On this Day

Thursday, June 30th
The 181st day of 2005
There are 184 days left in the year

Today's Highlights in History

On June 30, 1997, in Hong Kong, the Union Jack was lowered for the last time over Government House as Britain prepared to hand the colony back to China after ruling it for 156 years. (Go to article.)

On June 30, 1868, Mabel Cratty, American social worker and head of the Y.W.C.A., was born. Following her death on Feb. 27, 1928, her obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. Other Birthdays)

On June 30, 1883, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about pollution in New York Harbor. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.)

Reference: The New York Times



The follwowing courtesy Iraq War Today

Today in History
1294 - Jews are expelled from Berne, Switzerland.
1794 - Battle of Fort Recovery, Ohio.
1834 - Congress creates the Indian Territory (Oklahoma).
1859 - Charles Blondin becomes the first to cross Niagara Falls - on a tightrope.
1862 - Day 6 of the 7 Days - Battle of White Oak Swamp.
1893 - The Excelsior diamond (a 995 carat blue-white diamond) is discovered.
1894 - Korea declares independence from China, requesting Japanese aid.
1914 - Mahatma Gandhi's is arrested for the first time.
1934 - In the "Night of the Long Knives," Hitler purges the Nazi Party.
1936 - The federal 40-hour work week law is approved.
1939 - The Heinkel He. 176 rocket plane takes its maiden flight.
1940 - The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is established.
1942 - The New Orleans U.S. Mint in New Orleans closes down.
1950 - President Truman orders American troops into Korea.
1956 - Over the Grand Canyon, a United Airlines DC-7 and a TWA Super Constellation collide, killing 128.
1960 - Zaire (then the Belgian Congo) gains independence from Belgium.
1961 - Explorer-12 fails to reach an Earth orbit.
1962 - Rwanda and Burundi become independent.
1964 - Centaur-3 fails to reach an Earth orbit.
1967 - Major Robert H. Lawrence, Jr., is named as the first African-American astronaut .
1971 - Ohio becomes the 38th state to approve lowering the voting age to 18, thereby ratifying the 26th Amendment.
1972 - The first leap second day
1977 - Jimmy Carter cans the B-1A bomber; he later "B-1's the B-52"; the U.S. Railway Post Office makes its final train run (NY to DC).
1981 - China's Communist Party condemns the Mao Tse-tung's policies during the Cultural Revolution
1982 - The Federal Equal Rights Amendment misses ratification by three states.
1985 - The 39 remaining hostages from Flight 847 are freed in Beirut. (for info, see here, here, here, and here)
1989 - Attorney General Thornburgh orders Joseph Doherty (IRA) deported to the UK; Congressman Lukins is convicted of having sex with a 16-year-old girl; NASA closes down its tracking stations in Santiago, Chile and Guam; the NY State Legislature passes the Staten Island seccession bill.

Birthdays
1470 - King Charles VIII of France
1768 - Elizabeth Kortright Monroe, First Lady
1819 - William A. Wheeler, 19th Vice President
1837 - Stephen D. Ramseur, youngest West Pointer to become a Major General

Passings
1961 - Dr. Lee De Forest, radio pioneer
1971 - Three cosmonauts, as Soyuz XI depressurizes during reentry
1974 - Mrs. Albert King, Sr. (mother of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.), murdered in church

Reported Missing in Action
1967
Allen, Merlin R.; USMC (WI); CH46A shot down, KIA, body not recovered
Cole, Legrande O., Jr., USN (CT); A4C shot down, remains returned May, 1989
House, John A. II, USMC (NY); pilot of CH46A shot down, KIA, body not recovered
Howard, Luther H., US Army (NC); drowned, body not recovered
Judd, Michael B. , USMC (OH); CH46A shot down, body not recovered
Killen, John D. III, USMC (IA); CH46A shot down, KIA, body not recovered
McGrath, John Michael, USN (CO); A4C shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - alive and well as of 1998
Runnels, Glyn L., Jr., USMC (AL); CH46A shot down, KIA, body not recovered
1970
Bell, Marvin E., USAF (AR); HH53C shot down while attempting to rescue a downed pilot, remains returned March, 1995**
Burgess, John L., US Army (MI); UH1H shot down, KIA, body not recovered
Dean, Michael F. USAF (CA); HH53C shot down while attempting to rescue a downed pilot, remains returned March, 1995**
Goeglein, John W., USAF (MO); HH53C shot down while attempting to rescue a downed pilot, remains returned March, 1995**
Hill, Gordon Clark, USAF (WA); F4E shot down, presumed KIA
Jenkins, Paul L., USAF (AR); HH53C shot down while attempting to rescue a downed pilot, remains returned March, 1995**
Sadler, Mitchell Olen, Jr., USAF (CA); F4E shot down
Sanders, Williams S., USAF (ME); HH53C shot down while attempting to rescue a downed pilot, remains returned March, 1995**
Schaneberg, Leroy C., USAF (IL); pilot of HH53C shot down while attempting to rescue a downed pilot, remains returned March, 1995
1971
Bridges, Philip W. , US Army (CA); presumed Killed when the explosives truck he was driving blew up, body not recovered.
** In March, 1995, remains were returned that could not conclusively be identified as any of the individuals in the Chinook. Personal items were included with the remains. It is felt that the remains may represent 1-2 people.