First Posted: 5/15/2014
The History Channel
* On June 7, 1692, a massive earthquake devastates the infamous town of Port Royal in Jamaica, killing thousands. A large tsunami hit soon after, putting half of Port Royal under 40 feet of water. In the 17th century, Port Royal was known throughout the New World as a headquarters for piracy and smuggling.
* On June 4, 1754, 22-year-old Lt. Colonel George Washington begins construction of a makeshift Fort Necessity, near present-day Pittsburgh. The fort was built to defend his forces from French soldiers enraged by the murder of Ensign Joseph Coulon de Jumonville while in Washington’s custody.
* On June 3, 1800, President John Adams becomes the first acting president to take up residence in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, the White House was not yet finished, so Adams moved into temporary digs at Tunnicliffe’s City Hotel near the also half-finished Capitol building.
* On June 5, 1922, George Carmack, the first person to discover gold along the Klondike River, dies in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1896, near the confluence of the Yukon and Klondike River, Carmack stumbled across a deposit of gold so rich that he needed no pan to see it: Thumb-sized pieces of gold lay scattered about the creek bed.
* On June 2, 1935, Babe Ruth, one of the greatest players in the history of baseball, ends his Major League playing career after 22 seasons, 10 World Series and 714 home runs. The following year, Ruth was one of the first five players inducted into the sport’s hall of fame
* On June 8, 1945, President Harry Truman issues Executive Order 9568, permitting the release of scientific information from previously top-secret World War II documents. Executive Order 9568 was a stepping stone to future transparency-oriented legislation, including the Freedom of Information Act, passed in 1966.
* On June 6, 1971, after more than two decades of weekly productions, “The Ed Sullivan Show” airs for the final time. The show is now remembered most for providing so many iconic moments in the history of televised rock and roll.
