# Today in History **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [July 10, 2016, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530 "2016-07-10T04:53:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 35
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2017, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/683 "2017-06-11T04:24:46Z")
**June 11, 1920** : [J.B. Elwell, famed bridge/whist author, columnist and teacher is murdered](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://malefactorsregister.com/wp/who-killed-the-bridge-master/&ved=0ahUKEwj225vi87TUAhWDFT4KHQrXC4w4ChAWCDIwCQ&usg=AFQjCNFEiqjPw0bH4KL4zrlUJj7dUrslTQ&sig2=EHUw_3jXFeV-onojdIrNiw) in New York City. He was found near death by his housekeeper, who arrived about an hour after Elwell received the early morning post. Whoever committed the crime got through 2 locked doors and shot Elwell once at close range in the forehead as he was casually reading his just-received mail. Elwell had a reputation for teaching the wives and daughters of wealthy families more than just how to play cards. Robbery was obviously not a motive as money and valuables, including an original Rembrandt, were untouched. A half-smoked cigar was still warm on the mantle. The murder weapon was never found. Despite sensational coverage at the time for this true locked-room murder, no killer was ever brought to justice. [Here is another account](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=/amp/s/www.historicmysteries.com/the-death-of-j-b-elwell/amp/&ved=0ahUKEwiissm-8rTUAhWFVD4KHSRxCXcQFghHMAo&usg=AFQjCNH1rnf0LpulIkZ6kHF9g5yzf9qHCA&sig2=vbnFrqIVLvJhTvLKISgpaw) of this fascinating crime. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2017, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/684 "2017-06-11T12:42:02Z")
**June 11, 1955** : Eighty-three spectators are killed and at least 100 are injured after an Austin-Healey and a Mercedes-Benz collide at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the deadliest ever accident in motorsports. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/685 "2017-06-12T04:35:42Z")
**June 12, 1899** : [The New Richmond tornado](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=/amp/www.twincities.com/2011/06/03/effects-of-1899-new-richmond-cyclone-still-felt-today/amp/&ved=0ahUKEwjw1r2_urfUAhVPySYKHSyABFkQFgisATAY&usg=AFQjCNEUDJapZ9g5oJH7XVUtrVV3IQyXGw&sig2=59PIRXZSId2LOpdnmrq4tw), an F5, kills 117 and destroys most of the Wisconsin town. This is the 9th deadliest tornado in US history. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/686 "2017-06-12T12:43:59Z")
**June 12, 1967** : The United States Supreme Court in _Loving v. Virginia_ declares all U.S. state laws which prohibit interracial marriage to be unconstitutional. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/687 "2017-06-13T05:06:52Z")
**June 13, 1886** : [The Great Vancouver Fire](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Vancouver_Fire&ved=0ahUKEwi2tKCChbrUAhVGeD4KHTCvBzMQFgiEATAV&usg=AFQjCNEYGkjIZh_AAscTu0Q6MBU8ELYYJg&sig2=7NdZUILdDD85MMlIuv1CNA)destroys most of the town in British Columbia. About 30 people are believed to have died. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/688 "2017-06-13T22:19:09Z")
**June 13, 1893** : Grover Cleveland notices a rough spot in his mouth and on July 1 undergoes secret, successful surgery to remove a large, cancerous portion of his jaw; the operation was not revealed to the public until 1917, nine years after the president’s death. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/689 "2017-06-14T05:30:48Z")
**June 14, 1931** : [The overcrowded cruiser _Saint-Philibert_](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Philibert_disaster&ved=0ahUKEwii3KafyrzUAhUF2T4KHS42A9gQFggeMAA&usg=AFQjCNFLvJFVl3mJOIgucGTIb9vaeNz_XQ&sig2=78az4xQrx1nXmK4y_LJ6eg) capsizes in rough weather near the mouth of the Loire, killing approximately 500 passengers and crew. Only eight people on board survive. An interesting first person account of one of those eight [here](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://grovesavt101.weebly.com/st-philibert.html&ved=0ahUKEwjcjqfyzLzUAhWOCD4KHbQYAsIQFghKMAc&usg=AFQjCNGGH3XlLEDeT4lbvIDQWYJnJrwgYA&sig2=JsalRDifGwUz5IUhNDuFdQ). ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/690 "2017-06-14T13:48:47Z")
June 14, 2017 - London Grenville Tower fire and Congressional baseball shooting. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2017, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/691 "2017-06-15T04:25:28Z")
**June 15, 1904** : [The PS General Slocum](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://stuffnobodycaresabout.com/2014/06/14/the-1904-general-slocum-disaster-had-survivors-that-lived-into-the-21st-century/&ved=0ahUKEwiRiKu--77UAhXEDj4KHQzqCeQQFgi4ATAc&usg=AFQjCNFYDDmNK0PqIKLkyLESJenJaF-mtw&sig2=ZG8HSbj1SCULzFf1uVX7HQ)catches fire, burns and sinks in the East River in New York City. Somewhere between 1000 and 1200 people die. The paddle-wheel style cruiser had been chartered by a church in a German neighborhood of New York to take picnickers to Long Island for a day of fun. Most of the passengers were women and children. When the ship caught fire, the crew did little to help the passengers. The ship had never even had a fire drill. Required life preservers were found to be filled with rotten cork and were falling apart. Some parents who managed to get their children in these preservers watched in horror as their children immediately sank in the water. Fire hoses on the ship were worn out and useless. Bodies washed up on the shore for days and days afterwards. The captain of the ship went to prison for four years. The owners of the steamship company were never held accountable. The safety inspectors who had recently given the ship a passing grade were not held accountable. This horrible preventable tragedy was New York City’s deadliest disaster before September 11. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2017, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/692 "2017-06-15T14:58:07Z")
**June 15, 1878** : Eadweard Muybridge takes a series of photographs to prove that all four feet of a horse leave the ground when it runs; the study becomes the basis of motion pictures. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/693 "2017-06-16T04:18:01Z")
**June 16, 1959** : [George Reeves, TV’s _Superman_, dies from a gunshot to the head](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=/amp/www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/04/14/who-killed-superman-the-sinister-true-story-behind-the-death-of/amp/&ved=0ahUKEwizxJCsvsHUAhXCNz4KHZ3BC8UQFgiyATAZ&usg=AFQjCNGrbk0iXTnMrL0uC8VKQsxoxSLUuA&sig2=E5IRhGFYgR3cyE1HT9jj4w). The death is ruled a suicide, though many questions are left unanswered and theories of murder abound. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/694 "2017-06-16T13:40:02Z")
**June 16, 1858** : Abraham Lincoln delivers his “House Divided” speech in Springfield, Illinois. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2017, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/695 "2017-06-17T04:40:35Z")
**June 17, 1940** : [The troop ship RMS \*Lancastria \*](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-33092351&ved=0ahUKEwj7-pT2hMTUAhWEWj4KHQp1DG8QFgiKATAW&usg=AFQjCNFW4Uo4qK2Vo0y5cbKcD8rBcRof8Q&sig2=E6MED-0iZNAwu8EgAifdcw)is sunk by German bombers. Somewhere between 4000 and 6000 die. This is the worst maritime disaster in British history. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2017, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/696 "2017-06-17T12:24:39Z")
**June 17, 1994** : Following a televised low-speed highway chase, O. J. Simpson is arrested for the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2017, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/697 "2017-06-18T04:50:48Z")
**June 18, 1178** : [The Moon blows up](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=/amp/s/seanmunger.com/2013/10/09/june-18-1178-the-day-the-moon-blew-up/amp/&ved=0ahUKEwihgMb_ycbUAhVBaT4KHYdQADAQFgg0MAM&usg=AFQjCNEvmedREEEcX1TPaVyXQTdnKCxcdA&sig2=JEjjsavOl_81JAYObXZi8A). Well not really, but 5 reliable witnesses report seeing some sort of massive explosion on the Moon. Some have theorized a meteor strike. Others suggest a meteor coming down to Earth and burning up in front of the Moon. What happened on the Moon 839 years ago? The cosmic mystery endures. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2017, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/698 "2017-06-18T08:33:13Z")
**June 18, 1948** : Columbia Records introduces the long-playing record album in a public demonstration at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2017, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/699 "2017-06-19T05:15:30Z")
**June 19, 1914** : [The Hillcrest Mine disaster](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://hillcrestminedisaster.com/&ved=0ahUKEwiInb22ksnUAhVIWD4KHbP4BnwQFgifATAa&usg=AFQjCNGJDIEDCRc2TD53tmyxVdUanpo_sQ&sig2=ewj8Ublolp6PFthiZby7Hw). An explosion in the Hillcrest mine in Alberta kills 189. This is Canada’s deadliest mining accident. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2017, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/700 "2017-06-19T11:29:00Z")
**June 19, 1964** : The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is approved, after surviving an 83-day filibuster in the U.S. Senate. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/701 "2017-06-20T04:52:50Z")
**June 20, 1893** : In one of America’s most famous trials, [the jury returns a “not guilty” verdict on Lizzie Borden for the brutal ax murders of her parents](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://thepandorasociety.com/june-20th-1893-lizzie-borden-acquitted-of-murder/&ved=0ahUKEwijnfuZz8vUAhWIbD4KHXxRDk0QFghYMAY&usg=AFQjCNE1_-xAYU9TlahrCq4AWjbjppiFyw&sig2=8MdCay1Y44z3oWeDLCzoKA). ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/702 "2017-06-20T06:53:15Z")
**June 20, 1944** : The experimental MW 18014 V-2 rocket reaches an altitude of 176km, becoming the first man-made object to reach outer space. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530.md?page=34) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530.md?page=36)