June 1, 1875 - James A. Healy became the first African-American to be ordained an American Catholic Bishop. He was Bishop of Portland, Maine. Bp. Healy was born in 1830. He died in 1900.

June 1, 1968 - Helen Keller died. She was born on  June 27, 1880. She was one of the founders of Helen Keller International, founded in 1915. Ms. Keller was an author, activist and lecturer. When she was nineteen months old, she lost her hearing and sight.  HKI operates programs to save the sight and lives of people in Asia, Africa and the United States.

June 2, 1731 - Martha Washington was born. She was the first "First Lady" and she didn't want to be!  She refused to come to New York City (then the capital of the new United States of America) for George Washington's inauguration on April 30, 1789. She finally arrived on May 27th.  She was called "Lady Washington," the title "First Lady" not then being used. 

NOTE: The title "First Lady" was first used in the United States in 1849 when President Zachary Taylor called Dolley Madison by that title when he gave the eulogy at her funeral. Mrs. Madison was the wife of James Madison. She also served as "First Lady" at times during Thomas Jefferson's administration as he was a widower.

June 2, 1966 - An unmanned United States spacecraft landed on the moon.

June 4, 1918 - The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed by Congress. It guaranteed women the right to vote. It then went to the states for ratification and became law in 1920. The "battle" for the vote had gone on for decades and included a conference in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848. The leaders of the "battle" were called "Suffragettes" and were often criticized, ridiculed and arrested both here and in England.

June 5, 1987 - Dr. Mae C. Jamison became the first African-American woman astronaut. She spent 190 hours and 30 minutes in space. She later was a Science specialist on the Endeavor in 1992. One of the subjects she studied in space was the effects of weightlessness. Dr. Jamison was born in 1956.  In addition to a medical degree, she has a B.S. in chemical engineering and a B.A. in African-American Studies.  She said that she was inspired by  Star Trek to go into space. After leaving NASA, she has taught and founded the Jamison Group.

June 6, 1783 - The British evacuated New York City (at that point meaning just Manhattan) at the end of the American Revolution, having occupied the City for seven years. For many years the date was celebrated as "Evacuation Day."

June 7, 1776 - Delegate to the Continental Congress, Richard Henry Lee, proposes declaring independence from England.

June 7, 1892 - The clothes dryer was invented by G.T. Sampson.

June 8, 1953 - The Supreme Court ruled discrimination in Washington, D.CO. restaurants was unconstitutional.

June 11, 1880 - Jeanette Pickering Rankin was born. She was the first woman elected to the House of Representatives.  She was a Republican and represented Montana. She won her seat in 1917, three years before women got the right to vote! Her main interests were maternal health and reducing infant mortality.  Rep. Rankin wanted to be a Senator, but did not get the nomination.

June 12, 1939 - The National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum was dedicated in Cooperstown, New York.

June 13, 1967 - President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Thurgood Marshall an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. He was the first African-America so nominated. In 1967 Justice Marshall had argued Brown v. Board of Education  before the Court. He retired in 1991 and died in 1993.

June 14, 1777 - The Continental Congress met in Philadelphia and adopted the Stars and Stripes as the design of the nation's flag and the red, white and blue colors.

Editor's Note: When I visited the ancestral home of George Washington's family in England, I saw a window which has a similar design and colors.. This has led some to think that he got the idea from his family's English crest and it was passed on to Betsy Ross.

June 16, 1963 - Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to go into space.  She spent seventy hours and fifty minutes in space.

June 17,  1775 - Peter Salem, an African-American, joined the  Minutemen, and  fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill which was a pivotal early battle in the American Revolution.

June 18, 1942 - Mayor of New York City, Fiorella H. LaGuardia inaugurated his Sunday afternoon radio show,

"Talk to the People."

June 19, 1885 - The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York City. It was a gift from France. It was erected on Liberty Island the following year..

June 19, 1908 - The first Nickelodeon opened in Pittsburgh, PA.  A nickelodeon was a storefront theater showing short films and live vaudeville acts.

June 20, 1782 - The Continental Congress adopted the design of The Great Seal of the United States and the eagle as the official symbol/bird.  Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey selected, but he lost!

June 21, 1788 - New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution which then went into effect.

June 24, 1910 - Congress passed legislation which stated that radio equipment had to be carried on all passenger ships leaving the United States.

June 26, 1945 - The United Nations was established. Delegates from 50 countries met in San Francisco to sign the Charter.

June 28, 1770 - The Quakers in Philadelphia established a school for African-Americans.  

June 30, 1775 - Congress approves governance for the Continental Army.

June 30, 1917 -Singer and actress Lena Horne was born. She sang with such musicians as Duke Ellington and Artie Shaw. .Jazz, pop music and Broadway show tunes were her specialty. She acted in movies  such as "Cabin in the Sky" and "The Wiz" as well and appeared on numerous television shows. Her uncle, Frank S. Horne, was an advisor to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Ms. Horne died in 2010.

Happy Summer Everyone! Would love to hear from you with other happenings.