Today:
1777 – American forces under General Horatio Gates fought British troops commanded by General John Burgoyne at the First Battle of Saratoga (Battle of Freeman’s Farm) during the American Revolution. Although tactically a British victory, the British suffered heavy losses.
1796 – George Washington’s Farewell Address was published in the American Daily Advertiser in Philadelphia. Washington warned Americans about excessive political factionalism and permanent foreign alliances.
1881 – President James A. Garfield died from complications of gunshot wounds suffered during an assassination attempt on July 2. Vice President Chester A. Arthur became the 21st president of the United States.
1893 – New Zealand became the first self-governing country in the world to grant women the right to vote in national elections when Governor Lord Glasgow signed the Electoral Act into law.
1940 – Polish resistance fighter Witold Pilecki deliberately allowed himself to be captured by German forces so he could enter Auschwitz, gather intelligence and organize resistance from inside the concentration camp.
1952 – The United States barred Charlie Chaplin from returning to the country without an immigration hearing while he was traveling to Europe. Chaplin subsequently made his home in Switzerland.
1957 – The United States conducted the first fully contained underground nuclear test, known as Rainier, at the Nevada Test Site. The explosion produced no detectable radioactive fallout above ground.
1970 – The first Glastonbury Festival was held at Worthy Farm in Somerset, England. Originally called the Pilton Pop, Blues & Folk Festival, admission cost £1 and included free milk from the farm.
1982 – Computer scientist Scott Fahlman proposed using 🙂 and 🙁 in an online message board to distinguish jokes from serious comments. The suggestion is widely credited with introducing the modern digital emoticon.
1991 – German hikers discovered the naturally mummified remains of Ötzi the Iceman in the Alps near the Austrian-Italian border. Scientists later determined that he had lived more than 5,000 years ago.