THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

May 31

1790: The United States enacted its first copyright statute, the Copyright Act of 1790.
1927: The last Ford Model T rolled off the assembly line after a production run of 15,007,003 vehicles.
1929: The first talking Mickey Mouse cartoon, “The Karnival Kid,” was released.
1938: Born this day: Johnny Paycheck, U.S. singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2003); and Peter Yarrow, U.S. singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Peter, Paul and Mary).

June 1

1779: Benedict Arnold, a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, was court-martialed for defecting to the British side.
1792: Kentucky was admitted as the 15th state of the United States.
1796: Tennessee was admitted as the 16th state of the United States.
1980: Cable News Network (CNN) began broadcasting.
2009: General Motors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the fourth largest U.S. bankruptcy in history.

June 2

1692: Bridget Bishop became the first person to go to trial in the Salem witch trials in Salem, Mass. (She was found guilty and hanged on June 10.)
1835: P. T. Barnum began his first circus tour of the United States.
1896: Guglielmo Marconi applied for a patent for his newest invention, the radio.
1924: U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act into law, granting citizenship to all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the United States.
2004: Ken Jennings began his 74-game winning streak on the syndicated game show Jeopardy!.

June 3

1889: The first long-distance electric power transmission line in the United States was completed, running 14 miles between a generator at Willamette Falls and downtown Portland, Ore.
1940: Franz Rademacher proposed plans to make Madagascar the “Jewish homeland,” an idea that had first been considered by 19th century journalist Theodor Herzl.

June 4

1896: Henry Ford completed the Ford Quadricycle, his first gasoline-powered automobile, and gave it a successful test run.
1917: The first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded.
1937: Born this day: Freddy Fender, U.S. singer and guitarist (died 2006), and Robert Fulghum, U.S. author (All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten).
1974: During Ten Cent Beer Night, inebriated Cleveland Indians fans started a riot, causing the game to be forfeited to the Texas Rangers.

June 5

1956: Elvis Presley introduced his new single, “Hound Dog,” on The Milton Berle Show, scandalizing the audience with his suggestive hip movements.
1968: Robert F. Kennedy, a U.S. senator and brother of the late President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated, shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles shortly after winning the California Democratic presidential primary election. He was 42. His assassin, Shirhan Bishara Sirhan, remains imprisoned in California.
2012: The governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, became the first U.S. governor to survive a recall election. The last transit of Venus of the 21st century began.