Leasing/Finance Companies Doing Well
Despite COVID-19 Pandemic

By Christopher Menkin

John Boettigheimer, President of Centra Funding, LLC/4 Hour Funding, is now at 42 people and growing. They are also hiring right now.

He told Leasing News, "We actually are seeing more applications post-COVID than we were pre-COVID. We got very lucky. About 2 years ago, we toughened our credit criteria and excluded all customers with any working cap loans (we actually ran UCC searches on each customer to weed them out). At the time, we took a lot of grief for it. As a result, now, our customers seeking deferment due to COVID are is running half of anyone else’s portfolio. We sort of feel like the aircraft carriers who were out at sea during Pearl Harbor on Dec 7th.

"We have issues due to COVID but I would not change places with any other company at this point. We are counting our blessings every day and I also have a very good crew of people here now. "

Another successful company where the president told Leasing News, "We heard through the grapevine that ******** has no plans to return to "A" credits and their performance in that sector is what got them into trouble. But I agree, it will be tough for them to compete for deals when they start at 14%. We are still seeing some banks buy deep in the 5% range. We have seen deals that we are not comfortable booking in the 15% range that are getting done at banks for 5.5%! "

Asked why his company was doing so well, David Lee, Chairman and CEO of North Mill Equipment Finance (also a member of the Leasing News Advisory Board), emailed, “We have been very fortunate to be well-capitalized with strong support from our equity partners at Wafra Capital and our lending partners at Deutsche Bank and East West Bank.

"While many other funders had to scale back significantly, or even stop funding entirely, we were able to fund on a “business as usual” basis, albeit we were certainly more cautious in lending to certain types of businesses that were most severely impacted from the economic shut downs, and took extra precautions with regard to reviewing bank statements and reviewing COVID business plans for the applicants.

"By being 100% broker centric in our originations, combined with the withdrawal of some of our funding competitors, we saw very little decline in new credit applications. In fact, our funding volumes on a monthly basis only declined materially in April when the country came to a virtual economic standstill and has risen back to the robust levels seen earlier in the year.  Moreover, not only have we not made any staff reductions, we have recently hired some additional talent, including another seasoned professional for our broker relations team.”

There are companies that advertise here note their niche in the marketplace has improved.  Solar power is still doing well and as noted in Monday's news story, the government leasing and finance has needs that are being met by banks and companies who specialize in this marketplace.

Leasing News has been covering the growing legal marijuana marketplace since 2010; writing about tis growth, noting the companies getting into financing this industry, as it now winds through legalization in states and moving into state and perhaps federal banking regulations. It follows the entire chain from real estate, agriculture, and the entire process of retail sales.

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Success is a Constantly Moving Goal Post

Sales Makes It Happen by Scott Wheeler, CLFP

Top originators in the commercial equipment leasing and finance industry know that success is a journey - a constantly moving goalpost that is always within reach. Success is the willingness to set new goals, create and execute new plans, and deliver meaningful results. Top originators know that it is the process that should be celebrated. Top originators are always ready to assume new goals to reach the next level of success. 

Recent events have caused many disruptions in the economy and the daily activities of originators. Top originators are moving forward by embracing and flaunting their successes. They are capable of adjusting their daily activities, prospecting new sectors, providing enhanced value to their end-users and vendors, and accepting the new economy as an opportunity, rather than a challenge.

There are many examples of recent success:

• Originators exceeding quotas
• Originators landing new national accounts
• Originators opening new territories
• Originators finding new sectors
• Originators helping existing clients
• Originators exploring new channels
• Originators developing new value propositions
• Originators winning
• Originators celebrating success

Top originators embrace the process and find the means to reach meaningful results. Top originators don't accept "pauses." They march on to meet their next objective; and they flaunt every success along the journey.

Order via Amazon: https://www.createspace.com/5355516  

Scott A. Wheeler, CLFP
Wheeler Business Consulting
1314 Marquis Ct.
Fallston, Maryland 21047
Phone: 410 877 0428
Fax: 410 877 8161
Email: scott@wheelerbusinessconsulting.com
Web: www.wheelerbusinessconsulting.com 

Sales Makes it Happen articles:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Legacy/index.html

 

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New Hires/Promotions in the Leasing Business
and Related Industries

Faraz Abbasi was hired as Director, Syndication Operations, Element Fleet Management, Towson, Maryland. Previously, he was Syndication Operations Manager, GE Healthcare, Capital Markets (January, 2019 - January, 2020).  He joined GE Capital as  Senior Contract Administration, Syndications (June, 2011); promoted October, 2012, Assistant Operations Manager, Capital Markets; Senior Operations Consultant, Banc of America Leasing & Capital, LLC (November, 2008 - July, 2011); Equipment Finance Paralegal, Vedder Price (February, 2009 - November, 2009); Lead Transaction Coordinator, GE Commercial Finance (May, 2003 - January, 2009); Booking and Documentation Specialist, MandT Bank (July, 2001 - May, 2003). Education: Adamson University, MBA, Finance (1996 - 1999). https://www.linkedin.com/in/faraz-abbasi-38520812/

Bryan Combs was hired as Vice President & Commercial Leasing Manger, Park National Bank, Charlotte, North Carolina. Previously, he was Vice President, Regional Sales Manager, Triumph Commercial Finance (April, 2019 - January, 2020); Relationship Manager, Hitachi Capital America Corp. (September, 2017 - March, 2019); Regional Vice President, Commercial Credit Group (December, 2006 - March, 2017); Branch Manager, BB&T (2004 - 2006); Branch Operations Manager, CitiCapital Commercial Corp. (2000 - 2004); District Sales Manager, Associates Commercial Corp (1996 - 2000).  Volunteer: Board Member, Matthews Softball Association (March, 2007 - Present).  Education: Wake Forest University, BA, History (1985 - 1989). https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-combs-89210338/

Robert Moskowitz was hired as Chief Financial Officer, Verdant Commercial Capital, Cincinnati, Ohio. Previously, he was Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, TimePayment Corp. (April, 2018 - April, 2020);  Chief Financial Officer, LEAF Commercial Capital, Inc. (December, 2003 - December, 2017); Chief Financial Officer, ImpactRx (2001 - 2003); Chief Financial Officer, Breakthrough Commerce, LLC (1999 - 2001); Chief Financial Officer, Syngy (1997 - 1999); Vice President – Finance, O'Brien Power Systems (1984 - 1995); Assistant International Controller, Kulicke & Soffa (1983 - 1984); Supervisor, Deloitte US (1979 - 1983). Education: Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business. BS, Accounting; Finance (1974 - 1979). https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-moskovitz/

Mike Muscatello was hired as Vice President, Sales, Vendor Finance Group, First Business Equipment Finance, LLC, a subsidiary of First Business Bank, Madison, Wisconsin. He is located in Greater New York.  Previously, he was President, Americaptial Corporation; Business Development Manager, Sovereign Bank (June, 2005 - June, 2006); Business Development Preferred Capitol, Inc. Education: St. Francis College. Bachelor's Degree. Psychology.  (1968 -1973).
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-muscatello-b721206/

My Personal Credit in the Employment Interview
Career Crossroads---By Emily Fitzpatrick/RII

Question: I am having difficulty being hired for a new opportunity with a bank due to my personal credit issues, primarily from being laid off. Many of us were furloughed and 20 of us laid off due to COVID- 19. Do you have any advice how to handle this in an interview?

Answer: Many in our industry were put in an unfortunate situation and some of us are still having cash flow problems. Any credit issues that arose should be faced squarely. If they are  not, this should be one of your top priorities before you even begin a job search. Hopefully some gave you deferred payments, which should be a positive, rather than a negative.

Keep in mind this is par for the course when dealing with banking institutions or bureaucratic companies that must follow a certain protocol. Most independent or entrepreneurial organizations will look at the candidate as a whole and will not cease talks due to COVID-19.

However, couple this with a DUI and you have some issues that must be cleaned up; work with an attorney. 

As far as your credit is concerned, look at your credit score first to see what you are dealing with or try compromising with the employer. You can get free credit reports by going to www.AnnualCreditReport.com.

Whether or not you agree with this idea, you should know that a bad credit rating has the potential to blow your candidacy and that it can do so even if all the other variables are positive.

NOTE: Many companies (even banks) will accept proof of payments, settlements, etc.,  demonstrating that the candidate is steadily improving his/her fiscal position; thus, is a viable candidate

If you think there are issues, BEFORE your career search begins:
1. Contact the credit agencies and deal with any disputes/discrepancies
It is recommended that you send the agency(s) letters explaining your late or incomplete payments due to the loss of a job … a temporary state which is completely different from simple fiscal irresponsibility

2. Hire an attorney specializing in credit issues to assist in clearing your history. There are many who will work pro bono or cities that have free attorney agencies.

Be wary of “credit repair” companies. The FTC has been keeping an eye out on these types of organizations, It is  better to engage an attorney or contact your local bar association for a referral

Emily Fitzpatrick
Sr. Recruiter
Recruiters International, Inc.
Phone:  954-885-9241
Cell:  954-612-0567
emily@riirecruit.com

Invite me to connect on LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/pub/emily-fitzpatrick/4/671/76

Also follow us on Twitter #RIIINFO

Career Crossroads Previous Columns
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/crossroad.html

 

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Story Credit Lessors - Lenders List for COVID-19
"C" & "D" Lessees, Business Loans, Working Capital

With the topsy-turvy of funders, as well as the changing of credit and industry requirements, story credit lessors and lenders are now more in need than ever.  Here are funders who also may take "A" and "B" rated applicants and more may be more interested not in "application only." Some may become more comfortable learning more, beyond reviewing financial statements and tax returns, additional collateral, learning more about the story behind the business as qualifiers.

To qualify for this list, the company must be a funder (as qualified by Leasing News and on the “Funder List” and not a "Broker/Lessor, have an acceptable Better Business Bureau Rating and no history of complaints at Leasing News; notify lessees in advance when the lease will end and what the residual will be, do not automatically extend the lease or insist that their discounter follow the same policy. We reserve the right to not list a company who does not meet these qualifications.

Funder List “A”
http://www.leasingnews.org/Funders_Only/Funders.htm
We encourage companies who are listed to contact us for any change or addition they would like to make. Adding further information as an "attachment" or clarification of what they have to offer would be helpful to readers is also very much encouraged."

Alphabetical list - click on company name to view more details

Alphabetical list - click on company name to view more details
American Leasefund, Inc. Bankers Capital Black Rock Capital Investment, LLC BSB Leasing, Inc Calfund, LLC Dakota Financial Financial Pacific Leasing	Forum Financial Services, Inc. Gonor Funding Mesa Leasing North Mill Equipment Finance Northwest Leasing Company, Inc. Maxim Commercial Capital, LLC	Pawnee Leasing Corporation P&L Capital Corporation Providence Equipment Finance SLIM Capital, LLC Standard Professional Services, LLC TEAM Funding Solutions Your Leasing Solution, LLC

 

Full Listing:
http://leasingnews.org/Story_Credit/Story_Credit.htm

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##### Press Release ############################

ELFA Announces New Networking Tools
for Equipment Finance Professionals in ELFA Engage App

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association today launched new networking tools within its ELFA Engage mobile app that allow industry professionals to easily connect with each other. Users of the app—which launched earlier this year—now have new ways to interact with the ELFA community on their iOS or Android phones or tablets, 24/7.

New features of the ELFA Engage app, which is available at www.elfaonline.org/app, include:

• Engage: Share news, photos and links with the ELFA community on the new “Engage” tab. Click the plus sign (+) in the top-right corner to post messages and get started.
• Connect: Access ELFAConnect, ELFA’s members-only, online discussion groups. Click the Connect icon at the bottom (iOS) or in the menu (Android) and access LeaseTalk, AcctgTalk, LegalTalk and TaxTalk to share ideas with peers.
• Podcasts: Listen to ELFA’s new podcast series Equipment Finance Matters through the mobile app. Select Podcast under the “More” icon at the bottom (iOS) or the Menu (Android).
• Learn: Register for free ELFA Wednesday Webinars under the Events icon at the bottom (iOS) or in the menu (Android).

Plus, users can now filter through posts from ELFA or other users by tapping on specific filters located at the top of the newsfeed. Users may also select specific tags (e.g., #Advocacy) to narrow their results. App users will also enjoy reading daily industry and association headlines, chatting with other app users and more.

Martha Ahlers, ELFA Board Chair and President of United Leasing & Finance, said, “Networking is critical in the equipment finance industry, but it can be challenging during this time of social distancing.

“I applaud our association for offering new ways for members to catch up with existing contacts and develop new connections through the ELFA Engage app.”

ELFA President and CEO Ralph Petta, commented, “Since we launched the ELFA Engage app earlier this year, so much has changed due to the pandemic. But the importance of maintaining and expanding your professional network has not changed. While ELFA members haven’t been able to gather in person, we are finding new ways to get together virtually and it is heartening to see that the strength of our community is more evident than ever.

“If you haven’t yet downloaded the ELFA Engage app, I encourage you to download it and join our virtual community today.”

How to Download the App
Search “ELFA Engage” in the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. To log in, users must enter their ELFA credentials (the same credentials used to log into the ELFA website). Those who do not know their credentials may use the username request or password reset to retrieve them. For assistance logging in, email membership@elfaonline.org.  For more information, visit www.elfaonline.org/app.

About ELFA
The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) is the trade association that represents companies in the nearly $1 trillion equipment finance sector, which includes financial services companies and manufacturers engaged in financing capital goods. ELFA members are the driving force behind the growth in the commercial equipment finance market and contribute to capital formation in the U.S. and abroad. Its 575 members include independent and captive leasing and finance companies, banks, financial services corporations, broker/packagers and investment banks, as well as manufacturers and service providers. For more information, please visit www.elfaonline.org.

### Press Release ############################

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Fourth of July Special Edition
by Fernando Croce

With the Fourth of July just ahead, we at Leasing News are proud to recommend five red, white and blue movies (available at Netflix) that are sure to get audiences laughing, cheering, and saluting.

The Music Man (Morton DaCosta, 1962): For a tuneful choice for Fourth of July viewing, check out this classic musical, which unfolds during celebrations of the holiday. Set in the 1910s, it follows Harold Hill (Robert Preston), a fast-talking con-man who arrives at his latest target, a small Iowa town brimming with naïve locals. Posing as a band conductor, he has a plan of bilking the townspeople out of money by putting together a band in need of expensive uniforms and instruments. His scheme however is complicated by Marian Paroo (Shirley Jones), a young librarian who sees through his guise. As they develop feelings for each other, Harold’s decision to escape with the band’s funds grow thorny. Anchored by Preston’s joyous turn, this is a quintessential slice of American nostalgia.

Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975): In the blockbuster that established him as one of the all-time box-office kings, Steven Spielberg offers a thrilling summer experience with a tale pointedly set on the Fourth of July. In the small New England town of Amity Island, tourist season comes to a grisly halt as the appearance of a bloodthirsty white shark sends shivers down the shore. Police chief Brody (Roy Scheider) wants the beaches closed for safety while the mayor cares more about the economy than lives, a clash that leads Brody to seek out help from a couple of unlikely allies: neurotic scientist Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and grizzled captain Quint (Robert Shaw). As the trio set out to face the beast in the open sea, Spielberg’s miraculously shrewd camera keeps the suspense tingling.

The Right Stuff (Philip Kaufman, 1983): Reaching for the stars has always been one of humankind’s greatest dreams, and few films capture it as exhilaratingly as this epic drama, based on Tom Wolfe’s bestseller. The sprawling narrative begins when Chuck Yeager (Sam Shepard) breaks the sound barrier, and then follows the exploits of the group of astronauts comprising the Mercury 7 space program in the 1950s, a group that includes John Glen (Ed Harris), Gordon Cooper (Dennis Quaid) and Alan Shepard (Scott Glenn). As these men train for their journey into orbit, a rich mosaic of courage and determination materialize before our eyes. Directed by Philip Kaufman with a mix of irony and awe, this is an eye-filling panorama that thrills as much now as when it was first released.

An American Tail (Don Bluth, 1986): Disney’s most notable competitor during the 1980s, animator Don Bluth (“The Land Before Time”) offered his most ambitious project with this epic and colorful account of the American Dream as seen through the eyes of a family of immigrant mice. After their home in Russia is devastated by cats, the Mousekewitz clan leaves to begin life anew in the United States, a hope that’s thwarted when Fievel (voiced by Phillip Glasser) gets lost along the way. As he gets involved with a cast of eccentric characters, can Fievel find a way to reconnect with his loved ones? Full of narrow escapes and emotional reunions, the movie carries producer Steven Spielberg’s stamp of starry-eyed wonder.

Live Free or Die Hard (Len Wiseman, 2007): Audiences looking for a bit of counter-programming this Independence Day should enjoy this slam-bang fourth installment of the “Die Hard” series, which sets its action during the July celebration. Bruce Willis returns for his trademark character, sarcastic veteran cop John McClane, here tasked with bringing a young hacker named Matt (Justin Long) to justice. His routine assignment is interrupted as a larger one looms over the nation, with former government analyst Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant) leading a group of cyber-terrorists. With the country’s infrastructure as well as his daughter Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) in danger, McClane becomes again the right man at the wrong place. Continuing the series’ kinetic mix of tension and wisecracks, the film is a solid and spirited thrill-ride.

German Shepherd
Plano, Texas  Adopt-a-Dog

Wichi

A170347
Male
10 Months Old
Large
Neutered
Vaccinations Up-to-Date
Adoption Fee: $80.00

VIP: Wichi is a shy yet friendly dog who is about 10 months old. He lived with other dogs and is happy to greet you once he knows you. Wichi does need some training so will be best with an experienced owner who is familiar with this breed. He also will be best in a single family home rather than an apartment. Wichi was given up by his owner and needs leash training. Experience with the breed is required in the form of vet paperwork prior to adoption. Adopted animals are not able to go to their new home until spay and neuter surgery has been done. When calling or emailing about an animal, please be sure to use the animal identification number that starts with A.

Plano Animal Services
4028 Plano Parkway
Plano, TX 75093
972-769-4360

Animal Shelter Hours
ANIMAL VISITS END
15 MINUTES
BEFORE CLOSING
Monday - Friday
9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Saturday - Sunday
10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

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Country singers Chase Rice and Chris Janson
are taking heat for packed outdoor concerts in Tennessee

I saw on TV News a young female who asked why she wasn’t wearing a mask after attending an open air concert with country singers Chase Rice and Chris Janson, by the photo, notes hardly anyone was wearing a mask; definitely all next to each other signing along with the performer. The young girl answered, “It doesn’t matter whether I have a mask on or not, we are all going to get it.”

I thought to myself how selfish! She may wind up spreading the disease to those most vulnerable who might die from being exposed, let alone affecting many families with pain and suffering. I blame more her parents than her for her attitude.

- Editor

News Briefs----

Dr. Anthony Fauci says U.S. coronavirus outbreak is ‘going
   to be very disturbing,’ could top 100,000 new cases a day
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/30/fauci-says-us-coronavirus-outbreak-is-going-to-be-very-disturbing-could-top-100000-cases-a-day.html

Coronavirus: Majority of patients
      don’t know source of infection
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/06/30/coronavirus-majority-of-patients-dont-know-source-of-infection/

One graphic explains why Americans
  are facing an EU travel ban
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/30/europe/european-union-travel-us-graphic-intl/index.html

Farm workers in CA strike after dozens have virus
Workers demand free face coverings, gloves and information
https://www.morningagclips.com/farm-workers-in-ca-strike-after-dozens-have-virus/

Suspicions of Russian Bounties Were Bolstered
   by Data on Financial Transfers
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/30/us/politics/russian-bounties-afghanistan-intelligence.html

Why Boeing 737 Max Flight Tests Are Good News,
      Not Great News
https://247wallst.com/aerospace-defense/2020/06/29/why-boeing-737-max-flight-tests-are-good-news-not-great-news/

As Trump Suspends H-1B Visa, Canadian Tech
    Looks to Attract Foreign Talent (Again)
https://betakit.com/as-trump-suspends-h-1b-visa-canadian-tech-looks-to-attract-foreign-talent-again/

Nearly half the U.S. population is without a job,
   showing how far the labor recovery has to go
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/29/nearly-half-the-us-population-is-without-a-job-showing-how-far-the-labor-recovery-has-to-go.html

Rental car, business travel slump hit
    fleet auto sales hard
https://nypost.com/2020/06/30/rental-car-business-travel-slump-hit-auto-sales-hard/

Airbus, Expecting Long Slump in Air Travel,
   Will Slash 15,000 Jobs
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/30/business/airbus-jobs-cuts.html

The 20 biggest companies that have filed
   for bankruptcy because of the coronavirus pandemic
https://fortune.com/2020/06/29/companies-filing-bankruptcy-2020-during-coronavirus-pandemic-covid-19-economy-industries/

NASA Names HQ After ‘Hidden Figure’ Mary Jackson,
    Its First Black Woman Engineer
https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2020/06/24/nasa-names-hq-after-hidden-figure-mary-jackson-its-first-black-woman-engineer/#4ad9984963ba

Amazon streaming party
https://www.fiercevideo.com/video/amazon-prime-video-latest-streamer-to-add-watch-party-feature?

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You May Have Missed---

‘Flying Blind Into a Credit Storm’: Widespread Deferrals
          Mean Banks Can’t Tell Who’s Creditworthy
https://www.wsj.com/articles/flying-blind-into-a-credit-storm-widespread-deferrals-mean-banks-cant-tell-whos-creditworthy-11593423001

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Sports Briefs---

Why Cam Newton-Bill Belichick Patriots marriage will work
https://www.nj.com/sports/2020/06/why-cam-newton-bill-belichick-patriots-marriage-will-work-opinion.html

Opinion: Nine reasons why New England Patriots won't
    win Super Bowl LV with Cam Newton
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/columnist/nate-davis/2020/06/30/cam-newton-new-england-patriots-nfl-super-bowl-bill-belichick/3278563001/

Raiders warn of East Bay layoffs amid exit to Las Vegas
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/06/29/raiders-warn-east-bay-layoff-las-vegas-job-unemployment-economy-football-edd

Former Washington assistant, "Hogs" creator Bugel dies at 80
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/former-washington-assistant-hogs-creator-bugel-dies-at-80/

Women’s Soccer Permits Players to
    Stay in Locker Room for National Anthem
https://www.thedailybeast.com/national-womens-soccer-league-permits-players-to-stay-in-locker-room-for-national-anthem

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California Nuts Briefs---

New York, New Jersey, Connecticut restrict travel
   from California due to coronavirus cases
https://www.sacbee.com/news/coronavirus/article243899902.html

State nursing board executives falsified data
    in report to state auditor, report finds
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article243900467.html

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“Gimme that Wine”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJnQoi8DSE8

Tony Terlato, a Giant in the U.S. Wine Industry, Dies at 86
https://www.winespectator.com/articles/tony-terlato-a-giant-in-the-wine-industry-dies

The Cost of Drinking Wine History
https://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2020/06/the-cost-of-drinking-wine-history

Add These 7 Black Owned Wine Labels To Your Collection
https://www.essence.com/lifestyle/food-drinks/black-owned-wine-labels/

Free Wine App
https://www.nataliemaclean.com/mobileapp/

Wine Prices by vintage
http://www.winezap.com
http://www.wine-searcher.com/

This Day in History

     1656 – The first Quakers arrived, in Boston.  Mary Fisher and Ann Austin were immediately arrested.
    1730 - The most populous area of colonial America was New England, with 275,000 Europeans.  By 1760, this number rose to 425,000, and at the close of the Revolution, to 800,000.
    1733 - Forty Jews, admitted to Georgia colony by its proprietors, settled in Savannah.
    1776 – The Continental Congress, sitting as a committee, met to debate a resolution submitted by Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee on June 7. The resolution stated that the United Colonies “are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States.” The committee voted for the motion and, on July 2 in formal session, took the final vote for independence.
    1778 - The first foreign diplomat accredited to the U.S., Conrad Alexandre Gerard, arrived in America. He had been appointed by King Louis XVI of France. The tide of the Revolutionary War changed when France not only lent the new colonies money, but officers, soldiers, arms, and ships. At Yorktown, the victory that won the war, Frenchman outnumbered Americans almost three to one! Washington had 11,000 men engaged in the battle, while the French had at least 29,000 soldiers and sailors. The 37 French ships-of-the-line played a crucial role in trapping the 8,700 strong British army and winning the engagement.
    1792 - A tremendous storm (a tornado or hurricane) hit Philadelphia and New York City.  Many young people drowned while out boating on that Sunday.
    1800 - The earliest recorded Methodist camp meeting in America was held in Logan County Kentucky, near the Gaspar River Church.
    1807 - Birthday of Thomas Green Clemson (1807-88), the man for whom Clemson University was named, at Philadelphia, PA. The mining engineer and agriculturist married John C. Calhoun's daughter, Anna. Clemson bequeathed the old Calhoun plantation to South Carolina and Clemson Agricultural College, now Clemson University, was founded there in 1889.  http://www.clemson.edu/welcome/history/
    1835 - The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad made its trial run from Baltimore, MD, to Washington, DC, starting railroad service to the nation’s capital.
    1847 - The first US postage stamps were issued by the US Post Office, a 5 cent stamp picturing Benjamin Franklin and a 10 cent stamp honoring George Washington. Stamps had been issued by private postal services in the US prior to this date. 
(last part of:  http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jul01.html )
    1852 - The first body to lie in state in the US Capitol rotunda was that of Senator Henry Clay, who died in Washington, DC, at the age of 75 on June 29, 1852.  His body was placed in the rotunda, where it was displayed for the public to pay their respects, prior to interment in Lexington Cemetery, Lexington, KY.
    1859 - Amherst and Williams played the first intercollegiate baseball game, with Amherst winning, 73-32. The next day Williams evened the score by defeating Amherst in a chess match. 
http://www.henryclay.org/hc.htm 
    1861 – The first public schoolhouse opens at Washington & Mason St, San Francisco.
    1862 - Congress outlaws polygamy for the first time;  “an act  to punish and prevent the practice of polygamy in the territories of the United Sates and other places, and disapproving and annulling certain acts of the legislative assembly of the territory of Utah.”  Most of the settlers in Utah belonged to the Mormon Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), which encouraged men to marry multiple wives.  Little effort was made to enforce this law. The first anti-polygamy law with teeth was the act of March 22, 1883, known as the Edmunds law, which defined simultaneous marriages as bigamy and prescribed loss of citizenship as a penalty.  It legitimized children born in polygamy before January 1, 1883.
    1862 – The final day of the 7 days Battle of Malvern Hill  
http://petersburgcityguard.tripod.com/map5mhattacks.htm 
http://members.ismi.net/mmcwr/battle/malvern_hill.html 
http://www.gettysburgguide.com/fight.html 
http://www2.cr.nps.gov/abpp/battles/va021.htm 
    1862 - The Bureau of Internal Revenue was established by an act of Congress. The same day, President Abraham Lincoln signed into law a bill levying a 3 percent income tax on annual incomes of $600—$10,000, and 5 percent on incomes of more than $10,000. The revenues were to help pay for the Civil War. This tax law actually went into effect, unlike an earlier law passed August 5, 1861, making it the first income tax levied by the US. It was rescinded in 1872.
    1862 - The Morrill Land Grant Act was passed.  This federal legislation led to the creation of the Land Grant universities and Agricultural Experiment Stations in each state.  For 20 years prior to the first introduction of the bill in 1857, there was a political movement calling for the creation of agriculture colleges.  The Morrill Act was first proposed in 1857, and was passed by Congress in 1859, but it was vetoed by President Buchanan. In 1861, Morrill resubmitted the act with the amendment that the proposed institutions would teach military tactics as well as engineering and agriculture. Aided by the secession of many states that did not support the plans, this reconfigured Morrill Act was signed into law by President Lincoln on July 2, 1862.
    1863 - The Battle of Gettysburg, the largest of the war, began where General Robert E. Lee made a desperate bid to smash through Union forces and approach Washington, D.C. from the west.  After the Southern success at Chancellorsville, VA, Lee led his forces on an invasion of the North, initially targeting Harrisburg, PA. As Union forces moved to counter the invasion, the battle lines were eventually formed at Gettysburg, PA, in one of the Civil War's most crucial and bloodiest battles. This was a turning point in the war.  Quite by accident, and not foreseen by General Lee, General George G. Meade stumbled upon the advance accidentally at Gettysburg, Pa.  Lee's assaults on federal positions, trying to move out of this encounter, brought extremely heavy losses to both sides. On the climactic third day of the battle (July 3), Lee ordered an attack on the center of the Union line, later to be known as Pickett's Charge. When the famous charge of Gen. George E. Pickett's division failed, with one unit leaving 3393 out of 4800 men dead or wounded on the field, the battle was lost by the South. The 15,000 rebels were repulsed, ending the Battle of Gettysburg. On July 4, both sides were exhausted.  On July 5, Lee's army retreated, listing more than one-third of the troops as casualties in the failed invasion, never to return to northern territory.  Union General George Meade initially failed to pursue the retreating rebels, allowing Lee's army to escape across the rain-swollen Potomac River. He felt ill prepared for the action, particularly after initiating the battle without preparation and in “surprise.”  Historians say he missed an opportunity. They were not there, but made this observation primarily because Meade was not a very good tactician or leader of men. His men labeled him “timid” and used a stronger word we can't print here.  The South suffered 30,000 killed, wounded, or missing, the North, 23,000.   
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jul01.html 
http://www.fredericksburg.com/Movies/2001/072001/Gettysburg_T1 
http://www.gettysburg.com/ 
a key to the victory at Gettysburg
http://www.civilwarhome.com/buforddefense.htm 
    1869 - US mint at Carson City, Nevada opens 
http://www.tulving.com/carsonct.html 
    1869 - William Strunk, Jr (d. 1946), American author and educator, born in Cincinnati.  A professor of English at Cornell University, he authored “The Elements of Style” (1918). After revision and enlargement by his former student E.B. White, it became a highly influential guide to correct English usage during the late 20th century, commonly called Strunk & White.  It remains prominent now into the 21st century.       
    1870 – The US Department of Justice is created.  The Attorney General was initially a one-person, part-time job established by the Judiciary Act of 1789.  In 1869, the House Committee on the Judiciary conducted an inquiry into the creation of a "Law department" headed by the Attorney General and composed of the various department solicitors and US Attorneys. On February 19, 1868, a bill was introduced in Congress to create the Department of Justice. This first bill was unsuccessful, however, as time to ensure its passage was consumed with the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson.  A second bill was introduced to Congress by Representative Thomas Jenckes of Rhode Island on February 25, 1870, and both it was passed by both houses.   President Grant then signed the bill into law on June 22, 1870.
    1874 - The first zoo in the US, the Philadelphia Zoological Society, opened.  Three thousand visitors traveled by foot, horse and carriage, and steamboat to visit the exhibits.  Price of admission was 25 cents for adults and 10 cents for children.  There were 1,000 animals in the zoo when it opened
http://www.phillyzoo.org 
    1876 - Birthday of Susan Keating Glaspell (1876 -1948) at Davenport, IA.  Novelist and playwright who won the 1930 Pulitzer Prize for her play, “Allison's House.” She wrote no further plays but continued to write novels that examined women's struggles with biology, conservative mores, and other influences on her freedom and happiness. Her early stories were steeped in the Iowa of her childhood and after the success of her first novel, she resettled in New York, married a wealthy home-town boy, and lived and romped in Greenwich Village. The bulk of her noteworthy writing was done after his death in 1924. She remarried briefly.
    1879 – Charles Taze Russell published the first edition of the religious magazine “The Watchtower.”
    1881 – US Assay Office in St Louis, Missouri opens for the World’s Fair Exposition. 
http://www.ustreas.gov/education/fact-sheets/currency/prod-facilities.html 
    1881 - The world's first international telephone call is made between St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, and Calais, ME, United States.
    1889 - Frederick Douglass named Minister to Haiti 
http://www.frederickdouglass.org/douglass_bio.html 
    1890 - 2,000 Census Bureau clerks began the daunting task of tallying the results of the country's 11th census, aided for the first time by mechanical calculating devices. Some 45,000 census counters had spent the entire month of June counting America's 60 million-plus population, using hole punches to record the results of their surveys by punching out designated spots on the card, like a train conductor punches a ticket. Later, those cards were counted by a tabulating machine invented by 29-year-old Herman Hollerith. Hollerith's counting machine had soundly beaten other proposed counting methods in a contest sponsored by the Census Bureau. Hollerith later founded the Tabulating Machine Company, which, through a series of mergers and reorganizations, eventually became IBM.
    1893 - President Grover Cleveland boarded the yacht Oneida for surgery to be performed in secret on a cancerous growth in his mouth. As this was during the 1893 depression, secrecy was thought desirable to avoid further panic by the public. The whole left side of Cleveland's jaw was removed as well as a small portion of his soft palate. A second, less extensive operation was performed July 17. He was later fitted with prosthesis of vulcanized rubber that he wore until his death on June 24, 1908. A single leak of the secret was plugged by Cleveland's Secretary of War, Daniel Lamont, the only member of the administration to know about the surgery. The illness did not become public knowledge until an article appeared Sept 22, 1917, in the Saturday Evening Post, written by William W. Keen, who assisted in the surgery.
    1893 - Walter White (1893-1955), who headed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for over 20 years, was born in Atlanta. Of mixed race with African and European ancestry on both sides, White had features showing his European ancestry. He emphasized in his autobiography, “A Man Called White” (p. 3): "I am a Negro. My skin is white, my eyes are blue, my hair is blond. The traits of my race are nowhere visible upon me." White oversaw the plans and organizational structure of the fight against public segregation. He worked with President Truman on desegregating the armed forces after the Second World War and gave him a draft for the Executive Order to implement this. Under White's leadership, the NAACP set up the Legal Defense Fund, which raised numerous legal challenges to segregation and disfranchisement, and achieved many successes. Among these was the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which determined that segregated education was inherently unequal. White also quintupled NAACP membership to nearly 500,000.
    1898 - Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders, a collection of Western cowboys and Eastern blue bloods officially known as the First U.S. Voluntary Cavalry, charged up San Juan Hill. The U.S. Army Fifth Corps fought its way to Santiago’s outer defenses, and on July 1, U.S. General William Shafter ordered an attack on the village of El Caney and San Juan Hill. Shafter hoped to capture El Caney before besieging the fortified heights of San Juan Hill, but the 500 Spanish defenders of the village put up a fierce resistance and held off 10 times their number for most of the day. Although El Caney was not secure, some 8,000 Americans pressed forward toward San Juan Hill. Hundreds fell under Spanish gunfire before reaching the base of the heights, where the force split up into two flanks to take San Juan Hill and Kettle Hill. The Rough Riders were among the troops in the right flank attacking Kettle Hill. When the order was given by Lieutenant John Miley that “the heights must be taken at all hazards,” the Rough Riders, who had been forced to leave their horses behind because of transportation difficulties, led the charge up the hills. The Rough Riders and the black soldiers of the 9th and 10th Cavalry regiments were the first up Kettle Hill, and San Juan Hill was taken soon after. From the crest, the Americans found themselves overlooking Santiago, and the next day they began a siege of the city. On July 3, the Spanish fleet was destroyed off Santiago by U.S. warships under Admiral William Sampson, and on July 17, the Spanish surrendered the city, and thus Cuba, to the Americans. 
(Bottom half of: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jul01.html )
    1899 - In Wisconsin, the Gideons were founded by three traveling businessmen. They placed their first Bibles in 1908 at the Superior Hotel in Iron Mountain, Montana.   http://www.gideons.org/ 
    1899 - Birthday of Thomas A. Dorsey (1899-1993), the father of gospel music, at Villa Rica, GA.   Originally a blues composer, Dorsey eventually combined blues and sacred music to develop gospel music.  It was Dorsey's composition, “Take My Hand, Precious Lord” that Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., had asked to have performed just moments before his assassination.  Dorsey composed more than 1,000 gospel songs and hundreds of blues songs in his lifetime. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/x.dll?p=amg&sql=B141510 
    1902 – Birthday of William Wyler (1902-81), American motion picture director, at Mulhausen, Alsace, in the German Empire (present-day France).  Notable works included “Ben-Hur” (1959), “The Best Years of Our Lives” (1946), and “Mrs. Miniver” (1942), all of which won Academy Awards for Best Director, as well as Best Picture in their respective years.  Other popular Wyler films include “Funny Girl” (1968), “How to Steal a Million” (1966), “Wuthering Heights” (1939), “Jezebel” (1938), and “Hell’s Heroes” (1930). 
    1902 - Playing his first game for the Philadelphia A’s, Rube Waddell faced the minimum 27 batters, blanking the Orioles, 2-0. The 25-year old southpaw struck out the side three times:  in the 3rd (a perfect inning on just nine pitches, all strikes) 6th, and 9th innings. C Ossee Schreckengost threw out the two baserunners.
    1903 - A strong tornado just 50 to 75 yards in width killed many persons around the Gainesville, GA Cotton Mill. The tornado strengthened and widened near the end of its four mile path, killing 40 persons at New Holland, GA. A total of 104 persons were killed in the tornado.
    1903 - Irna Phillips (1903-73), U.S. radio script writer, who developed the genre of the radio and TV soap opera, was born in Chicago. Starting with a ten-minute drama on a Chicago radio station (it tried to block her further progress), in 1932, she sold a similar program to the networks and the Queen of the Soaps was on her way. She wrote a dozen different shows and by 1943, she had five daily shows going at one time including the enduring “Guiding Light,” hiring a staff of writers for the daily scripting. When TV destroyed the careers of so many writers, IP moved easily into the format starting with “Guiding Light,” (1952), “As the World Turns” (1956), and “Days of Our Lives” (1965), the most famous radio and TV soap operas of history. Her writing was superior and many have mourned the passing of her higher standards. 
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Phillips,+Irna 
    1908 - Birthday of Estee Lauder (1908-2004) in Corona, Queens, NYC.  She learned sales at the family hardware store, was introduced to beauty products by her uncle, a skin specialist from whom she learned to manufacture and develop skin creams. She started by giving free demonstrations and a small gift to customers. As her business burgeoned, she divorced and later remarried her former husband who agreed to run the factory which produced the Lauder beauty products while she did the promotions, marketing, and sales. She personally opened all Lauder outlets and hired the staff which was to reflect her standards of physical attractiveness as well as a balanced personality. http://www.elcompanies.com/company/timeline/history.html 
    1908 – SOS was adopted as the international distress signal.
    1910 - The Chicago White Sox opened their new home originally called White Sox Park and later called Comiskey Park, losing to the St. Louis Browns, 2-0.  Barney Pelty pitched the shutout for the Browns.  This park remained the White Sox’ home until 1990.  Adjacent to the south (across 35th Street), a new ballpark opened in 1991 and Comiskey Park was demolished the same year. Originally also called Comiskey Park, it was renamed U.S. Cellular Field in 2003 and Guaranteed Rate Field in 2016.
    1910 - The Ward Baking Company, Chicago, IL, started the first automated bread factory.  The dough was not touched nor the bread handled except when it was placed on the wrapping machine. In 1917, Taggart Baking Company of Indianapolis, IN began distribution to Mary Maid stores of a one-pound loaf.  The first bagel baker was Lender's Bakery, which opened in 1927, in West Haven, CT.   The owner was Harry Lender, who had just arrived from Lublin, Poland.  Lender's introduced the first frozen bagels in 1963.  By the way, the first frozen bread was offered to stores on November 3, 1942, by Arnold Bakers, Port Chester, NY.
    1913 - Birthday of Jo Sinclair (1913-95) was born Ruth Seid in Brooklyn. She was an American novelist who earned awards and critical praise for her novels about race relations and the struggles of immigrant families in America. Her first novel, “Wasteland,” won the $10,000 Harper & Brothers prize for the best study of an aspect of U.S. life. (Cleveland). 
http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/sinclair-jo
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/ 
index=books&field-author=Sinclair%2C%20Jo/002-2909458-5798421 
http://www.davka.org/who/avrunin/fannie/ruthseidmore.html 
http://www.davka.org/who/avrunin/fannie/ruthseid.html 
http://www.glbtq.com/literature/jewish_am_lit.html 
    1914 - Earle Warren’s (1914-94) birthday in Springfield, OH.  From 1937-45, he was lead alto sax player, band manager for the Count Basie Band.
http://www.centrohd.com/biogra/w1/earle_warren_b.htm 
    1915 - Blues legend Willie Dixon (1915-92) was born at Vicksburg, MS. He moved to Chicago in 1936 and began his career as a musician with the Big Three Trio. With the advent of instrument amplification, Dixon migrated away from his acoustic upright bass into producing and songwriting with Chess Studios, where he became one of the primary architects of the classic Chicago sound in the 1950s. His songs were performed by Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, the Doors, Cream, the Yardbirds, Aerosmith, Jimi Hendrix and the Allman Brothers, among others. http://afgen.com/dixon.html 
    1916 - Olivia De Havilland was born in Tokyo to British parents.  She and her younger sister, actress Joan Fontaine, moved to California in 1919. U.S. actor won Academy Awards for her work in “To Each His Own” (1946) and “The Heiress” (1949). However, she is probably best known for her role as Melanie in “Gone with the Wind” (1939). Her suit against a contract she had signed as a beginning actor broke the film studios lifetime monopoly on contract actors. It limited acting contracts to seven years, including suspensions. Her sister was Joan Fontaine (10-22-1917) who also won an Academy Award. The sisters were never friendly. De Havilland grew up in
Los Gatos and Saratoga, visiting often, as she had many friends here and
was quite the local celebrity to have to parties.
    1916 - Dwight D. Eisenhower married Mary "Mamie" Geneva Doud in Denver.  
    1916 - At age 42 years and 4 months, Honus Wagner became the oldest player to hit an inside-the-park HR, connecting for the Pirates in the 4th inning at Cincinnati.
    1917 - Race riots in East St Louis, Illinois (40 to 200 reported killed).
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/garvey/peopleevents/e_estlouis.html 
http://www.eslarp.uiuc.edu/ibex/archive/nunes/esl%20history/race_riot.html
http://www.builtstlouis.net/eaststlouis/eaststl01.html 
http://www.cs.umb.edu/jfklibrary/coolidge_felzenberg.html 
http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/riot/oldriots.html 
http://library.wustl.edu/units/spec/archives/guides/urban.html 
    1917 – The Redlegs’ Fred Toney pitched both games of a doubleheader, beating the Pirates, 4-1 and 5-1. He walked one and allowed three hits in each game, the fewest hits allowed by any pitcher winning two games in one day.
    1920 - Suzanne Lenglen (1899-1938) of France became the first woman tennis player to win three Wimbledon championships in the same year.  She won the singles titles, the doubles, and the mixed doubles.
http://www.xrefer.com/entry/172914 
http://perso.club-internet.fr/bmarcore/tennis/champions/lenglen/Lenglen.html 
    1920 – The Senators’ Walter Johnson pitched his first no-hitter, beating the Red Sox at Fenway. An error by Bucky Harris cost him a perfect game, but Harris's hit drives in Washington’s only run. The next day, Johnson comes up with the first sore arm of his life and is useless for the rest of the year, finishing 8-10.
    1921 - The first sales tax enacted by a state became effective in West Virginia.  The rate was one-fifth of 1 percent of the gross income of banks, street railroads, telephones, telegraph, express and electric light and power retailers, and two-fifths of 1 percent on timber, oil, coal, natural gas, and other minerals.  Payments could be made to the state quarterly or annually.  It replaced a tax on corporate net income.
    1921 - Canadian country singer Stu Davis (1921-2007), whose real name was David Stewart, was born in Boggy Creek, Saskatchewan. He and his brother Fred teamed up in 1939 to perform as the Harmony Boys on Regina radio station CKCK. Stu Davis later became known as "Canada's Cowboy Troubador," and made appearances in the late 1940's on NBC radio's "National Barn Dance" from Chicago and the "Grand Ole Opry." Davis signed with London Records in 1956, making 15 LP's for the label.  In 1968, Davis, already a veteran of several TV shows, narrated the 13-part CBC TV documentary history of Western Canada, "Trail-Riding Troubador." Eddy Arnold took Stu Davis's song "What A Fool I Was" to number two on the Billboard country chart in 1948.
http://countrymusicnews.ca/news.ihtml?step=2&article_id=315 
    1922 - The Great Railroad Strike of 1922 began.  Seven of the sixteen unions in existence at the time struck into August before collapsing. Approximately 11 people, mostly strikers and their family members, were killed in connection with the strike. The collective action of some 400,000 workers in the summer of 1922 was the largest railroad work stoppage since the Pullman Strike of 1894 and the biggest American strike of any kind since the Great Steel Strike of 1919.  In 1922 the Railroad Labor Board approved another cut in wages, this time a cut of 7 cents an hour targeted to railway repair and maintenance workers — a reduction representing a loss of an average of 12% for these workers.  The National Guard was called out on a state-by-state basis by various state governors to undermine the strike effort.  President Warren Harding proposed a settlement on July 28 which would have granted little to the labor unions, but the railroad companies rejected the compromise despite interest from the desperate workers. Attorney General Harry Daugherty, who opposed the unions, pushed for national action against the strike, and on September 1, a federal judge issued a sweeping injunction against striking, assembling, picketing, and a variety of other union activities, colloquially known as the "Daugherty Injunction." Richard Saunders Jr. referred to the injunction as "... One of the most extreme pronouncements in American history, violating any number of constitutional guarantees of free speech, free speech and free assembly. (But) it effectively broke the strike."
    1931 – United Airlines begins service as Boeing Air Transport.
    1934 – Birthday of actor Jamie Farr, Cpl. Klinger of M*A*S*H fame, in Toledo, OH as Jameel Joseph Farah.
    1934 - An American film director, producer and actor, Sidney Pollack (1934-2008), was born in Lafayette, IN.  Some of his best known works include “Jeremiah Johnson” (1972), “The Way We Were” (1973), “Three Days of the Condor” (1975) and “Absence of Malice” (1981). His 1985 film “Out of Africa” won him Academy Awards for directing and producing.  He was also nominated for Best Director Oscars for “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” and “Tootsie”, in the latter of which he also appeared. His later films included “Havana” (1990), “The Firm” (1993), “Sabrina” (1995), “The Interpreter” (2005), and as producer for and actor in “Michael Clayton” (2007). 
    1935 - Benny Goodman and his band recorded the "King Porter Stomp" for Victor (Vi 25090). Often I play a series of how this song evolved, starting with Jelly Roll Morton, then Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, and finally, Gil Evans: “New Bottle, Old Wine” great album (one of my favorites). 
http://perso.club-internet.fr/barybary/159.htm 
    1935 – Yankees OF George “Twinkletoes” Selkirk, the man who followed Babe Ruth as the Yanks’ RF, suggested a cinder path, 6 feet wide, be installed in the outfield so a player knows when he is nearing the wall.  This is now standard in all ballparks nationwide.
    1936 – Famous Amos, Wally Amos, was born in Tallahassee, FL.  A real American success story.  As an Air Force veteran who worked as a talent agent with the William Morris Agency, he would send home-baked chocolate chip cookies to celebrities to entice them to meet with him and maybe sign a deal to be represented by the William Morris Agency.  On March 10, 1975, Amos took the advice of some friends and opened a cookie store in Los Angeles, naming it "Famous Amos". In the first year, he sold $300,000 worth of cookies, followed by more than $1,000,000 in sales in the store's second year of operation.  The Famous Amos brand is now part of Kellogg’s.
    1940 – President Roosevelt signs another Navy bill providing for the construction of 45 more ships and providing $550,000,000 to finance these and other projects.
    1941 - The Federal Communications Commission allowed 10 stations to begin broadcasting “television.” Only two were ready: the New York stations owned by NBC and CBS.  NBC began broadcasting from the Empire State Building.
    1941 - Twyla Tharp was born in Portland, IN.   She is perhaps today best known for “Movin' Out,” an award winning Broadway musical featuring the songs of Billy Joel.  A brilliant and major innovator in dance, she has combined tap, ballet, jazz, and social dancing in choreographing much acclaimed ballets, musical products, Broadway, and Hollywood films to modern music themes such as the “Sinatra Suite”. She was also much admired as a dancer.
http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/tha0bio-1 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0553073060/ qid= 
1057043310/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/002-2909458-5798421?v=glance&s=books 
    1941 - The few fans watching the Brooklyn Dodgers’ game on WNBT witnessed the first television advertisement ever broadcast.  For 10 seconds before the first pitch of the game, the screen showed the image of a clock superimposed over a map of the United States. A voice then stated "America runs on Bulova time"….and no, Vin Scully had not yet begun the play-by-play!!!
    1942 - Birthday of Andrae Crouch (d. 2015) in San Francisco.  African-American sacred music artist. His most enduring gospel songs have been 'Soon and Very Soon,' 'My Tribute' and 'Through It All.'
http://www.one-way.org/jesusmusic/crouch.htm 
http://www.gospelcity.com/artists/a_crouch.html 
http://patriot.net/~crouch/tree/andrae.html 
http://www.jamsline.com/b_crouch.htm 
    1943 - "Pay-as-you-go" income tax withholding began.
    1944 – Delegates from 44 countries began meeting at Bretton Woods, N.H., where they agreed to establish the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The US hosted the conference to deal with international monetary and financial problems. In 1997, Catherine Caufield wrote “Masters of Illusion: The World Bank and the Poverty of Nations.” The Bretton Woods institutions also include the United Nations and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (renamed the World Trade organization). The agreement was a gold exchange standard and only the US was required to convert its currency into gold at a fixed rate, and only foreign central banks were allowed the privilege of redemption.
    1945 – Some 550 B-29 Superfortress bombers — the greatest number yet to be engaged — drop 4000 tons of incendiary bombs on the Kure naval base, Shimonoseki, Ube and Kumanoto, on western Kyushu.  They kill more people and do more damage than the two atomic bombs.
    1946 – Birthday of rock singer Deborah Harry (Blondie), in Miami, FL.  She was adopted by Catherine and Richard Smith Harry, gift shop proprietors in Hawthorne, NJ, where she was raised.
    1948 – The Major League debut of Roy Campanella, catching Ralph Branca for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Campy doubled in his first at-bat, add two singles, but the Giants won 6 - 4.
    1949 - One of TV's first popular sitcoms, “I Remember Mama” told the story of a Norwegian family living in San Francisco in 1911. I remember watching this show with my parents. It aired live through 1956; after it was cancelled, a second, filmed version lasted only 13 weeks. Cast members included Peggy Wood, Judson Laire, Rosemary Rice, Dick Van Patten. 
http://www.yesterdayland.com/popopedia/memories/ 
show_mem.php?ID=PT1001 
http://www.classicthemes.com/50sTVThemes/themePages/ 
mama.html#anchor2424000 
    1950 - Top Hits
“Bewitched” - The Gordon Jenkins Orchestra (vocal: Mary Lou Williams)
“My Foolish Heart” - The Gordon Jenkins Orchestra (vocal: Eileen Wilson)
“I Wanna Be Loved” - The Andrews Sisters
“Why Don't You Love Me” - Hank Williams
    1951 - Bob Feller set a baseball record as he pitched his third no-hitter for the Cleveland Indians, tying the record of Cy Young and Larry Corcoran, as he beat Detroit, 2-1.  The record is held now by Nolan Ryan who threw 7.
    1952 - “The Liberace Show” premiered on TV.  A pianist known for his outrageous style and candelabra on his piano, Liberace hosted popular shows in the ‘50s and 60's. The first premiered on KLAC-TV in Los Angeles and went national in 1953.  My father came to Hollywood in 1955 to become a producer/story writer for Ziv TV.  Among the “products” developed were “Highway Patrol,” “Cisco Kid” and a half-hour syndicated series with Liberace featuring his brother George as violist and orchestra leader. 
http://us.imdb.com/Bio?Liberace 
    1952 - Birthday of Dan Aykroyd (Elwood Blues of the Blues Brothers), Ottawa, Ontario.
http://csce.uark.edu/~ariggin/elwood.htm 
http://www.nederpoparchief.nl/bluesbrothers/elwood.html 
http://www.nederpoparchief.nl/bluesbrothers/main.html 
http://www.burnet.edu.au/htblues/transcript 
http://members.aol.com/carguy218/elwood.html
    1956 - The Highway Revenue Act of 1956 was put into effect by Congress, outlining a policy of taxation with the aim of creating a fund for the construction of over 42,500 miles of interstate highways over a period of 13 years.   The law was enacted on June 29, 1956, when President Eisenhower signed the bill into law. The push for a national highway system began many years earlier, when the privately funded construction of the Lincoln Highway began in 1919. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) did much to set into motion plans for a federally funded highway system, but his efforts were halted by the outbreak of World War II.  At a time when the total federal budget approached $71 billion, Eisenhower's plan called for $50 billion over 13 years for highways. To pay for the project, a system of taxes, relying heavily on the taxation of gasoline, was implemented. Legislation has extended the Interstate Highway Revenue Act three times. Today consumers pay 18.3¢ per gallon on gasoline.  [Footnote:  According to the book, “Ike,” when he was put in charge of logistics for the US Army during and shortly after World War I, he became frustrated at the poor and often unpaved conditions of roads across the country, exacerbating the movement of materiel for any great distances.  It was from this experience that Eisenhower began to formulate what became the interstate highway system, planned with straight highways for airplanes to land
in emergencies, now named in his honor.]
    1956 - French Grand Prix was held at Reims, France, won by Peter Collins of Great Britain in a Ferrari.
    1956 - NBC's Steve Allen Show capitalizes on the outrage engendered by Elvis Presley's recent version of "Hound Dog" on The Milton Berle Show by winkingly presenting a new, "clean" Elvis, dressed in a tuxedo and singing "Hound Dog" to an actual basset hound perched on a stool. Backstage, a humiliated Elvis explodes in fury at the Colonel for agreeing to the stunt. The next day, however, fans protest the show, demanding "The REAL Elvis."
    1956 - 11-year-old Brenda Lee signed her first recording contract with Decca Records.
    1957 – Sound familiar?  Cincinnati fans threatened to sue Commissioner Ford Frick unless Gus Bell, Wally Post, and George Crowe are restored to the All-Star team. They finished first in the balloting thanks to vote-stuffing by Cincinnati fans, ahead of more deserving players.
    1958 - Top Hits
“Hard Headed Woman” - Elvis Presley
“Yakety Yak” - The Coasters
“Patricia” - Perez Prado
“Guess Things Happen that Way” - Johnny Cash
    1959 - Dave Brubeck Quartet records “ Take Five,” which not only becomes a classic score in 5/4 time, an alto sax Paul Desmond classic, but eventually hits number one on the Billboard, rare for a jazz performance. The album also became a million seller. 
http://www.duke.edu/~smt3/brubeck.htm 
    1961 - Birthday of Frederick Carlton “Carl” Lewis at Birmingham, AL.  US Olympic track & field star (Gold-1984, 1988). 
http://top-biography.com/9160-Carl%20Lewis/ 
    1962 - Gene Vincent plays the Cavern Club in Liverpool, opening for a house band called The Beatles
    1963 - The US Post Office introduced the five-digit zip code.
    1963 – The Beatles recorded “She Loves You” and “I'll Get You” at EMI's Abbey Road Studios. “She Loves You” would become their second number-one hit in both Britain and the US.  Can you name their first hit? (Don’t cheat by using Google.)
    1965 - Undersecretary of State George Ball submits a memo to President Lyndon B. Johnson titled "A Compromise Solution for South Vietnam." It began bluntly: "The South Vietnamese are losing the war to the Viet Cong. No one can assure you that we can beat the Viet Cong, or even force them to the conference table on our terms, no matter how many hundred thousand white, foreign (U.S.) troops we deploy." Eventually there would be more than 540,000 U.S. troops in South Vietnam.
    1966 - Top Hits
“Paperback Writer” - The Beatles
“Strangers in the Night” - Frank Sinatra
“Red Rubber Ball” - The Cyrkle
“Take Good Care of Her” - Sonny James    
    1966 - The Beatles began a series of concerts at the Budo Kan Hall in Tokyo.  A famous bootleg album, "Three Nights in Tokyo," was made of the Beatles' appearance.
    1966 - The Grateful Dead released their first single, "Don't Ease Me In" backed with "Stealin'."
http://dannyman.toldme.com/lyrics/Grateful_Dead/Stealin'.html 
    1967 – The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Band” goes #1 for 15 weeks 
    1967 - Scott McKenzie scored his first hit with the single, "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)." The song became an anthem for the Love Generation and the young people of flower power during 1967’s Summer of Love. McKenzie also co-wrote a hit for the Beach Boys in 1988, called "Kokomo." His songs, "San Francisco" and "Like an Old Time Movie," were written and produced by John Phillips of The Mamas and The Papas, who named his daughter, Mackenzie, for his friend.
    1967 - The Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" entered the Billboard chart, where it eventually reached #8. 
    1967 – Pamela Anderson, “Baywatch,” was born in Ladysmith, British Columbia.
    1968 – Formal separation of the UAW from the CIO.
    1968 - The Pennsylvania Supreme Court voided the Muncy Law that required women to serve longer prison terms - often 2.5 times longer - than men who are convicted of the same crime. The successful appeal was handled by attorneys of the National Organization for Women. More recently, a number of states including New York and California have made studies ordered by their supreme courts and found that women are still sentenced to longer terms for the *same* crimes as men. The practice is said to be pervasive. (Paula C. Johnson provided this citation: Carolyn Engel Temin, Discriminatory Sentencing of Women Offenders: The Argument for ERA in a Nutshell, 11 Amer. Crim. L. Rev. 355 (1973).)
    1968 – Medicare, the health insurance program for seniors, regardless of income or medical history, went into effect.
    1969 - Legendary producer Sam Phillips (1923-2003) sells his Sun Records Studio in Memphis.
    1970 - Casey Kasem (1932-2014) begins his weekly Billboard countdown on the nationally syndicated radio show American Top 40.
    1971 - Jethro Tull's first US Top Ten album, "Aqualung" is awarded a Gold record. 
    1971 - The Twenty-Sixth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, granting the right to vote in all federal, state and local elections to all persons 18 years or older.  On the date of ratification, the US gained an additional 11 million voters.  Up until this time, the minimum voting age was set by the states; in most states it was 21.  A primary mover of this initiative was the fact that the Vietnam War raged on and 18 year-olds were dying for a country for which they could not participate in the democratic process.
    1972 - Neil Diamond went to the top spot on the Billboard singles chart with "Song Sung Blue," his second US #1. The tune made it to number 14 in the UK. 
    1972 - The first African-American Navy admiral was Samuel Lee Gravely, Jr. of Richmond, VA.
    1973 - Golfer Bruce Crampton tied for fourth place in the Western Open golf tournament, bringing his career earnings to over a million dollars. Crampton became the first non-American golfer to reach that mark. He became the fifth golfer to make over a million dollars in career earnings. The others were Arnie Palmer, Billy Casper, Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino. 
    1972 - The rock musical "Hair" closed on Broadway after 1,729 performances. It had opened at the Biltmore Theatre on April 28th, 1968. The music for "Hair" was written by Montreal native Galt McDermott.
http://www.geocities.com/hairpages/ 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000002W1S/ 
inktomi-musicasin-20/002-2909458-5798421 
    1973 - "Jesus Christ Superstar" closed in New York City after 720 performances on Broadway. The cast album quickly became a million-seller. 
    1974 - Top Hits
“Sundown” - Gordon Lightfoot
“Be Thankful for What You Got” - William DeVaughn
“If You Love Me (Let Me Know)” - Olivia Newton-John
“Room Full of Roses” - Mickey Gilley
    1975 - Captain & Tennille get their first gold record with "Love Will Keep Us Together." The album will eventually sell 2 1/2 million copies and win a Grammy for Record of the Year.  Alas, love failed to keep them together as they divorced after 39 years of marriage in Jan, 2014.
    1976 - Kenneth Gibson, Mayor of Newark, NJ, is the first African-American president of US Conference of Mayors.
    1979 - Sony introduced the Walkman under the name Soundabout, selling for $200. It had been released in Japan six months earlier. More than 185 million have been sold.
    1979 - Susan B. Anthony, an activist for the cause of women's suffrage, was commemorated on a U.S. coin, the Susan B. Anthony dollar. The coin, roughly the size of a quarter, was confused by many with the quarter and the U.S. Treasury Department eventually stopped producing the Susan B. Anthony dollar. 
    1980 - A man from Falmouth, ME was struck by lightning restoring his eyesight. The man had been blind and partially deaf since a truck accident in 1971
    1981 - Murder by the “Manson Family” of Sharon Tate and three others in Laurel Canyon, Calif.    They were all given death sentences, which was overturned at the time by the Supreme Court, which ruled “life in prison” without parole. 
    1982 - Top Hits
“Ebony and Ivory” - Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder
“Don't You Want Me” - The Human League
“Rosanna” - Toto
“Slow Hand” - Conway Twitty 
    1984 - The Motion Picture Association of America established the "PG-13" rating.
    1985 - Robin Yount of the Milwaukee Brewers got hit #1,800 of his career, leading the ‘Brew Crew' past the Boston Red Sox 5-1. 
    1985 - “Nick at Night,” the creation of the kids’ network Nickelodeon, premiered on TV.  Owned and operated by MTV Networks, Nick at Nite presents many of the old classic television series, including “Barney Miller.”   
    1987 - The Grateful Dead's "In the Dark" LP is released.
    1987 - Fleetwood Mac's "Tango" LP is certified platinum while Van Halen's "1984" and ZZ Top's "Eliminator" reach sales of 6 million.
    1987 - The radio station WFAN in New York City is launched as the world's first all-sports radio station.  Preciously it was WNBC, primarily a news station.
    1988 - Twenty-six cities in the north central and northeastern U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date. Lows of 48 degrees at Providence, RI, 48 degrees at Roanoke, VA, 49 degrees at Stratford, CT, and 48 degrees at Wilmington, DE, were records for the month of July. Boston equaled their record for July with a low of 50 degrees. Five inches of snow whitened Mount Washington, NH.
    1989 - Showers and thunderstorms associated with the low pressure system which was once Tropical Storm Allison continued to drench parts of Mississippi, Louisiana and eastern Texas. Late night thunderstorms produced 12.58 inches of rain at Biloxi, MS, in six hours, and 10.73 inches at Gulfport, MS. Flooding in Mississippi over the first six days of the month caused 55 million dollars damage. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
    1990 – P Andy Hawkins threw a no-hitter but the Yankees still lost to the White Sox, 4-0, at Comiskey Park.  Hawkins dominated the White Sox into the eighth inning, but after retiring the first two batters, Sammy Sosa reached on a fielding error by Yankees third baseman Mike Blowers. After Hawkins loaded the bases by walking the next two batters, Robin Ventura lofted a fly ball to left field. Rookie Jim Leyritz, fighting a blustery wind, had the ball glance off his glove for an error, allowing all three baserunners to score. The next batter, Ivan Calderone, hit a fly ball to right field, which Jesse Barfield lost in the sun and dropped for another error, allowing Ventura to score.  MLB only recognizes 9 or more inning no-hitters.
    1990 - Top Hits
“Step By Step” - New Kids on the Block
“Do You Remember?” - Phil Collins
“I'll Be Your Shelter” - Taylor Dayne
“Love Without End, Amen” - George Stra
    1991 - “Court TV” premiered.  The continuing evolution of entertainment brought on by the advent of cable television added another twist with the debut of Court TV.  Trials are broadcast in their entirety, with occasional commentary from the channel's anchor desk and switching among several trials in progress. Trials with immense popular interest such as the William Kennedy Smith rape trial, the sentencing hearing of Marlon Brando's son, and the Jeffrey Dahmer and O. J. Simpson trials, are broadcast along with more low-profile cases.
    1997 – The Nevada Athletic Commission suspended Mike Tyson for biting Evander Holyfield.
    1998 - Singer/actress/movie star Barbara Streisand and actor/director James Brolin were married at her Malibu, California home. It was her second marriage (she was previously married to actor Elliot Gould) and his third (he was married to casting agent Jane Agee and actress Jan Smithers). The couple honeymooned on a boat in the nearby Channel Islands off the Santa Barbara coast.
    2000 - On the country's 133rd birthday, a Canada Day pitching matchup features a pair of Canadian starters in Montreal as Florida Marlin Ryan Dempster, a native of British Columbia, defeats Mike Johnson of Edmonton and the Expos, 6-5.
    2000 - Vermont's civil union’s law went into effect, granting gay couples most of the rights, benefits and responsibilities of marriage. 
    2009 - Michael Jackson's untimely death a week earlier sends all his albums back into the Billboard Top Ten, including, at #5, The Jackson 5's Ultimate Collection.
    2011 - In Minnesota, a three-week state government shutdown began after legislators could not agree on a budget.
    2014 – Vice Admiral Michelle Janine Howard was promoted to 4-star Admiral to become the first woman to achieve the highest rank in the US Navy.