July 11

Scott Winters July 11, 2023 1 Comment

A quick look at Today in History, check out some Celebrity Birthdays, and find out what Days of the Year to celebrate.

TODAY IN HISTORY:

1796 – The United States took possession of Detroit from Great Britain under the terms of the Jay Treaty.

1798 – “An Act for Establishing a Marine Corps” passed by the U.S. Congress formally re-establishes the U.S. Marine Corps. The act also created the U.S. Marine Band. The Marines were first commissioned by the Continental Congress on November 10, 1775.

1804 – Alexander Hamilton (the United States’ first Secretary of the Treasury), was killed by Vice President Aaron Burr in a duel.

1860 – The river steamer “Michigan” burned up after seven years of service on the Grand River.

1913 – The Great Lakes Flying Boat Race started in Chicago, IL. The 884 mile route took it up Lake Michigan, through the Straits, and down Lake Huron to Detroit, MI. Only one plane finished the race.

1914 – George “Babe” Ruth made his Major League Baseball debut playing for the Baltimore Orioles. The team named him “Babe” because, at the age of 19, he was the youngest player on the team.

1955 – The phrase “In God We Trust” was added to all U.S. currency.

1955 – The U.S. Air Force Academy was dedicated at Lowry Air Base in Colorado.

1960 – “To Kill a Mockingbird”, by Harper Lee, was first published in the United States.

1962 – The Telstar satellite (launched the day prior) transmitted the first transatlantic TV signal.

1966 – The TV game show “The Newlywed Game” debuted on ABC.

1973 – The Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament started in Lowell, MI.

1977 – Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. posthumously received the Medal of Freedom award in a White House ceremony.

1979 – America’s first space station, Skylab, was destroyed as it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere over the Indian Ocean. Parts of the Indian Ocean and Australia were littered with debris.

1985 – Dr. H. Harlan Stone announced that he had used medical zippers instead of stitches on 28 patients. The zippers were used in case he may have to re-operate.

1997 – The movie “Contact”, starring Jodie Foster, debuted in theaters.

1998 – U.S. Air Force Lt. Michael Blassie, a casualty of the Vietnam War, was finally laid to rest near his home in Missouri after his remains were positively identified. He was previously buried in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington, VA.

1999 – A U.S. Air Force jet flew over the Antarctic and air dropped off emergency medical supplies. Dr. Jerri Nelson discovered a lump in her breast while at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Research Center.

2007 – The fifth Harry Potter movie, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”, premiered in theaters.

2008 – Apple released the iPhone 3G.

2012 – Astronomers announced the discovery of Styx, the fifth moon of Pluto.

2013 – The SyFy networked premiered their first “Sharknado” film.

2013 – The Netflix TV show “Orange is the new Black” debuted.

2015 – Former Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán escaped from the maximum security Altiplano prison in Mexico. It was his second escape.

2021 – Richard Branson became the first civilian to be launched into space via his Virgin Galactic spacecraft.