By In conjunction with the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, The Aberdeen Insider will publish a weekly list of significant events in American history.
This information has been gathered from the Today in American History website and other sources as part of an America250 commemoration.
June 5
1851: The anti-slavery novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher Stowe was first published in serial form. It was published in book form the next year.
1942: The U.S. declared war on Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania during World War II.
1981: The AIDS epidemic officially began when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported on pneumonia affecting five homosexual men in Los Angeles.
June 6
1799: Founding father Patrick Henry died. He’s perhaps best known for his “Give me liberty or give me death!” proclamation.
1939: George VI and Elizabeth became the first king and queen of Britain to visit the U.S.
1968: Sen. Robert F. Kennedy died after being shot the previous night. He was a Democratic candidate for president and visited Aberdeen about three weeks before his assination.
June 7
1839: The Hawaiian Declaration of Rights was signed, transforming the then-kingdom into a constitutional monarchy.
1912. The U.S. Army tested a machine gun mounted on a plane for the first time.
1993: Ricky Henderson stole the 1,100th base of his major league career while playing for the Oakland A’s. He finished his career with 1,406 stolen bases — 468 more than Lou Brock.
June 8
1789: James Madison introduced a proposed Bill of Rights in the U.S. House of Representatives.
1948: John Rudder became the first African American commissioned officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.
2020: Former astronaut Kathy Sullivan was the first woman to reach the deepest point of the ocean, Challenger Deep east of the Philippines. She was also the first American woman to spacewalk.
June 9
1732: A royal charter for Georgia was granted to British military officer and philanthropist soldier James Oglethorpe.
1790: The first first book was copyrighted under the U.S. Constitution. It was “The Philadelphia Spelling Book.”
1870: U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant met with Sioux Chief Red Cloud at the White House in Washington, D.C.
June 10
1752: Benjamin Franklin tested the lightning conductor with his kite-flying experiment.
1898: U.S. Marines land in Cuba during the Spanish-American War.
1963: The Equal Pay Act was signed into law by President John F. Kennedy.
June 11
1776: The Continental Congress created a committee to draft a Declaration of Independence.
1896: A U.S. Assay Office in Deadwood was authorized. The office was to test the purity of precious metals.
1962: Brothers John and Clarence Anglin and fellow inmate Frank Morris escaped from Alcatraz prison, the only ones to ever do so.
June 12
1864: The Battle of Trevilian Station, the bloodiest and largest all-cavalry battle of the American Civil War, ended with a Confederate tactical victory and a Union successful retreat.
1931: Gangster Al Capone was indicted on 5,000 counts of prohibition violations and perjury.
2018: U.S. President Donald Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during the Singapore Summit. It was the first time a North Korean leader and an incumbent president met.
