Past Father's Day Historical events

Celebrate with your father Sunday.
After reading the following, courtesy of Newspaper Metro, I discovered many interesting historical events that occurred on June 15.
*Father’s Day has been celebrated in one form or another since the beginning of the nineteenth century.
Perhaps the most driving force behind Father’s Day was Senora Dodd, who thought of the idea of a day to honor fathers while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909. Having been raised by her father, Dodd wanted to honor the sacrifices that fathers make.
Father’s Day was not formally considered a holiday until 1972, when a Congressional Act officially designated the third Sunday in June Father’s Day.
Dads who are history buffs may want to celebrate this year’s holiday by reminiscing about the notable events that have occurred on June 15 through the years.

Here are just some of the many historical events that took place on June 15:
* 1752: Ben Franklin performs his famous kite-flying experiment to test the electrical power of lightning.
* 1775: George Washington is appointed Commander in Chief of the American Army.

* 1878: The first attempt at a motion picture takes place. Twelve cameras, each taking one picture, focus on horses’ hooves to see if they will leave the ground.

* 1887: The New York Giants baseball team beats the Philadelphia Phillies 29 -1.

* 1916: The Boy Scouts of America receives its congressional charter.

* 1918: An inch of snow falls in northern Pennsylvania.

* 1924: Native Americans are proclaimed U.S. citizens.

* 1934: The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is dedicated.

* 1940: France surrenders to German forces as Nazi troops occupy the city of Paris.

* 1968: John Lennon and Yoko Ono plant an acorn at Coventry Cathedral.

* 1977: General elections are held in Spain for the first time since 1936.

* 1985: The Russian space probe Vega 2 lands on Venus.

* 1992: Vice President Dan Quayle famously misspells the word “potato” at a spelling bee.

* 2002: An asteroid misses hitting Earth by 75,000 miles.

* 2003: The San Antonio Spurs defeat the New Jersey Nets to win the NBA Championship.

* 2012: President Barack Obama indicates the United States will stop deporting some illegal immigrants.

* 2013: An estimated 40,000 residents of Piedra Negras, Mexico, are devastated by flooding.

Accent Editor Myra Miller can be reached at myra.miller@eunicetoday.com