On This Day in History........

1178 Proposed time of origin of lunar crater Giordano Bruno 5 Canterbury monks report explosion on the moon (only such observation known)
1583 Richard Martin of London takes out 1st life insurance policy, on William Gibbons. The premium was œ383
1778 British Redcoats evacuate Phila
1812 War of 1812 begins as US declares war against Britain
1815 Battle of Waterloo; Napoleon defeated by Wellington & Blcher
1821 The opera "Der Freischtz" is produced (Berlin)
1822 Part of US-Canadian boundary determined
1863 After long neglect, Confederates hurriedly fortify Vicksburg
1864 At Petersburg, Grant ends 4 days of assaults
1872 Woman's Sufferage Convention held at Merchantile Liberty Hall
1873 Susan B Anthony fined $100 for attempting to vote for President
1878 C H F Peters discovers asteroid #188 Menippe
1892 Macademia nuts 1st planted in Hawaii
1898 Amusement pier opens, Atlantic City, NJ
1903 1st transcontinental auto trip begins in SF; arrives NY 3-mo later
1915 Jerome Travers becomes the 2nd amateur to win golf's US Open
1916 Yanks score in every inning but 8th beat Indians 19-3
1928 Amelia Earhart is 1st woman (passenger) to cross Atlantic by air
1934 US Highway planning surveys nationwide authorized
1936 1st bicycle traffic court in America established, Racine, WI
1940 Winston Churchill urges perseverance so that future generations would remember that "this was their finest hour"
1942 Bernard W Robinson, becomes 1st black ensign in US Navy
1942 Eric Nessler of France stays aloft in a glider for 38h21m
1945 William Joyce (Lord Haw-Haw) Brit radio traitor charged with treason
1947 Cincinatti Red Ewell Blackwell no-hits Boston Braves, 6-0
1948 American Library Association adopts the Library Bill of Rights
1948 National Security Council authorizes covert operations for 1st time
1948 Phillies pitching great Robin Roberts debut, loses 2-0 to Pirates
1948 UN Commission on Human Rights adopts Intl Decl of Human Rights
1953 Egypt proclaimed a republic, General Neguib becomes president
1953 Eugene Stephens gets 3 hits & Red Sox score 17 runs in 1 inning (7th)
1953 USAF C124 Globemaster crashes near Tokyo killing 129 servicemen
1956 Last of foreign troops leaves Egypt
1957 John Diefenbacker © takes office as PM of Canada
1959 1st telecast transmitted from England to US
1960 Giants hire Tom Sheehan as baseball's oldest debuting manager (66)
1963 3,000 blacks boycot Boston public school
1967 Houston Don Wilson no-hits Atlanta Braves, 2-0
1968 Supreme Court bans racial discrimination in sale & rental of housing
1972 BEA Trident crashes after takeoff from Heathrow killing 118
1973 NCAA makes urine testing mandatory for participants
1975 Fred Lynn gets 10 RBIs in a Red Sox 15-1 victory over Tigers
1976 NBA & ABA agree to merge
1977 Billy Martin & Reggie Jackson get into a dug out altercation
1977 Space Shuttle test model "Enterprise" carries a crew aloft for 1st time, It was fixed to a modified Boeing 747
1979 Billy Martin becomes Yankee manager (2nd time), replacing Bob Lemon
1980 "Blues Brothers" with Dan Akwoyd & John Belushi premiers
1980 C Shoemaker discovers asteroid #2891 McGetchin
1980 E Bowell discovers asteroid #2569 Madeline
1980 Mrs Shakuntala Devi mentally multiplies 2 13-digit #s in 28 sec
1981 Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart retires (replaced by Sandra Day O'Connor, 1st woman on high court)
1982 Voting Rights Act of 1965 extended by Senate by 85-8 vote
1983 7th Shuttle Mission-Challenger 2 launched-Sally Ride 1st US woman
1983 IRA's Joseph Doherty arrested in NYC
1984 Perth Observatory discovers asteroid #3541
1986 52 die in plane/helicopter collision over Grand Canyon
1986 Don Sutton becomes 19th pitcher to win 300 games
1989 Comet Churyunov-Gerasimenko at perihelion
1989 Curtis Strange wins his 2nd US golf open
1990 1st ever lose for Cameroon in the World Cup, USSR-4 Cameroon-0
1990 1st sudden death US Open Golf Championship is won by Hale Irwin
1991 Pres Zachary Taylors body is exhumed to test how he died
1991 SF Giant pitcher Dave Dravecky's cancerous left arm is amputated
1991 Yankee pitchers pick-off 3 Toronto Blue Jays
=======================================================

Missing in Action.....

1965 ARMOND ROBERT L. SAN MATEO CA
1965 GUILLORY EDWARD J. DE RIDDER LA
1965 GEHRIG JAMES M. JR. WILLIAMSPORT PA
1965 LOWRY TYRRELL G. PORTLAND OR
1965 MARSHALL JAMES A. NEWARK NY
1965 NEVILLE WILLIAM E. EL CAJON CA
1965 ROBERTS HAROLD J. JR. PORTLAND OR
1965 WATSON FRANK P. OKLAHOMA CITY OK
1967 LEMMONS WILLIAM E. POCATELLO ID
1967 MC KITTRICK JAMES C. LAURENS SC
1968 RAVENCRAFT JAMES ALVIN CLARINGTON OH 02/69 REMAINS RECOVERED
1970 DRAKE CARL WILSON ROSEVILLE OH
1970 GREEN JAMES A. BOYNTON OK
1970 MC LAMB HARRY LAWRENCE LUDOWICI GA
1971 BIDWELL BARRY A. GREENSBURG PA "CRASH IN WATER, NO RADIO, NO SURV"
1971 DE BLASIO RAYMOND V. WEST HEMPSTEAD NY "CRASH IN WATER, NO RADIO, NO SURV"
1971 PAINTER JOHN R. JR. VINEYARD HAVEN MA "CRASH IN WATER, NO RADIO, NO SURV"
1972 AYRES GERALD F. NEWCASTLE DE REMAINS ID'D 10/21/94 - 9 OTHERS ID'D AS GROUP
1972 COLE RICHARD M. JR. UNIONDALE NY REMAINS ID'D 10/21/94 - ONE OF 9 AS GROUP
1972 DANIELSON MARK G. RANGELY CO REMAINS ID'D 10/24/94 - ONE OF 9 IN GROUP
1972 GILBERT PAUL F. PLAINVIEW TX REMAINS ID'D 10/21/94 - ONE OF 9 IN GROUP
1972 HARRISON ROBERT H. MASSAPEQUA PARK NY REMAINS ID'D 10/21/94 - ONE OF 9 IN GROUP
1972 HUNT LEON A. PLEASURE RIDGE PK. KY REMAINS ID'D 10/21/94 - ONE OF 9 IN GROUP
1972 KILPATRICK LARRY RONALD STONE MOUNTAIN GA DEAD
1972 KLINKE DONALD H. WEST SACRAMENTO CA REMAINS ID'D 10/21/94 - ONE OF 9 IN GROUP
1972 LEHRKE STANLEY L. SAN DIEGO CA REMAINS ID'D 10/21/94 - ONE OF 9 IN GROUP
1972 MERCER JACOB E. JACKSONVILLE FL REMAINS ID'D 10/21/94 - ONE OF 9 IN GROUP
1972 NYHOF RICHARD E. FREMONT CA REMAINS ID'D 10/21/94 - ONE OF 9 IN GROUP
1972 NEWMAN LARRY J. NORTH PLATTE NE REMAINS ID'D 10/21/94 - ONE OF 9 IN GROUP
1972 WILSON ROBERT A. DETROIT MI REMAINS ID'D 10/21/94 - ONE OF 9 IN GROUP

Births which occurred on June 18:

1681 Feofan Prokopovich theologian, archbishop of Novgorod, westernizer
1799 William Lassell discoverer (satellites of Uranus & Neptune)
1812 Ivan Goncharov Russia, novelist/travel writer (Oblomov)
1857 Henry Clay Folger Jr US, businessman/Shakespeare fan
1877 James Montgomery Flagg illustrator "I want you" recruiting poster
1886 George Mallory England, mountain climber ("because it is there")
1896 Blanche Sweet Chicago, actress (Home Sweet Home, Avenging Conscience)
1896 Philip Barry US, dramatist (Philadelphia Story)
19-- Brian Benben Winchester Va, actress (Gangster Chronicles)
19-- Constance McCashin Chic Ill, actress (Laura-Knots Landing)
19-- Hugo Napier actor (As the World Turns)
19-- Miriam Flynn Cleve Ohio, actress (Tim Conway Show, Maggie)
19-- Oz Fox rock guitarist (Stryper-Against the Law)
19-- Robin Christopher (All My Children)
19-- Susan Styles Ventura Calif, actress (Cutter to Houston)
19-- Tom Reilly Fort Riley Ks, actor (CHiPs)
1901 Jeanette MacDonald actress/singer (When I'm Calling You)
1901 Jimmy Dale Bronx NYC, orch leader (Sonny & Cher)
1904 Keye Luke Canton China, actor (Across the Pacific, Yangtse Incident)
1904 Manuel Rosenthal Paris France, composer (Bootleggers)
1906 Kay Kyser Rocky Mount NC, orch leader (Kay Kyser's Kollege)
1907 Benny Payne Phila, pianist (Billy Daniels Show)
1907 Froelich Rainey Wisc, quiz moderator (What in the World)
1908 Bud Collyer NYC, TV emcee (Beat the Clock, To Tell the Truth)
1910 Avon Long Balt Md, actor (Roots: Next Generation)
1910 Dick Foran Flemington NJ, actor (OK Crackerby)
1910 E.G. Marshall actor (Defenders, Nixon, Absolute Power)
1910 Ray McKinley Ft Worth Tx, orch leader (Glenn Miller Time)
1912 Henry Brandon Berlin Germany, actor (Drums of Fu Manchu)
1913 Sammy Cahn lyricist (3 Coins in a Fountain)
1913 Sylvia Porter financial writer (Sylvia Porter's Money Book)
1917 Richard Boone LA Calif, actor (Paladin-Have Gun Will Travel)
1918 Bob Carroll singer/actor (Stage Two Revue, The Stranger)
1919 Mel Brandt Bkln NY, actor (Faraway Hill)
1922 Donald L Keene NYC, Japanese translator/critic
1925 Robert Arthur Aberdeen Wash, actor (12 O'Clock High, Just For You)
1926 Tom Wicker columnist (NY Times)
1929 Eva Bartok Budapest Hungary, actress (Assassin, Crimson Pirate)
1933 Jean Wicki Switzerland, 4-man bobsled (Olympic-gold-1972)
1937 Gail Godwin US, author (Perfectionists, Odd Woman)
1937 John D (Jay) Rockefeller IV (Sen-III)
1937 Vitali M Zholobov cosmonaut (Soyuz 21)
1939 Lou Brock one-time baseball stolen base leader (St Louis Cards)
1942 Paul McCartney rocker, Beatles, writes silly love songs
1942 Rogert Ebert Urbana Ill, film critic (Siskel & Ebert at the Movies)
1947 Linda Thorson Toronto, actress (Tara-Avengers, Julia-1 Life to Live)
1952 Carol Kane Cleveland Ohio, actress (Dog Day Afternoon, Simka-Taxi)
1952 Isabella Rossellini actress (Blue Velvet, Tough Guys Don't Dance)
1957 Andrea Evans actress (Young & Restless, Tina-One Life to Live)
1958 Daniels Koran saxophonist (Atlantic Star-Touch a 4 Leaf Clover)
1961 Alison Moyet rocker (Yaz, Alf)
1962 Janice Merrill track star (US record long distance holder 1979)
1963 Bruce Smith NFL defensive end (Buffalo Bills)
1971 Nathan Morris [Alex Vanderpool], Phila Pa, rapper (Boyz II Men)
1974 Bumper Robinson actor (Webster, Night Court)
==================================================

Deaths which occurred on June 18:

1959 Ethel Barrymore actress, dies at 79
1974 Georgi Zhukov Russian Marshal (WW II), dies at 78
1975 Faisal Ibn Mussed Abdul Aziz Saudi prince, beheaded in Riyadh shopping center parking lot for killing his uncle the king
1982 Curt Jurgens actor, dies of an acute heart attack at 66
1991 Joan Caulfield actress (My Favorite Husband), dies of cancer at 69

1778 British abandon Philadelphia

On this day in 1778, after almost nine months of occupation, 15,000 British troops under General Sir Henry Clinton evacuate Philadelphia, the former U.S. capital.

The British had captured Philadelphia on September 26, 1777, following General George Washington's defeats at the Battle of Brandywine and the Battle of the Clouds. British General William Howe had made Philadelphia, the seat of the Continental Congress, the focus of his campaign, but the Patriot government had deprived him of the decisive victory he hoped for by moving its operations to the more secure site of York one week before the city was taken.

While Howe and the British officer corps spent the winter enjoying the luxury of Philadelphia’s finest homes, the Continental Army froze and suffered appalling deprivation at Valley Forge. Fortunately for the Patriots, an infusion of capable European strategists, including the Prussian Baron von Steuben; the Frenchmen Marquis de Lafayette and Johann, Baron de Kalb; and Poles Thaddeus Kosciuszko and Casimir, Count Pulaski, aided Washington in the creation of a well-drilled, professional force capable of fighting the British.

The British position in Philadelphia became untenable after France's entrance into the war on the side of the Americans. To avoid the French fleet, General Clinton was forced to lead his British-Hessian force to New York City by land. Loyalists in the city sailed down the Delaware River to escape the Patriots, who returned to Philadelphia the day after the British departure. U.S. General Benedict Arnold, who led the force that reclaimed the city without bloodshed, was appointed military governor. On June 24, the Continental Congress returned to the city from its temporary quarters at York, Pennsylvania.
=======================================================

1864 Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain is wounded at Petersburg

Union war hero Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain is severely wounded at Petersburg, Virginia, while leading an attack on a Confederate position. Chamberlain, a college professor from Maine, took a sabbatical to enlist in the Union army. As commander of the 20th Maine, he earned distinction at Gettysburg when he shored up the Union left flank and helped save Little Round Top for the Federals. His bold counterattack against the Confederates earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor.

His wound at Petersburg was the most serious of the six he received during the war. Doctors in the field hospital pronounced his injury fatal, and Union General Ulysses S. Grant promoted him to brigadier general as a tribute to his service and bravery. Miraculously, he survived and spent the rest of the Petersburg campaign convalescing at his Maine home. He returned to the Army of the Potomac in time for Lee's surrender at Appomattox, and he was given the honor of accepting the arms of the Confederate infantry.

Chamberlain returned to Maine after the war and served four terms as governor. He then became president of Bowdoin College—the institution that had refused to release him for military service—and held the position until 1883. Chamberlain remained active in veterans' affairs and, like many soldiers, attended regimental reunions and kept alive the camaraderie created during the war. He was present for the 50th anniversary of Gettysburg in 1913, one year before he died of an infection from the wound he suffered at Petersburg.
======================================================

1915 French troops halt fighting in Artois region

After several weeks of heavy fighting, including savage hand-to-hand combat, with little success, French troops halt their attacks on the German trenches in the Artois region of France on June 18, 1915.

Artois, located in northern France between Picardy and Flanders, near the English Channel, was a strategically important battlefield during World War I and saw heavy fighting throughout the conflict. Over the course of 1915, the most significant Allied offensives on the Western Front all took place in Artois. On May 9, French and British troops launched a two-pronged offensive around Vimy Ridge and Aubers Ridge respectively. Known as the Second Battle of Artois, the French attack was modestly successful, though the Germans retreated to better lines while inflicting significant casualties. More importantly, the battle convinced French and British commanders alike that the key to breaking through the German lines was twofold: attacking with sufficient artillery along a broad front, and having supporting formations move in behind the lead troops to carry the attack beyond the front lines, enabling the breakthrough to happen in one swift thrust.

The French consequently began to build up a force of 900 heavy guns, over 1,000 field guns and 37 divisions for another major Artois offensive that fall. Meanwhile, fighting continued throughout May and into June, with the French opening up a diversionary assault on the Somme River, some 40 kilometers to the south, in an attempt to secure the village of Serre. In Artois, the town of Neuville St. Vaast finally fell to the French 5th Army on June 9. On June 16, hoping to press their advantage, the French launched further assaults on the German lines in Artois. Over the next 24 hours, French artillery fired over 300,000 shells around Neuville St. Vaast; the Germans still managed to outgun them, as the higher altitude of their lines allowed them to fire on French positions with greater ease. On June 18, the French command called off the battle in Artois, after many small advances and changes of control of territory, as well as some 18,000 French casualties.
=====================================================

1940 Hitler and Mussolini meet in Munich

On this day in 1940, Benito Mussolini arrives in Munich with his foreign minister, Count Ciano, to discuss immediate plans with the Fuhrer, and doesn't like what he hears.

Embarrassed over the late entry of Italy in the war against the Allies, and its rather tepid performance since, Mussolini met with Hitler determined to convince his Axis partner to exploit the advantage he had in France by demanding total surrender and occupying the southern portion still free. The Italian dictator clearly wanted "in" on the spoils, and this was a way of reaping rewards with a minimum of risk. But Hitler, too, was in no mood to risk, and was determined to put forward rather mild terms for peace with France. He needed to ensure that the French fleet remained neutral and that a government-in-exile was not formed in North Africa or London determined to further prosecute the war. He also denied Mussolini's request that Italian troops occupy the Rhone Valley, and that Corsica, Tunisia, and Djibouti (adjacent to Italian-occupied Ethiopia) be disarmed.

Ciano recorded in his diary that Mussolini left the meeting frustrated and "very much embarrassed," feeling "that his role is secondary." Ciano also records a newfound respect for Hitler: "Today he speaks with a reserve and perspicacity which, after such a victory, are really astonishing."
=====================================================

1965 SAC B-52s are used for the first time in South Vietnam

For the first time, 28 B-52s fly-bomb a Viet Cong concentration in a heavily forested area of Binh Duong Province northwest of Saigon. Such flights, under the aegis of the Strategic Air Command (SAC), became known as Operation Arc Light. The B-52s that took part in the Arc Light missions had been deployed to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam and more bombers were later deployed to bases in Okinawa and U-Tapao, Thailand.

In addition to supporting ground tactical operations, B-52s were used to interdict enemy supply lines in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, and later to strike targets in North Vietnam. Releasing their bombs from 30,000 feet, the B-52s could neither be seen nor heard from the ground as they inflicted awesome damage. B-52s were instrumental in breaking up enemy concentrations besieging Khe Sanh in 1968 and An Loc in 1972. Between June 1965 and August 1973, 126,615 B-52 sorties were flown over Southeast Asia. During those operations, the Air Force lost 29 B-52s: 17 from hostile fire over North Vietnam and 12 from operational causes.
=====================================================

1966 Westmoreland requests more troops

Gen. William Westmoreland, senior U.S. military commander in Vietnam, sends a new troop request to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Westmoreland stated that he needed 542,588 troops for the war in Vietnam in 1967--an increase of 111,588 men to the number already serving there. In the end, President Johnson acceded to Westmoreland's wishes and dispatched the additional troops to South Vietnam, but the increases were done in an incremental fashion. The highest number of U.S. troops in South Vietnam was 543,500, which was reached in 1969.