Scott Allsop's Blog, page 134

23rd June 1960: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Enovid as the first combined oral contraceptive pill in the world

400,000 women saw their doctors to obtain Enovid contraceptive prescriptions in the first ...

22nd June 1942: The words of the Pledge of Allegiance formally adopted by Congress

Congress formally recognized the Pledge when it was included in the U.S. Flag ...

21st June 1877: Ten Irish immigrants hanged for murder, having been accused of membership of the Molly Maguires secret society

Historians have since questioned the convictions, which saw ten men hanged for murder – six in the prison at Pottsville, and four at Mauch Chunk in Carbon ...

20th June 1945: The United States approves the transfer of Nazi rocket scientist Wernher von Braun to America

Wernher von Braun initially developed rockets for the United States Army, but was later made director of the Marshall Space Flight Center where he oversaw the design of the Saturn V rocket that launched the Apollo spacecraft to the ...

18th June 1812: The War of 1812 began when President James Madison signed a declaration of war against Great Britain

Madison signed the declaration of war against Great Britain, marking the first time that the United States declared war on another ...

16th June 1884: The Switchback Railway, America’s first purpose-built roller coaster, opened at Coney Island in New York City

Having opened on 16 June 1884, passengers paid 5 cents to ride the Switchback Railways and achieved speeds of up to 6 miles per ...

10th June 1935: Alcoholics Anonymous was founded by Bill Wilson and Robert Smith

Alcoholics Anonymous, which operates through local groups that follow a 12-step rehabilitation program to help people overcome alcoholism, is now estimated have around two million members ...

8th June 1959: The world’s only delivery of ‘Missile Mail’ took place when the United States Post Office Department sent 3,000 letters using a cruise missile

The missile was fired from the deck of the submarine USS Barbero towards the Naval Auxiliary Air Station in Mayport, Florida, and completed its 700-mile flight in just 22 ...

7th June 1982: Elvis Presley’s Graceland estate in Memphis, Tennessee, was opened to the public

Elvis Presley purchased Graceland for $102,500 in 1957 when he was 22 years ...

5th June 1947: U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall delivers a speech at Harvard University outlining his financial plan for post-war Europe

The Marshall Plan provided aid to 16 Western European nations, distributing more than $13 billion of aid over a four year ...