1901 – The College Board introduces its first standardized test, the forerunner to the SAT.
1916 – United States troops under General Pershing march into Mexico.
1928 – Amelia Earhart leaves Newfoundland to become the first woman to fly the Atlantic Ocean as a passenger in a plane piloted by Wilmer Stultz.
1932 – Bonus Army: Around a thousand World War I veterans amass at the United States Capitol as the Senate considers a bill that would give them certain benefits.
1940 – World War II: Sinking of the RMS Lancastria by the Luftwaffe near Saint-Nazaire, France.
1946 – Southwestern Bell inaugurates mobile telephone commercial service in St Louis.
1950 – First kidney transplant is done in Chicago.
1953 – Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas stays executions of spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg scheduled for next day on their 14th anniversary.
1957 – “So Rare” by Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra peaks at #2 on the music charts.
1960 – Boston’s Ted Williams hit his 500th home run.
1962 – US Open Men’s Golf, Oakmont Country Club: Jack Nicklaus wins his first major title by 3 strokes in an 18-hole playoff over Arnold Palmer.
1963 – Supreme Court rules against Bible reading/prayer in public schools.
1969 – “Oh! Calcutta,” a play performed almost entirely in the nude, opens in New York City.
1978 – Ron Guidry sets a New York Yankees record with 18 strikeouts.
1985 – 18th NASA Space Shuttle Mission (51-G): Discovery 5 launches.
1994 – O.J. Simpson doesn’t turn himself in on murder charges and Los Angeles police chase his Ford Bronco for 1½ hours before he eventually gives up as seen live on national TV.
2008 – First day of legal same-sex marriage in California.
2015 – Nine people are shot and killed inside Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, by a 21-year-old gunman.
2020 – First major breakthrough in treating COVID-19 using steroid dexamethasone announced by Oxford University.
2021 – President Joe Biden signs into law the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act making June 19th a federal holiday commemorating emancipation.
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