- 1969
The Stonewall Riots
Police and gays clashed at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, fostering the gay rights movement.
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1844
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints founder Joseph Smith was murdered by a mob in Carthage, Ill.
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1898
Joshua Slocum became the first person to successfully circumnavigate the earth alone when he landed his sloop Spray in Newport, R.I., a 46,000-mile trip.
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1922
The Newbery Medal for children’s literature was first awarded.
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1950
President Harry S. Truman ordered the Air Force and Navy into the Korean War.
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1954
The world's first atomic power station opened at Obninsk, near Moscow.
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1985
The legendary Route 66, running from Chicago to Santa Monica, Calif., was decertified, the victim of the Interstate Highway System.
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2003
The national do-not-call registry, formed to combat unwanted telemarketing calls and administered by the Federal Trade Commission, enrolled almost three-quarters of a million phone numbers on its first day.