On this day in history:
In 1787, under President George Washington, the initial official meeting of the Constitutional Convention took place at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. This convention was responsible for drafting the U.S. Constitution.
In 1925, John Scopes was
arrested for teaching evolution
At a Tennessee high school, this situation led to a highly publicized trial. Scopes was found guilty and ordered to pay a fine of $100; however, the conviction was eventually reversed.
In 1935, as he concluded his illustrious career during his final season with the Boston Braves, Babe Ruth smashed his 714th home run in what would be his last game. This record remained unbroken for 39 years until Hank Aaron, who was then playing with the Braves but in their Atlanta location, surpassed it in 1974. Aaron subsequently finished his career with 755 home runs, whereas the present holder of this milestone is Barry Bonds, whose total stands at 762.
In 1961, U.S. President John F. Kennedy addressed a joint session of Congress about the initiative to
send a person to the moon by the end of the decade
.
In 1977, the first part of George Lucas’
Star Wars
film series was released.
In 1986, approximately 5 million individuals created a discontinuous 4,000-mile human chain stretching from Los Angeles to New York.
“Hands Across America,”
To assist the country’s homeless population. The fundraiser amassed $24.5 million.
In 1994, following 20 years of residing primarily in the United States as an émigré, Russian author Alexander Solzhenitsyn returned.
returned to his homeland
He was dismissed after
The Gulag Archipelago
An exposé on the Soviet prison camp system was released in Western countries in 1974.
In 1997, mutinous soldiers
seized power
in Sierra Leone.
In 2008, NASA’s Phoenix mission sent a spacecraft.
smooth landing on Mars
After completing a nine-month voyage covering 422 million miles, it landed in the planet’s cold polar area, where researchers were hopeful of discovering water.
In 2011,
The Oprah Winfrey Show
air its last new episode
following 25 years on the air.
In 2012, the Dragon capsule from the private aerospace manufacturer SpaceX became the first commercial spacecraft to reach the International Space Station.
first commercial cargo vessel
to go to the International Space Station.
In 2013, with stringent security measures in place, approximately 3,000 individuals who were present at the Boston Marathon on April 15—when explosives detonated, claiming three lives and leaving numerous others wounded—gathered for an event.
came back to finish the last leg
One participant commented that the event, named OneRun, provided “an excellent opportunity to demonstrate Boston’s resilience and the sense of community within our city.”
In 2020, George Floyd
died
Following the incident where Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes during an arrest for allegedly passing counterfeit bills, a jury less than twelve months later found Chauvin guilty of second- and third-degree murder as well as manslaughter. Floyd’s untimely demise ignited global demonstrations condemning the disproportionate use of force by law enforcement and highlighting issues of racial prejudice.
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