On this date
In 1866,
Tennessee became the first state to be readmitted to the Union after the Civil War.
In 1915,
the SS Eastland, carrying more than 2,500 people, rolled onto its side while docked at the Clark Street Bridge on the Chicago River; an estimated 844 people died in the disaster.
In 1937,
Alabama dropped charges against four of the nine young black men accused of raping two white women in the Scottsboro case.
In 1974,
the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that President Richard Nixon had to turn over subpoenaed White House tape recordings to the Watergate special prosecutor.
In 1983,
a two-run homer by George Brett of the Kansas City Royals was disallowed after New York Yankees manager Billy Martin pointed out there was too much pine tar on Brett’s bat. (The home run was later reinstated. The game was completed Aug. 18, 1983; the Royals won, 5-4.)
In 1998,
a gunman burst into the U.S. Capitol, killing two police officers before being shot and captured. (The shooter, Russell Eugene Weston Jr., is being held in a federal mental facility.)
In 2002,
nine coal miners became trapped in a flooded tunnel of the Quecreek Mine in Pennsylvania; the story ended happily 77 hours later with the rescue of all nine.
Ten years ago:
Ford Motor Co. posted the worst quarterly performance in its history, losing $8.67 billion.
Five years ago:
It was announced by Kensington Palace that the newborn son of Prince William and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, would be named George Alexander Louis.
One year ago:
President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner answered questions from Senate investigators for four hours about contacts with Russians during and after Trump’s campaign.