Moments in Time – June 20, 2018

#Middlebury

• On July 7, 1797, for the first time in U.S. history, the House of Representatives votes to impeach a federal officer. Sen. William Blount of Tennessee is charged with “a high misdemeanor” for entering into a conspiracy with British officers to enlist frontiersmen and Cherokee Indians to aid the British.
• On July 3, 1863, on the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s last attempt at breaking the Union line ends in disastrous failure, bringing the most decisive battle of the American Civil War to an end. The tally: 23,000 killed, wounded or missing Union soldiers. The Confederates suffered some 25,000 casualties.
• On July 4, 1919, challenger Jack Dempsey defeats heavyweight champion Jess Willard in searing 110-degree heat in Toledo, Ohio, to win the heavyweight championship of the world. “The Manassa Mauler” bested Willard in 10 minutes.
• On July 6, 1933, Major League Baseball’s first All-Star Game takes place at Chicago’s Comiskey Park. The event was designed to bolster the sport and improve its reputation during the darkest days of the Great Depression.
• On July 8, 1950, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the hero of the war against Japan, is appointed head of the United Nations Command by President Harry Truman. Truman fired MacArthur nine months later after he defied the president and threatened to escalate hostilities with China.
• On July 5, 1975, although seemingly past his prime, Arthur Ashe defeats a heavily favored Jimmy Connors to become the first black man ever to win Wimbledon, the most coveted championship in tennis.
• On July 2, 1992, the 1 millionth Corvette, a white LT1 roadster with a red interior and a black roof – the same colors as the original 1953 model – rolls off the assembly line in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

(c) 2018 Hearst Communications, Inc.
All Rights Reserved