Today in History

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2345

June 8, 2004: The transit of Venus; Venus transits the Sun.

This was the first transit of Venus since the last one in 1882.

Transits of Venus occur in a pattern that generally repeats every 243 years, with pairs of transits eight years apart separated by long gaps of 121.5 years and 105.5 years. The most recent transit of Venus was on 5 and 6 June 2012, and was the last Venus transit of the 21st century. The previous pair of transits were in 1874 and 1882, and the next transits will take place in 2117 and 2125.

The discovery of the atmosphere on Venus is attributed to the Russian Academician Mikhail Lomonosov on the basis of his observation of the transit of Venus of 1761 from the Imperial Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg.

2004 transit of Venus, (c) Fred Espenak:

[Album] 2004 transit of Venus, (c) Fred Espenak
2346

That’s the same Transit of Venus that my avatar is from.

2347

I thought I might hear from you, and I was thinking that might be the case. I remember an old thread from a few years back when you shared your experience and photo(s), and I was amazed then and I remain amazed today.

Nice photo compilation! (is it called a compilation? Or time lapse?)

2348

It’s a time lapse. Each shot was timed to the nearest second, over a period of about 6.5 hours.

June 9, 1954: Joseph Welch, special counsel for the United States Army, lashes out at Senator Joseph McCarthy during hearings on whether Communism has infiltrated the Army, giving McCarthy the famous rebuke, “You’ve done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?”

2349

@panache45 thank you.

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June 9, 1973: Secretariat wins the Belmont in a record run and ends the Triple Crown drought of 25 years since Citation won it in 1948.

Secretariat, the greatest horse there ever was. He set the record at all three tracks.

Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, Louisville KY track record —
Secretariat, 1973, in 2:02.4, when he won by 2½ lengths over Sham.

Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore MD track record —
Secretariat, 1973, 1:53.00, when he won by 2½ lengths over Sham.

Belmont Park, Elmont NY track record —
Secretariat, 1973, in 2:24.0, when he won by 31 lengths over Twice a Prince, Sham challenged early then faded to last (5th in a small field).

These records still stand today, over 40 years later.

Video links follow.

Secretariat’s Kentucky Derby

Secretariat’s Preakness Stakes

Secretariat’s Belmont

2350

June 9, 2015: The San Francisco Giants’ pitcher Chris Heston pitched the team’s 17th no-hitter.

The 17 Giants no-nos (no-no), in reverse chronological order:

◆ #17 2015-06-09 RHP #53 Chris Heston

◆ #16 2014-06-25 RHP #55 Tim Lincecum

◆ #15 2013-07-13 RHP #55 Tim Lincecum

◆◆ #14 P-2012-06-13 RHP #18 Matt Cain

◆ #13 2009-07-10 LHP #57 Jonathan Sánchez, nicknamed “The Kid,” or “The Comeback Kid”

◆ #12 1976-09-29 RHP #26 John “The Count” Montefusco

◆ #11 1975-08-24 RHP #28 Ed Halicki

◆ #10 1968-09-17 RHP #38 Gaylord Jackson Perry

◆ #09 1963-06-15 RHP #27 Juan Antonio Marichal Sánchez (born October 20, 1937; nicknamed The Dominican Dandy)

◆ #08 1929-05-08 Carl Owen Hubbell (June 22, 1903 – November 21, 1988), nicknamed “The Meal Ticket” and “King Carl”

◆ #07 1922-05-07 Jesse Lawrence Barnes (August 26, 1892 – September 9, 1961)

◆ #06 1915-04-15 LHP Richard William “Rube” Marquard (October 9, 1886 – June 1, 1980)

◆ #05 1912-09-06 RHP Charles Monroe “Jeff” Tesreau (March 5, 1888 – October 24, 1946)

◆ #04 1908-07-04 LHP George Leroy “Hooks” Wiltse (September 7, 1879 – January 21, 1959)

◆ #03 1905-06-13 RHP Christy Mathewson

◆ #02 1901-07-15 RHP Christopher ‘Christy’ Mathewson (August 12, 1880 – October 7, 1925), nicknamed “Big Six”, “The Christian Gentleman”, “Matty”, and “The Gentleman’s Hurler”

◆ #01 1891-07-31 RHP Amos Rusie “The Hoosier Thunderbolt”

2351

June 10, 1692: Bridget Bishop (Goody Bishop) was the first person to be executed for witchcraft during the Salem MA Witch Trials. She was hanged on 10 June 1692.

During the Salem MA Witch Trials of Feb 1692 - May 1693:
≥ 200 were tried.
30 were found guilty.
19 were hanged (14 women, 5 men), all in Salem.
1 was pressed to death: Giles Corey for refusing to plead, was pressed in an attempt to get him to plead. After 3 days of pressing he died. It was the only example of such a sanction in American history.
≥ 5 died while in jail.

In Europe, witch trials had peaked from 1560 to 1630.

2352

June 10, 1991: Eleven-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard is kidnapped in South Lake Tahoe, California; she would remain a captive until 2009.

2353

June 10, 1935: AA was founded. In Akron Ohio, Robert Holbrook Smith and Bill Wilson, known as “Dr. Bob” and “Bill W”, founded Alcoholics Anonymous. After working with Bill W for 30 days, Dr. Bob took his last drink on 10 June 1935, and that is the date marked by AA for its anniversaries.

2354

June 10, 1922 (100 years today): Judy Garland (Frances Ethel Gumm) is born in Grand Rapids, MN.

2355

June 10, 1978: Affirmed, the thoroughbred racehorse ridden by Steve Cauthen, won the 110th Belmont Stakes to claim horse racing’s Triple Crown.

Steve Cauthen was 18 at the time and was the youngest (and still is) the youngest jockey ever to win the Triple Crown. Today Steve Cauthen is 62.

Affirmed is also known for having a famous rivalry with Alydar. In each of the Triple Crown races, the Kentucky Debby, the Preakness, and the Belmont, Affirmed finished first and Alydar finished second. Alydar is the only horse to finish second in all three races. Alydar was ridden by jockey Jorge Velásquez.

Alydar‘s second place finishes were very close to Affirmed. With each successive race, Alydar narrowed the margin of victory; Affirmed beat Alydar by 1.5 lengths in the Kentucky Derby, by a neck in the Preakness, and by a head in the Belmont Stakes.

Alydar has been described as the best horse in the history of Thoroughbred racing never to have won a championship.

Affirmed was the 11th horse ever to win the Triple Crown.

The Kentucky Derby —

The Preakness Stakes —

The Belmont Stakes —

2356

June 11, 1970: Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington became the very first women Generals in the US Army. They had received their appointments earlier, on 15 May, but they officially received their ranks on 11 June.

[Album] Today in history, 11 Jun 1970: the first women Generals in the US Army, Anna Mae...
2357

June 11, 1776: The Continental Congress appoints Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston to the Committee of Five to draft a declaration of independence.

2358

June 11, 2002: Antonio Meucci was recognized by the US Congress as the first inventor of the telephone.

Apparently the first words spoken on a telephone were not, “Watson, come here, I need you” by Alexander Graham Bell…? Perhaps.

Antonio Meucci (1808-1889) developed a voice-communication apparatus that several sources credit as the first telephone. In his Staten Island home in New York, Meucci rigged a form of voice-communication link between his laboratory and his second floor bedroom.

In 1871, Meucci submitted a patent caveat for his telephonic device to the U.S. Patent Office, but there was no mention of electromagnetic transmission of vocal sound in his caveat.

In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell was granted a patent for the electromagnetic transmission of vocal sound by undulatory electric current.

Despite the longstanding general crediting of Bell with the accomplishment, the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities supported celebrations of Meucci’s 200th birthday in 2008 using the title “Inventore del telefono” (Inventor of the telephone). The U.S. House of Representatives in a resolution in 2002 also acknowledged Meucci’s work in the invention of the telephone, although the U.S. Senate did not join the resolution and the interpretation of the resolution is disputed.

2359

June 12, 1939: Shooting begins on Paramount Pictures’ Dr. Cyclops, the first horror film photographed in three-strip Technicolor.

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June 12, 1987: The Cold War begins to end when, at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, U.S. President Ronald Reagan publicly challenges Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.

“There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

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June 12, 1939: The BBHOF, the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown NY opens.

Established in 1936, the BBHOF was dedicated on 12 Jun 1939. Stephen Carlton Clark, an heir to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune, constructed the building that was dedicated on this date in 1939. The erroneous claim that Civil War hero Abner Doubleday invented baseball in Cooperstown was instrumental in the early marketing of the Hall.

The San Francisco Giants have the most inductees, with 66.

In 1936 the first five men elected were Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson.

In 1937 Morgan Bulkeley, Ban Johnson, and Nap Lajoie, Connie Mack, John McGraw, Tris Speaker, George Wright, and Cy Young were elected.

In 1938 Grover Cleveland Alexander, Alexander Cartwright, and Henry Chadwick were elected.

In 1939 Cap Anson, Eddie Collins, Charles Comiskey, Candy Cummings, Buck Ewing, Willie Keeler, Charles Radbourn, George Sisler, and Al Spalding were elected. (And Lou Gehrig)

The first Induction Ceremony was held on June 12, 1939.

Lou Gehrig is recognized as a member of the Class of 1939, but Gehrig was not elected until late in the year after it became clear that his playing career was over due to complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

2362

June 13, 1927: Aviator Charles Lindbergh receives a ticker tape parade down 5th Avenue in New York City.

2363

June 13, 2018: “Dieselgate”; Volkswagen was fined 1 billion euros for the emissions scandal.

Dieselgate began in September 2015, when the US EPA issued a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act to German automaker Volkswagen. The EPA found that Volkswagen had intentionally programmed their TDI diesel engines to activate their emissions controls only during laboratory emissions testing, which caused the vehicles’ NOx output to meet US standards during regulatory testing. However, the vehicles emitted up to 40 times more NOx in real-world driving. Volkswagen deployed this software in about 11 million cars worldwide, including 500,000 in the United States, in model years 2009 through 2015. In connection with the case, five days later on 18 Jun Audi CEO Rupert Stadler was arrested in Germany. Stadler is the first of several high-ranking VW Group executives to be tried for Dieselgate.

A peer-reviewed study published in Environmental Research Letters estimated that approximately 59 premature deaths will be caused by the excess pollution produced between 2008 and 2015 by vehicles equipped with the defeat device in the United States, the majority due to particulate pollution (87 percent) with the remainder due to ozone (13 percent). The study also found that making these vehicles emissions compliant by the end of 2016 would avert an additional 130 early deaths.

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June 13, 1977: James Earl Ray, the convicted assassin of civil rights leader, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was recaptured following his escape three days earlier from a Tennessee prison.