#Middlebury #MomentsInTime
On June 27, 1829, English scientist James Smithson dies, leaving behind a will with a peculiar footnote. Smithson decreed that the whole of his fortune would go to the United States, to found an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge. Today, the Smithsonian Institution is composed of 19 museums.- On June 26, 1945, delegates from 50 nations sign the United Nations Charter, establishing the world body as a means of saving “succeeding generations from the scourge of war.” Four years later, the cornerstone was laid for United Nations headquarters, in New York City.
- On June 28, 1953, workers at a Chevrolet plant in Flint, Michigan, hand assemble the first Corvette. The car carried a price tag of $3,490 and could go from zero to 60 mph in under 12 seconds.
- On June 25, 1969, the U.S. Navy turns 64 river patrol gunboats valued at $18.2 million over to the South Vietnamese Navy so that they could assume more responsibility for the war, raising the number of boats in its navy to more than 600.
- On June 30, 1975, less than a week after her divorce from Sonny Bono, Cher tied the knot with rock star Gregg Allman, only to file for divorce from him just nine days later. She then reconsidered and remained married to Allman until 1979.
- On June 29, 1989, in reaction to the Chinese government’s brutal massacre of protesters in Tiananmen Square in Beijing earlier in the month, the House of Representatives unanimously passes a package of sanctions against the People’s Republic of China. China remained largely unrepentant.
- On July 1, 1997, Hong Kong reverts back to Chinese rule, ending Britain’s 99 years of rule over Hong Kong. In exchange, China pledged to preserve Hong Kong’s capitalist system.
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