Today in history
On June 23, 1868, Christopher Latham Sholes received a patent for his “Type-Writer,” featuring a QWERTY keyboard; it was the first commercially successful typewriter.
In 1314, during the First War of Scottish Independence, the two-day Battle of Bannockburn, resulting in victory for the forces of Robert the Bruce over the army of King Edward II, began near Stirling.
In 1757, forces of the East India Company led by Robert Clive won the Battle of Plassey, which effectively marked the beginning of British colonial rule in India.
In 1938, the Civil Aeronautics Authority was established.
In 1947, the Senate joined the House in overriding President Harry S. Truman’s veto of the Taft-Hartley Act, designed to limit the power of organized labor.
In 1968, a syndicated newspaper column by Joseph Kraft coined the term “Middle America.”
In 1969, Warren E. Burger was sworn in as chief justice of the United States by the man he was succeeding, Earl Warren.
In 1972, President Richard Nixon and White House chief of staff H.R. Haldeman discussed using the CIA to obstruct the FBI’s Watergate investigation. (Revelation of the tape recording of this conversation sparked Nixon’s resignation in 1974.) President Nixon signed Title IX barring discrimination on the basis of sex for “any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”
In 1993, in a case that drew widespread attention, Lorena Bobbitt of Prince William County, Virginia, sexually mutilated her husband, John, after he allegedly raped her. (John Bobbitt was later acquitted of marital sexual assault; Lorena Bobbitt was later acquitted by reason of insanity of malicious wounding.) Canada’s Senate ratified the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Ten years ago: Seattle’s Felix Hernandez hit the first grand slam by an American League pitcher in 37 years, then departed with a sprained ankle before he could qualify for a win in the Mariners’ 5-2 victory over the New York Mets.
Five years ago: Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency contractor behind the disclosures of the U.S. government’s sweeping surveillance programs, left Hong Kong for Moscow with the stated intention of seeking asylum in Ecuador; however, Snowden ended up remaining in Moscow. Aerialist Nik Wallenda completed a tightrope walk that took him a quarter mile over the Little Colorado River Gorge in northeastern Arizona.
One year ago: The New Jersey Devils selected center Nico Hischier with the No. 1 overall pick in the NHL draft.