stock buy-back to thwart Ted Turner’s takeover 1986 Pres Reagan presided over relighting of renovated Statue of Liberty 1987 2 men became 1st hot-air balloon travelers to cross Atlantic 1989 Supreme Court rules states do not have to provide funds for abortions 1989 The movie “Batman,” set record of quickest $100 million (10 days) 1991 Donald Trump gives Marla Maples a 7.45 karat diamond ring]]]]> ]]>