GOOD MORNING – TODAY IS SATURDAY, June 20, the 171st day of 2015 with 194 to follow. Sunrise in the Boston area is @ 5:06 and sunset is @ 8:24. The moon is waxing. The morning stars are stars are Neptune & Uranus. The evening stars are Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Saturn & Venus.
ON THIS DAY IN: 840 – Vikings sailed up the Seine in France as far as Rouen, for the first time.
1756 – In India, over 140 British subjects were imprisoned in a cell called “the Black Hole of Calcutta” only 23 survived.
1782 – Congress approved the Great Seal of the United States.
1793 – Eli Whitney applied for a cotton gin patent.
1837 – Victoria ascended the British throne following the death of her uncle, King William IV.
1863 – West Virginia became the 35th state.
1893 – A jury in New Bedford, Massachusetts, found Lizzie Borden innocent of the ax murders of her father and stepmother.
1898 – During the Spanish-American War, the USS Charleston captured the Spanish-ruled island of Guam.
1900 – Chinese nationalists launch the so-called Boxer Rebellion in Peking.
1948 – The variety series “Toast of the Town,” hosted by Ed Sullivan, debuted on TV; it became “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1955.
1955 – The AFL and CIO agreed to combine names for a merged group.
1963 – The United States and the Soviet Union agreed to establish a hot line between Washington and Moscow.
1967 – Boxer Muhammad Ali was convicted of violating Selective Service laws by refusing to be drafted. The conviction was later overturned by the Supreme Court.
1977 – Crude oil from the nation’s largest oil field began flowing through the trans-Alaska pipeline to the port of Valdez, Alaska.
1993 – The Chicago Bulls became the first NBA team in 27 seasons to win three successive championships.
1997 – The tobacco industry agreed to a massive settlement in exchange for major relief from mounting lawsuits and legal bills.
2001 – Pervez Musharraf was declared the President of Pakistan after winning the electoral college majority.
2003 – The formation of Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. was announced.