June 17 - Pick-me-up

Pick-me-up

Happy Father's Day!

This Day In History

1579

Sir Francis Drake claims a land he calls Nova Albion (modern California) for England.

1631

Mumtaz Mahal dies during childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, will spend the next 17 years building her mausoleum, the Taj Mahal.

1637

French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet reach the Mississippi River and become the first Europeans to make a detailed account of its course.

1885

The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor.

1944

Iceland declares independence from Denmark and becomes a republic.

1958

The wooden roller coaster at Playland, which is in the Pacific National Exhibition, Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada opens. It is still open today.

Famous Birthdays

1239

King Edward I of England (Edward Longshanks) (d. 1307)

1704

John Kay, English inventor (d. 1780)

1742

William Hooper, American signer of the United States Declaration of Independence (d. 1790)

1867

John Robert Gregg, American inventor (d. 1948)

1882

Igor Stravinsky, Russian composer (d. 1971)

1898

M. C. Escher, Dutch artist (d. 1972)

1903

Ruth Wakefield, American cook and hotelier (d. 1977)

1907

Charles Eames, American designer and architect (d. 1978)

1943

Newt Gingrich, American politician

Barry Manilow, American musician

Burt Rutan, American aerospace engineer

1963

Greg Kinnear, American actor

1964

Erin Murphy, American actress