From the ArcaMax Publishing, History & Quotes Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/quotes/s-367683-414222
In 1859, Frenchman Jean Francois Gravelet, known professionally as the
Great Blondin, became the first daredevil to walk across Niagara Falls
on a tight rope.
In 1870, Ada Kepley became the first woman to graduate from an
accredited law school in the United States, Union College of Law in
Chicago.
In 1908, a spectacular explosion occurred over central Siberia,
probably caused by a meteorite. The fireball reportedly could be seen
hundreds of miles away.
In 1923, jazz pioneer Sidney Bechet made his first recording. It
included "Wild Cat Blues" and "Kansas City Blues."
In 1934, German leader Adolf Hitler ordered a bloody purge of his own
political party, assassinating hundreds of Nazis whom he feared might
become political enemies.
In 1936, Margaret Mitchell's Civil War novel "Gone With the Wind" was
published.
In 1950, U.S. troops were moved from Japan to help defend South Korea
against the invading North Koreans.
In 1982, the extended deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights
Amendment expired, three states short of the 38 needed for passage.
In 1971, three Soviet Cosmonauts, crewmembers of the world's first
space station, were killed when their spacecraft depressurized during
re-entry.
In 1986, Hugh Hefner, calling his Playboy Bunny a "symbol of the
past," closed Playboy Clubs in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles.
In 1992, Fidel Ramos was inaugurated as the eighth Philippine
president in the first peaceful transfer of power in a generation.
In 1998, a casualty of the Vietnam War buried at the Tomb of the
Unknown in Arlington, Va., was identified as Air Force Lt. Michael
Blassie of St. Louis.
In 1999, Clinton crony Webster Hubbell, a former associate U.S.
attorney general, pleaded guilty to reduced charges in the Whitewater
land deal scandal.
In 2000, the Clinton administration said Iraq restarted its missile
program and flight-tested a short-range ballistic missile.
Also in 2000, the Presbyterian Church ordered its ministers not to
conduct same-sex unions.
In 2002, published reports said fugitive terrorist leader Osama bin
Laden wrote his operations chief in late December saying he survived
the U.S. assault on his cave complex in Afghanistan.
Also in 2002, Israel announced it had killed a top Hamas bomb-maker,
responsible for the deaths of more than 100 Israelis in suicide
attacks and had begun work on an electronic fence designed to block
off three sides of Jerusalem from the West Bank.
In 2003, after agreeing on a cease-fire with the Palestinians, Israel
pulled out of most of the Gaza Strip, ending for the time being a
blockade on the main highway that began in 2000.
In 2004, the Federal Reserve, for the first time in four years, raised
its benchmark interest rate from a record low 1 percent to 1.25
percent for overnight loans.
Also in 2004, the Cassini spacecraft, in space on a U.S.-European
mission, became the first device to orbit the planet Saturn.
In 2005, the Federal Reserve raised key interest rates a ninth
straight time, noting rising energy prices.
Also in 2005, Israel declared the Gaza Strip a closed military zone.
All Israelis, except for residents, service providers and reporters,
were barred from entering.
And, Spain became the third country to legalize same-sex marriage.
In 2006, a joint U.S.-Canadian investigation grounded a group accused
of using helicopters and planes to ferry drugs from British Columbia
across the border. Agents reported arresting 46 people and seizing 4
tons of marijuana, 800 pounds of cocaine, aircraft and $1.5 million in
cash.
In 2007, many U.S. airports increased security in advance of the
Fourth of July holiday. Meanwhile, a car blew up at Glasgow airport in
Scotland after two British bomb threats the day before prompting
authorities to raise the security level to "critical."