1732-- Englishman James Oglethorpe received a royal charter to form the American colony of Georgia. It was to be a place of refuge for sectarian Protestant believers, persecuted in England.
    1772-The first naval attack in the Revolutionary War was made against the British revenue cutter Gaspee, commandeered by Lieutenant William Duddington, which ran aground while chasing the packet Hanna off Namquit Point, Providence, RI, in Narragansett Bay. During the night, merchant John Brown and number of others rowed out in eight longboats captained by Abraham Whipple, board the Gaspee, and set it on fire.
    1846- John Parker Hale of New Hampshire was elected a U.S. Senator, running on the first antislavery ticket. He switched from serving as a Democrat in the House of Representatives and ran as a Republican, starting the antislavery “ticket.”  He was the first U.S. Senator to make a stand
against slavery.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_P._Hale
       1856- A band of 497 Mormons left Iowa City, Iowa, and began the more than 1,000-mile trek to Salt Lake City. Lewis and Clark in their report
said the land was fertile and a good place to live (they had mixed up
the area they traveled and their map was incorrect). The Mormons carried all their goods in about 100 two-wheeled handcarts, most of which were heaped with the maximum load of 400 to 500 pounds. Each family usually had one cart, and the father and mother took turns pulling while any children old enough helped by pushing. The handcart immigrants soon ran into serious problems. The Mormon craftsmen who had constructed the handcarts back in Iowa City had chosen to use wooden axles instead of iron in order to save time and money. Sand and dirt quickly wore down the wood, and water and heat made the axles splinter and crack. As the level terrain of the prairies gave way to the more rugged country of the Plains, the sheer physical challenge of hauling a 500-pound cart began to take its toll. One British immigrant who was a skilled carpenter wrote of having to make three coffins in as many days. Some of the pilgrims gave up. Two girls in one handcart group left to marry a pair of miners they met along the way. The majority, however, struggled on and eventually reached the Salt Lake Valley. Over the course of the next four years, some 3,000 Mormon converts made the overland journey by pushing and pulling heavy-laden handcarts. Better planning and the use of iron axles made the subsequent immigrations slightly easier than the first, and some actually made the journey more quickly than if they had used ox-drawn wagons. Still, once the church finances had recovered, Young's followers returned to using conventional wagons. The handcart treks remained nothing less than heroic. One Mormon girl later estimated that she and her family had each taken over a million steps to reach their goal, pushing and pulling a creaking wooden handcart the entire way.
http://www.lds.org/placestovisit/location/0,10634,1787-1-1-1,00.html
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=323397
http://www.xmission.com/~nelsonb/handcart.htm
      1856-Committee of Vigilance of San Francisco issued a proclamation which read in part: "All political, religious, and sectional differences and issues have given way to the paramount necessity of a thorough and fundamental reform and purification of the social and political body."
    1862-- Battle of Port Republic, last of 5 battles in Jacksons Valley camp, early Confederate victories by General "Stonewall" Jackson.
http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/va106.htm
http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/ABPP/shenandoah/svs3-6.html
    1863-The largest cavalry battle of the war is fought at Brandy Station, Virginia. After the Confederate victory at Chancellorville in early May, Lee began to prepare for another invasion of the North by placing General J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry at Brandy Station, just east of Culpeper, to screen the rest of the Army of Northern Virginia as it started toward the Blue Ridge Mountains. Stuart used this time at Brandy Station to stage a grand parade in order to boost morale and show off his dashing troopers to local residents. Unbeknownst to Stuart, his pompous display was observed by uninvited Union cavalry and infantry under the command of General Alfred Pleasonton, who lurked across the Rappahannock. On June 9, Pleasonton struck the surprised Rebels in a two-pronged assault. After initially falling back, the Confederates eventually rallied, and the battle raged all day around St. James Church. The battle's key moment came when Union troops headed to seize Fleetwood Hill, an elevation from which the Yankees could shell the entire battlefield. Confederate Lieutenant John Carter struggled to mount a cannon on the hill and fired a single shot that stopped the Union troopers in their tracks. The Yankee officer leading the charge suspected the Confederates had a line of guns sitting just over the top of the hill, when in fact it was a single gun with barely enough powder for a single shot. Carter's heroic act saved the day for Stuart. The move bought time for the Confederates, and they held the hill. The battle continued until late afternoon, with many spectacular cavalry charges and saber fights in addition to hand-to-hand combat by dismounted cavalry. In the end, Stuart's forces held the field. Although it was technically a Rebel victory, the battle demonstrated how far the Union cavalry had come since the beginning of the war. Stuart's cavalry had been the master of their Union counterparts, but its invincibility was shattered on that muggy Virginia day.  [The city of Pleasanton, CA is named for General Pleasonton. http://www.pleasanton.org/history-of-pleasanton.html]
http://www.nps.gov/frsp/brandy.htm
http://americancivilwar.com/brandy_station.html
http://www.americancivilwar.com/statepic/va/va035.html
   1887- Gertrude Agnes Muller birthday, U.S. businesswoman and inventor. Her widowed mother ran a boarding house and sold her homemade doughnuts to support the family. She also was an inventor, primarily for children products, such as the “toidey seat," and other such products, including being the first to develop a child safety seat for automobiles
    1891-Cole Porter's birthday. Each day we celebrate life with the birthday of a notable musician, artist or American. The purpose is to celebrate life and a birthday is the perfect day to do so. An excellent book is available at amazon.com,  titled “Cole Porter: A Biography” by William McBrien. You will find my review of this book along with others on Amazon.com. Porter published his first song,” The Boblink Waltz” at the age of 10. His career as a composer and lyricist for Broadway was launched in 1928 when five of his songs were used in the musical play, “Let’s Do It.” His prolific contributions to the Broadway stage included “Fifty Million Frenchmen”, “Wake up and Dream”, “The Gay Divorcee”, “Anything Goes”, “Leave It To Me”, “Du Barry was a Lady”, “Something for the Boys”, “Kiss Me Kate”, “Can Can” and “Silk Stockings”. Both of Porter's legs were crushed in a horseback riding accident in 1937, and he became a semi-invalid thereafter. Porter was born at Peru, IN, and died at Santa Monica, October 15, 1964. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cole_porter
    1894 -- American Railway Union convenes in Chicago, representing 465 local unions and a claimed membership of 15,000. On the 26th they call a sympathy strike for Pullman workers.
http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/mmh/1912/content/eventsofpullmanstrike.cfm    1899 - James J. Jeffries scored an 11th-round knockout against "Sunny" Bob Fitzsimmons at Coney Island, New York. Jeffries became heavyweight boxing champ as a result. 
    1899---Kate Chopin’s book “The Awakening” is published. Way ahead of her time, she created the unforgettable character Edna Pontellier, the married woman who sought her own sexual and emotional identity.
http://www.dailycelebrations.com/060901.htm
    1908 – Birthday of American actor Robert Cummings, born Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings at Joplin, MO.  His best known role was in the film “Dial M for Murder”, 1954.  He won an Emmy for his role in the television version of “Twelve Angry Men”, 1954,” but is perhaps best remembered for his very popular TV comedy series, “The Bob Cummings Show”, which ran from 1955 to 1959.  He died December 2, 1990, at Woodland Hills, Ca.
    1909-The trip that changed women's attitude towards automobiles from “Woman of Achievement and History:”  Alice Huyler Ramsey, 22, with three women friends as passengers got behind the wheel of a topless motor car in New York City and headed west. Predicted to turn for home within days, the women sped across the U.S. to San Francisco in 41 days and proved that women could drive "just like a man." The new Maxwell Ramsey drove could hit 40 on the few good roads there were. Most of the "roads" were nothing more than rutted wagon trails.  Sponsored by the Maxwell Company, the women's trip was well publicized. Ramsey did all the repair work herself like changing sparkplugs and fixing flats. The women "passengers" were called a working crew by Ramsey. AHR drove cross country almost 70 more times, doing it once a year until her death at 96. She held a valid driver's license. In accepting an AAA award for her part in proving that "automobiles are here to stay rugged and dependable enough to commend any man's respect, gentle enough for the daintiest lady," AHR included herself among "the great women drivers who were convinced we could drive as well as most men." A 1909 "in town" race of women drivers show the cars and the race conditions in cities. But outside the cities, there were virtually no roads - just wagon trails. For years many women were afraid to drive because it infringed on the male prerogative. Men were men and could not be expected to trust a woman behind the wheel of a car. Most women chose not to challenge for the driver's seat since it made the man look less virile. Another reason was that a woman behind the wheel of a car caused rampant road rage as men deliberately crashed into the cars driven by women to teach them not to challenge men's rights.
    1915-Les Paul, one of the most influential guitarists in popular music history, was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin. With his wife Mary Ford, he had a string of hits in the late 1940's and early '50s. Among them were "Mockin' Bird Hill," "How High the Moon" and "The World is Waiting for the Sunrise." These recordings were among the earliest to use multitracking. Les Paul designed guitars which were marketed by the Gibson Company, and became the favorites of pop, rock and country musicians. Paul also built the first eight-track tape recorder, which helped pioneer multitrack recording. And he invented "sound-on-sound" recording, which has since become known as overdubbing.
http://www.lespaulonline.com/bio.html
    1924 - Jelly Roll Morton and his band recorded "Jelly-Roll Blues" for General Records.
    1934- Donald Duck makes his first film appearance, in “The Wise Little Hen”, a short by Walt Disney. Donald, along with Mickey Mouse (who debuted in 1928), would become one of Disney's most beloved characters. Donald's popularity also led to other characters in the Duck family, including Daisy Duck, Uncle Scrooge, and nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louey.
    1934--Soul singer Jackie Wilson was born in Detroit. He got his first big break when he replaced Clyde McPhatter as lead singer of the Dominoes. Wilson later developed into one of the premier black vocalists, beginning in the late 1950s. His string of hits included "Higher and Higher," "Lonely Teardrops" and "Baby Workout." In September, 1975, he collapsed on stage in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He remained in a coma until his death on January 21st, 1984.   All of Wilson’s expenses from the collapse until his death were funded by Dick Clark.
    1934—Birthday of comedian Jackie Mason, born Yacov Moshe Maza at Sheboygan, WQI.
    1943—FDR introduces “Withholding tax” on payroll; popularly known as the "Pay As You Go Tax," allowed Americans to taxpayers to withhold federal income taxes before getting paid their wages or salaries. It also was a major cash boon for the government, especially for the wartime economy.
    1944—Top Hits
“Long Ago and Far Away” - Helen Forrest & Dick Haymes
“I’ll Get By” - The Harry James Orchestra (vocal: Dick Haymes)
“I’ll Be Seeing You” - Bing Crosby
“Straighten Up and Fly Right” - King Cole Trio
     1944 – On the right flank of the invasion beaches, elements of the US 7th Corps capture Azeville in its northward drive toward Cherbourg. Other elements are moving west toward Carentan. The US 5th Corps, from Omaha beach, capture Trevieres. The British and Canadian forces of the British 2nd Army are heavily engaged by growing German reserves around Caen. Allied aircraft are now operating from forward landing strips in France.
     1944 – Forces of the US 5th Army capture Tarquinia, Viterbo and Vetrella. Elements of British 8th Army advance toward Terni and Orvieto. A small amphibious force lands at Santo Stefano. Meanwhile, there is a substantial reorganization of Allied forces. Elements of British 10th and 13th Corps are regrouped while elements of the US 6th Corps, mostly, are withdrawn from the line for the invasion of southern France.
   1944--Medal of Honor GANDARA, JOE
Rank and Organization: Private.  U.S. Army. Company D, 2d Battalion. 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment.  Place and Date: June 9, 1944, Amfreville, France.  Born: April 25, 1924, Santa Monica, CA.  Departed: Yes (06/09/1944).  Entered Service At: Los Angeles, CA.  G.O. Number:   Date of Issue: 03/18/2014.  Accredited To:   Citation:  Gandara is being recognized for his heroic actions on June 9, 1944, in Amfreville, France. His detachment came under devastating enemy fire from a strong German force, pinning the men to the ground for a period of four hours. Gandara advanced voluntarily and alone toward the enemy position and destroyed three hostile machine-guns before he was fatally wounded.
     1945 – Japanese Premier Kantaro Suzuki declared that Japan will fight to the last rather than accept unconditional surrender.
    1946--DEGLOPPER, CHARLES N. Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Co. C, 325th Glider Infantry, 82d Airborne Division. Place and date: Merderet River at la Fiere, France, 9 June 1944. Entered service at: Grand Island, N.Y. Birth: Grand Island, N.Y. G.O. No.: 22, 28 February 1946. Citation: He was a member of Company C, 325th Glider Infantry, on 9 June 1944 advancing with the forward platoon to secure a bridgehead across the Merderet River at La Fiere, France. At dawn the platoon had penetrated an outer line of machineguns and riflemen, but in so doing had become cut off from the rest of the company. Vastly superior forces began a decimation of the stricken unit and put in motion a flanking maneuver which would have completely exposed the American platoon in a shallow roadside ditch where it had taken cover. Detecting this danger, Pfc. DeGlopper volunteered to support his comrades by fire from his automatic rifle while they attempted a withdrawal through a break in a hedgerow 40 yards to the rear. Scorning a concentration of enemy automatic weapons and rifle fire, he walked from the ditch onto the road in full view of the Germans, and sprayed the hostile positions with assault fire. He was wounded, but he continued firing. Struck again, he started to fall; and yet his grim determination and valiant fighting spirit could not be broken. Kneeling in the roadway, weakened by his grievous wounds, he leveled his heavy weapon against the enemy and fired burst after burst until killed outright. He was successful in drawing the enemy action away from his fellow soldiers, who continued the fight from a more advantageous position and established the first bridgehead over the Merderet. In the area where he made his intrepid stand his comrades later found the ground strewn with dead Germans and many machineguns and automatic weapons which he had knocked out of action. Pfc. DeGlopper's gallant sacrifice and unflinching heroism while facing unsurmountable odds were in great measure responsible for a highly important tactical victory in the Normandy Campaign.
    1946 - Mel Ott of the New York Giants had the honor of becoming the first manager to be ejected from both games of a doubleheader. 
    1948 – Israel became a state and was immediately attacked by her Arab neighbors. About 150,000 Arabs remained in Israel after the founding. Most others fled or were forced out.
    1952—Top Hits
“Kiss of Fire” - Georgia Gibbs
“Blue Tango” - The Leroy Anderson Orchestra
“Be Anything” - Eddy Howard
“The Wild Side of Life” - Hank Thompson
    1953 - Touching down far east of traditional tornado alley, a devastating tornado, at least of F4 intensity, tore through Worcester County, Massachusetts and killed 90 people and injured 1288. The northern part of the city of Worcester suffered extreme damage. Property damage exceeded 52 million dollars which until then was a record high for a single tornado. 4000 buildings were damaged or destroyed. spawned by a classic supercell thunderstorm with tops at 60,000 feet, this tornado was and still is the worst tornadic event in history of New England.
    1954 - Army counsel Joseph N. Welch asked Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, "Have you no sense of decency, sir?" during the Senate-Army Hearings. The audience of citizens and newspaper and television reporters burst into wild applause. Just a week later, the hearings into the Army came to a close. McCarthy, exposed as a reckless bully, was officially condemned by the U.S. Senate for contempt against his colleagues in December 1954. During the next two- and-a-half years McCarthy spiraled into alcoholism. Still in office, he died in 1957. http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0609.html
    1956- Bestselling crime novelist Patricia Cornwall, creator of crime- solving medical examiner Kay Scarpetta, was born at Miami, Florida. Hoping to become a crime novelist, Cornwall spent six years studying forensic science and working at the morgue. She wrote three novels between 1984 and 1988, all featuring a dashing, adventurous, and poetic detective hero, with a minor medical- examiner character named Kay Scarpetta. An editor advised Cornwall to focus on Scarpetta and to write grittier fiction based on everyday crime situations faced by the morgue. Cornwall wrote “Postmortem”, which was finally accepted by Scribner's after seven other publishers rejected it. The novel won five major mystery awards that year and sold hundreds of thousands of copies in paperback. Cornwall's subsequent Scarpetta novels, including “Cruel and Unusual” (1993) and “Cause of Death” (1996), sold in the millions and have been translated into 22 languages, earning her multimillion-dollar advances.
    1958-Jerry Lee Lewis and his producer Sam Phillips take out a full page ad in Billboard Magazine to explain his second divorce and third marriage to his 14 year old second cousin Myra. It doesn't help.
    1958 - Johnny Mathis' LP, “Johnny's Greatest Hits”  hits #1
    1958-Sheb Wooley hit the top of the Billboard chart with a novelty song called "The Purple People Eater". When he first sang the tune for MGM executives, Sheb said he was scraping the "bottom of the barrel", but the brass loved the song and wanted to release it. Three weeks after it hit store shelves, it was the number one record in the US and would start a merchandising craze that included hats, T-shirts and even ice cream.
    1958-- Still angry that his employers refuse to back him in his defense of recent charges of inciting a riot at a Boston show, DJ Alan Freed quits New York radio station WINS, claiming they refused to "stand by my policies and principles." The same day, Freed debuts his new package tour in Hershey, PA, starring Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, Danny and the Juniors, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Larry Williams, and the Chantels.
    1959-A sixteen-year-old singer named Wayne Newton, long ridiculed for his girlish voice, begins a two-week engagement at Las Vegas' Fremont Hotel, and proves so popular that he would headline at the location for over three years. He would go on to earn $20 million annually.
    1959 - Bobby Darin plays his first Las Vegas gig at the Sahara, opening for comedian George Burns.
    1960—Top Hits
“Cathy’s Clown” - The Everly Brothers
“Burning Bridges” - Jack Scott
Paper Roses - Anita Bryant
“Please Help Me, I’m Falling” - Hank Locklin
    1961-Birthday of actor Michael J. Fox, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
    1962 - Tony Bennett made his debut at Carnegie Hall in New York City ten years after making his first hit song, "Because of You."  It was a move designed by promoter Sid Bernstein to revive the crooner's career. With the subsequent release of the single "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," it does just that.
    1963---Birthday of actor Johnny Depp, born Owensboro, KY. Best known for “Pirates of the Caribbean (several films),” “The Long Ranger,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Edward Scissorhands.”
    1964- Louis Armstrong's "Hello, Dolly!" hits #1 
    1964 – In reply to a formal question submitted by President Lyndon B. Johnson–”Would the rest of Southeast Asia necessarily fall if Laos and South Vietnam came under North Vietnamese control?”–the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) submits a memo that effectively challenges the “domino theory” backbone of the Johnson administration policies. This theory contended that if South Vietnam fell to the communists, the rest of Southeast Asia would also fall “like dominoes,” and the theory had been used to justify much of the Vietnam War effort. The CIA concluded that Cambodia was probably the only nation in the area that would immediately fall. “Furthermore,” the report said, “a continuation of the spread of communism in the area would not be inexorable, and any spread which did occur would take time–time in which the total situation might change in any number of ways unfavorable to the communist cause.” The CIA report concluded that if South Vietnam and Laos also fell, it “would be profoundly damaging to the U.S. position in the Far East,” but Pacific bases and allies such as the Philippines and Japan would still wield enough power to deter China and North Vietnam from any further aggression or expansion. President Johnson appears to have ignored the CIA analysis–he eventually committed over 500,000 American troops to the war in an effort to block the spread of communism to South Vietnam.    1966 -Hurricane Alma made landfall over the eastern Florida panhandle -- the earliest landfalling hurricane on the U.S. mainland on record.
   1966 - Elvis Presley's 21st movie, a retread of “Blue Hawaii” called “Paradise, Hawaiian Style”, is given a sneak preview in The King's hometown of Memphis before its official release a few weeks later.
   1967---McGONAGLE, WILLIAM L. Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Captain (then Comdr.) U.S. Navy, U.S.S. Liberty (AGTR-5). place and date: International waters, Eastern Mediterranean, 8-9 June 1967. Entered service at: Thermal, Calif. Born: 19 November 1925, Wichita, Kans. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sailing in international waters, the Liberty was attacked without warning by jet fighter aircraft and motor torpedo boats which inflicted many casualties among the crew and caused extreme damage to the ship. Although severely wounded during the first air attack, Capt. McGonagle remained at his battle station on the badly damaged bridge and, with full knowledge of the seriousness of his wounds, subordinated his own welfare to the safety and survival of his command. Steadfastly refusing any treatment which would take him away from his post, he calmly continued to exercise firm command of his ship. Despite continuous exposure to fire, he maneuvered his ship, directed its defense, supervised the control of flooding and fire, and saw to the care of the casualties. Capt. McGonagle's extraordinary valor under these conditions inspired the surviving members of the Liberty's crew, many of them seriously wounded, to heroic efforts to overcome the battle damage and keep the ship afloat. Subsequent to the attack, although in great pain and weak from the loss of blood, Captain McGonagle remained at his battle station and continued to command his ship for more than 17 hours. It was only after rendezvous with a U.S. destroyer that he relinquished personal control of the Liberty and permitted himself to be removed from the bridge. Even then, he refused much needed medical attention until convinced that the seriously wounded among his crew had been treated. Capt. McGonagle's superb professionalism, courageous fighting spirit, and valiant leadership saved his ship and many lives. His actions sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. (Captain McGonagle earned the Medal of Honor for actions that took place in international waters in the Eastern Mediterranean rather than in Vietnam.)
    1968—Top Hits
“Mrs. Robinson” - Simon & Garfunkel
“Tighten Up” - Archie Bell & The Drells
“This Guy’s in Love with You” - Herb Alpert
“Honey” - Bobby Goldsboro
    1969 - The U.S. Senate confirmed Warren Burger to be the new Chief Justice of the United States, succeeding Earl Warren. 
    1970- The Guess Who's "American Woman" hits #1
    1970- Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington become the first women in U. S. military history to reach the rank of brigadier general. On 06-17-1971, Jeanne M. Holm was promoted to brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force, the first woman to gain that rank in the Air Force. In 1973, Holm is promoted to major general.
    1972 -Thunderstorms dumped up to 14 inches of rain in about 4 hours on the east slopes of northern Black Hills in South Dakota. Severe flash flooding resulted, especially in the Rapid City area. The make matters worse, the Canyon Lake Dam collapsed sending a wall of water through the city. 238 people were killed and 2932 were injured. Total damage exceeded $150 million.
   1972 - John Hammond's latest discovery, Bruce Springsteen, signs with him at Columbia; ten album contract. Bruce immediately begins to put together his famous E Street Band from the sidemen in his various Asbury Park, NJ bar bands.  His first LP, "Greetings from Asbury Park, New Jersey," appeared the following January.
   1972 - Elvis Presley begins the first of an unprecedented four sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden, his first-ever New York City concert. Two Beatles were in attendance -- George and John -- as well as Bob Dylan, David Bowie, and Art Garfunkel. Selections from the shows eventually made up the album, “Elvis: As Recorded At Madison Square Garden”.
    1973 - Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first American Triple Crown winner in 25 years.
    1974- Bruce Springsteen gives the most important performance of his career, opening for Bonnie Raitt at her Boston Arena show. Playing his full two-hour set at Raitt's insistence, Bruce delivers a show so impressive that Rolling Stone's Jon Landau later wrote in Boston's The Real Paper, "I saw rock and roll future, and its name is Bruce Springsteen. And on a night when I needed to feel young, he made me feel like I was hearing music for the very first time." Landau would later become Springsteen's manager and producer. 
    1975 - Tony Orlando and Dawn received a gold record for their hit song "He Don’t Love You (Like I Love You)". The album sold a million copies, and was number one for three weeks from May 3 to 17, 1975. It was also one of five million copy sellers for the trio. "He Don’t Love You" was a remake of a hit Jerry Butler crooned in 1960.
    1976—Top Hits
“Love Hangover” - Diana Ross
“Silly Love Songs” - Wings
“Get Up and Boogie (That’s Right)” - Silver Convention
“One Piece at a Time” - Johnny Cash
    1977 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "I'm Your Boogie Man," KC & the Sunshine Band.
    1978 - Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints struck down a 148-year-old policy of excluding black men from the Mormon priesthood. 
    1980 - Comedian and actor Richard Pryor suffered almost fatal burns at his San Fernando Valley, California home when a mixture of "free-base" cocaine exploded and set him on fire. Near death, he convalesced at Sherman Oaks Community Hospital Burn Center. 
    1981-Xerox is the first with a personal computer for the office: Xerox 820. Basically a word processor, it retailed for $3,000, had two disk drives and a monitor displaying twenty- four lines of 80-character type.
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Peaks/9595/xerox.html
    1983 - Kansas City Chiefs running back Joe Delaney tragically drowned while trying to save three children from drowning in Monroe, Louisiana. Two of the children perished, but one made it to safety. A few weeks later, Pres. Reagan posthumously awarded Delaney the Presidential Citizens Medal. 
    1984—Top Hits
“Time After Time” - Cyndi Lauper
“Oh Sherrie” - Steve Perry
“The Reflex” - Duran Duran
“Someday When Things are Good” - Merle Haggard
    1985 - American educator Thomas Sutherland was kidnapped in Lebanon, and he was released in November 1991 along with fellow hostage Terry Waite.
    1985 - The Los Angeles Lakers narrowly beat the Boston Celtics, 111-100, to win their first National Basketball Association title in nine tries against the Celtics. Since 1959, when they were based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Lakers had been shut out of the championship series. The most-valuable-player for the winning Lakers was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
    1986 - Bob Dylan began his first US tour in five years with a concert in San Diego. Billed as the "True Confessions Tour," the series of performances also included Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
    1987 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "Always," Atlantic Starr.
    1987 - Thunderstorms in the northeastern U.S. produced large hail and damaging winds in Vermont injuring two persons. Thunderstorms in Ohio produced wind gusts to 75 mph near Akron, and deluged Pittsfield with two inches of rain in thirty minutes.
    1989-- Mets outfielder Darryl Strawberry hits his 200th career home run in a ten-inning, 4-3, loss to the Pirates.
    1989 - Thunderstorms produced severe weather over the Central Gulf Coast Region during the day and evening. Severe thunderstorms spawned 17 tornadoes, including one which injured ten persons and caused a million dollars damage at Orange Beach, AL. Thunderstorm winds gusting to 90 mph killed three persons and injured four others at Mobile AL. Thunderstorms also deluged Walnut Hill and Avalon Beach, FL, with eight inches of rain.
1989 "Star Trek V" premiers; "The Final Frontier"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098382/
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6305350205/002-5217827-1679236?v=glance&n=130
    1990 -San Diego, California set a new record rainfall amount on this date. 0.38 inches of rain fell breaking the old record of 0.13 inches established in 1892. Moisture from the remains of Hurricane Boris was responsible for this rare rain event.
    1990 - 25 years to the day after their father Brian and his band, The Beach Boys, hold the No. 1 spot for "Help Me Rhonda," Carnie and Wendy Wilson's trio Wilson Phillips (with Chynna Phillips) move into the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with their single "Hold On."
    1993—Top Hits
“That's The Way Love Goes”-- Janet Jackson
“Freak Me”- Silk 
“Knockin Da Boots” - H-Town
“Weak”- SWV
    1993 – “What's Love Got to Do With It?,” a film about singer Tina Turner and how she rose to rock stardom with her abusive husband Ike Turner, opened in U.S. theaters. The film was well received, and the stars, Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne, were both nominated for Oscars. Bassett won a Best Actress Golden Globe for her electrifying performance as Tina.
    1993 - The US Postal Service introduces a new series of stamps called "Legends Of American Music," its first to feature rock and R&B stars, featuring Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Otis Redding, Bill Haley, Clyde McPhatter, Ritchie Valens, and Dinah Washington.
    1996-In San Francisco, basic rent has climbed to $1300 a month for a 2 bedroom apartment. 70% of SF residents rent and the vacancy rate is under 2%. June, 2009: Average rent for 2 bedroom apartment in is $2,500. Two-thirds of S. F. residents rent and the vacancy rate is 4.5%. June, 2014: Average one bedroom, $2,800; two bedrooms, $3,875; three bedrooms, $4,750 (average, not prime areas). http://sfist.com/2013/07/19/another_sf_rent_map.php
    1998-Top Hits
“The Boy Is Mine” - Brandy
“Too Close”- Next 
“You’re Still The One”- Shania Twain 
“My All”- Mariah Carey 
    1999 - Ricky Martin's self-titled album was certified multi-platinum on this date.
    1999 --After being ejected in the 12th inning by plate umpire Randy Marsh for arguing a catcher's interference call, Bobby Valentine returns to the dugout with a fake mustache and glasses. The National League will suspend the Mets' manager for two games and fine him for using the disguise.
    2000 - Boyz II Men release to radio stations "Pass You By," their first new single in more than three years.
    2008 - Ken Griffey, Jr. becomes the sixth player in major league history to hit 600 career home runs. With a runner on third, Junior goes deep in the first inning on a 3-1 pitch thrown by Marlins' moundsman Mark Hendrickson in the Reds' 9-4 victory at Dolphin Stadium.
    2009-The Librarian of Congress announced that twenty-five culturally significant recordings, including "Tom Dooley" by The Kingston Trio, "Rumble" by Link Wray and "My Generation" by The Who, will be preserved in a special sound archive in the National Recording Registry.
    2013----Elton John was targeted by anti-gay campaigners in Russia who demanded that he tone down his colorful wardrobe and wear "more respectable" clothing for his concert there next month.

NBA Finals Champions This Date

1985 - Los Angeles Lakers