225 years ago, in the fourth year of America's War for Independence, the situation looked bleak. On June 1, 1779-the same day Thomas Jefferson was elected governor of Virginia-British Gen. Sir Henry Clinton led 6,000 Redcoats up the Hudson River, taking American ports at Stony Point and Verplanck Point. Down south, the British attacked Savannah on June 29.
200 years ago, in the summer of 1804, Lewis and Clark made their way up the Missouri River.
175 years ago, on June 27, 1829, English scientist James Smithson died, in Genoa, Italy, after a long illness. He left a will, which stated that if his only nephew died without an heir, his whole estate should fund an Institution in Washington, D.C., for the "increase and diffusion of knowledge." Nephew Henry died without issue, so the U.S. accepted Smithson's bequest, funded by 105,000 gold sovereigns, worth over $500,000 then.
150 years ago, on June 10, 1854, the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis graduated its first class. And on June 29, the Gadsden Purchase added the southern portions of today's states of Arizona and New Mexico, which America bought from Mexico for $10 million.
125 years ago, on June 16, 1879, Gilbert & Sullivan's HMS Pinafore opened at the Bowery Theater, New York. . . . on June 21, F.W. Woolworth opened his first store (it failed in short order).
75 years ago, on June 4, 1929, George Eastman demonstrated the first technicolor movie, in Rochester; and on June 27, 1929, Bell Telephone Labs in New York City gave the first public demonstration of color TV. Bell researchers showed images of an American flag, a watermelon, and a bouquet of roses. On June 25, President Hoover authorized the building of Boulder Dam (later named for him, Hoover Dam), making the neon nightlife of Las Vegas possible.
50 years ago, June 7, 1954, Ford formed its Edsel design team. Ford was on a roll. The '54 Thunderbird had aced the Chevy Corvette. Americans liked big, high-horsepower, wing-styled cars, with great slabs of chrome. Ford's new car was named after Edsel Ford, Henry's son, a skilled designer, but consumer tastes changed by the time Edsel debuted in 1957. It laid an egg, costing Ford $250 million.
25 years ago, on June 2, 1979, the new Pope John Paul II became the first Pope to visit a Communist country (Poland), setting the stage for Polish liberation a decade later. In America, the news was not so good. On June 27, 1979, the Supreme Court ruled that black employees could be promoted ahead of whites with greater work experience, provided that it was part of an "affirmative action" program.
10 years ago, on June 17, 1994, Los Angeles police cars chased O.J. Simpson's white Ford Bronco for hours on live TV. Four days earlier, his ex-wife and her friend were found murdered.
