1775, The United States Army is founded by the Continental Congress.
1777, The Continental Congress in Philadelphia adopts the “Stars and Stripes” as the national flag of the United States
1864, Congress rules Black soldiers must receive equal pay.
1865, Author and poet William Butler Yeats is born.
1892, Actor Basil Rathbone, best known for playing the lead in a series of Sherlock Holmes films, is born.
1920, The U.S. Post Office Department rules that children may not be mailed by parcel post.
1943, The U.S. Supreme Court rules schoolchildren can not be compelled to salute the flag if doing so would conflict with their religious beliefs.
1953, Elvis Presley graduates from L.C. Humes High School in Memphis, Tennessee.
1954, President Eisenhower signs an order adding the words “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance.
1967, The fifth James Bond film starring Sean Connery, You Only Live Twice, is released.
1971, The first Hard Rock Cafe opens in London.
1972, The TV show The Courtship Of Eddie’s Father airs for the last time.
1976, The Gong Show premieres.
1981, Tom Snyder interviews Charles Manson on Tomorrow.
1982, Professional wrestler “High Chief” Peter Maivia, the grandfather of actor and WWE superstar theRock, dies.
1985, The movie Prizzi’s Honor, starring Jack Nicholson and Kathleen Turner, opens.
1987, The TV show The A-Team airs for the last time.
1989, Jerry Lee Lewis receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1989, Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor was arrested for slapping a Beverly Hills motorcycle patrolman.
1990, The U.S. Supreme Court upholds, by a 6-3 vote, police checkpoints that examine drivers for signs of intoxication.
1993, Pepsi pulled its Ray Charles Diet Pepsi TV ads following a spate of tampering reports involving needles and syringes found in cans of the soft drink.
1994, The New York Rangers won hockey’s Stanley Cup for the first time in 54 years as they defeated the Vancouver Canucks at Madison Square Garden.
1997, A copy of Detective Comics Number 27, the 1939 comic book featuring the first appearance by Batman, is auctioned off for $68,500 at Sotheby’s in New York.
1998, Michael Jordan saved one of his best moments for his biggest stage — the Chicago Bulls victory that clinched the NBA championship was the highest-rated pro basketball game ever broadcast. NBC estimated that 72 million people watched all or part of it. Jordan carried the Bulls to an 87-86 victory with two baskets and a steal in the final 40 seconds. The Bulls-Jazz series was the highest-rated NBA Finals series ever.
1999, About 15,000 NATO peacekeepers spread out across Kosovo, including a convoy of about 1,200 U.S. Marines.