June 14 - Kitty

Kitty

This Day In History

1775

The Continental Army is established by the Continental Congress, marking the birth of the United States Army.

1777

The Stars and Stripes is adopted by Congress as the Flag of the United States.

1789

Bounty mutiny survivors including Captain William Bligh and 18 others reach Timor after a nearly 4,600 mile journey in an open boat.

1789

Whiskey distilled from maize is first produced by American clergyman the Rev Elijah Craig. It is named Bourbon because Rev Craig lived in Bourbon County, Kentucky.

1822

Charles Babbage proposes a difference engine in a paper to the Royal Astronomical Society entitled "Note on the application of machinery to the computation of astronomical and mathematical tables."

1839

The village of Henley-on-Thames, on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, stages its first Regatta.

1846

Bear Flag Revolt begins – Anglo settlers in Sonoma, California, start a rebellion against Mexico and proclaim the California Republic.

1863

Battle of Second Winchester – a Union garrison is defeated by the Army of Northern Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley town of Winchester, Virginia.

1900

Hawaii becomes a United States territory.

1919

John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown depart St. John's, Newfoundland on the first nonstop transatlantic flight.

1959

Disneyland Monorail System, the first daily operating monorail system in the Western Hemisphere, opens to the public in Anaheim, California.

1966

The Vatican announces the abolition of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (index of prohibited books), which was originally instituted in 1557.

Famous Birthdays

1691

Jan Francisci, Hungarian born organist and composer (d. 1758)

1811

Harriet Beecher Stowe, American novelist and abolitionist (d. 1896)

1820

John Bartlett, American publisher (d. 1905)

1884

John McCormack, Irish tenor (d. 1945)

1904

Margaret Bourke-White, American photojournalist (d. 1971)

1909

Burl Ives, American musician (d. 1995)

1948

Laurence Yep, American author

1949

Harry Turtledove, American novelist

1954

Will Patton, American actor

1958

Eric Heiden, American speed skater

1961

Boy George, British singer (Culture Club)

1968

Stephanie Anne Pearl-McPhee (a.k.a. "The Yarn Harlot"), writer, knitter, and blogger

1984

Lorenzo Booker, American football player

1988

Kevin McHale, American singer and actor