Today in History

1494 Treaty of Tordesillas: Spain and Portugal divide the new world along a meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands, off the west coast of Africa

1628 English King Charles I ratifies the Petition of Rights

1654 Louis XIV crowned King of France

1665 Great Plague of London: Samuel Pepys writes in his diary of houses marked with a red cross in London’s Drury Lane, meaning somebody inside is infected with the plague and must be locked in for 40 days or until death

1753 British Museum founded by an Act of Parliament with royal assent from King George II (opens in 1759)

1769 Daniel Boone begins exploring Bluegrass, State of Kentucky

1776 Richard Lee (Virginia) moves Declaration of Independence in Continental Congress

1862 The United States and Britain agree to suppress the slave trade

1864 Abraham Lincoln renominated for US President by the Republican Party

1893 Gandhi’s first act of civil disobedience.

1916 Theodore Roosevelt declines nomination of the Progressive Party and throws his support behind Republican Charles Evans Hughes

1929 Vatican City becomes a sovereign state

1936 Charles “Lucky” Luciano is convicted on 62 counts of compulsory prostitution

1937 Time magazine publishes the second of the only two known photos taken of the United States Supreme Court in session. It was taken by an unknown woman described by Time magazine (which published the photo) as “an enterprising amateur, a young woman who concealed her small camera in her handbag, cutting a hole through which the lens peeped, resembling an ornament. She practiced shooting from the hip, without using the camera’s finder which was inside the purse.”

1939 George VI and Elizabeth become the 1st king and queen of Britain to visit USA

1942 Battle of Midway ends: Admiral Chester Nimitz wins 1st World War II naval defeat of Japan

1965 The Supreme Court of the United States decides on Griswold v. Connecticut, effectively legalizing the use of contraception by married couples

1968 Sirhan Sirhan indicted for the assassination of US Senator Bobby Kennedy

1982 US President Ronald Reagan meets with Pope John Paul II at Vatican City, Rome and later Queen Elizabeth II

1989 For one second this morning, the time is 01:23:45, 6-7-89

Movies & TV

1909 Mary Pickford makes her screen debut at the age of 16

1955 1st President to appear on color TV (Eisenhower)

1969 “Johnny Cash Show” debuts on ABC-TV

1969 Bob Dylan & Johnny Cash combine on a Grand Ole Opry TV special

1975 Sony introduces the Betamax videocassette recorder for sale to the public

Music

1969 Supergroup Blind Faith’s debut performance in Hyde Park, London, featuring Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Steve Baler and Rick Grech

1970 The Who’s “Tommy” is performed at NY’s Lincoln Center

1972 Musical “Grease” opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 3,388 performances

1975 “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” by John Denver hits #1

1986 Madonna’s single “Live to Tell” goes #1

1993 Singer Prince celebrates his birthday by changing his name to a symbol

Sports

1906 Chicago Cubs score 11 in 1st inning, beating NY Giants 19-0

1966 NY Mets pass up Reggie Jackson to draft Steve Chilcott #1

1989 Wayne Gretzky wins his 9th NHL Hart (MVP) Trophy in 10 years

1989 1st Baseball game to start outdoors & end indoors, as Toronto Blue Jays stadium closes roof during game at 8:48, & beat Brewers 4-2

1994 A’s outfielder Rickey Henderson steals his 1,100th career base