Today in History

1673

Louis Joliet & Jacques Marquette begin their expedition to explore the Mississippi River. Leaving the Great Lakes, they traveled by backwaters and portages until finally reaching the Mississippi on June 17. They continued south on the Mississippi, reaching the Arkansas River in July. They guessed that the Mississippi emptied into the Gulf of Mexico, but fearing capture by the Spanish if they continued on, they returned north by way of the Illinois River and Lake Michigan.

1741

Birth of John Penn, US attorney and signer of the Declaration of Independence, in Caroline County, Virginia. In 1774 he moved to Granville County, North Carolina, where he established a law practice. He was elected to attend the provincial Congress in 1775 and elected to the Continental Congress that same year. He served there until 1777, and again from 1779-1780. He died in 1788 at the age of forty-eight. Originally buried in the family graveyard adjacent to his home, his remains now rest in Guilford Courthouse National Military Park near Greensboro.

1792

Brokers meeting under a tree located on what is now Wall Street founded the New York Stock Exchange.

1829

John Jay, American statesman and the first chief justice of the Supreme Court, died at age 83.

1846

The Saxophone is patented by Antoine Joseph Sax .

1875

The first Kentucky Derby was run; the winner was Aristedes.

1954

The Supreme Court issued its landmark Brown vs. Board of Education ruling, which declared that racially segregated public schools were inherently unequal.

1970

Thor Heyerdahl sets sail from Morocco on the papyrus boat Ra II to sail the Atlantic Ocean to Central America.

1973

The Senate began hearings into the Watergate scandal.

1997

Rebel leader Laurent Kabila declared himself president of the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire).

1998

New York Yankees pitcher David Wells became only the 13th player in modern major league baseball history to throw a perfect game as he retired all 27 batters he faced in a 4-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

2000

Two former Ku Klux Klansmen were arrested on murder charges in the 1963 church bombing in Birmingham, Ala., that killed four black girls.