On June 20, 1782, Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States after six years of discussion. The front of the seal depicts a bald eagle clutching an olive branch in its right talon and arrows in its left. On its breast appears a shield marked with 13 vertical red and white stripes topped […]

During the Civil War, West Virginia is admitted into the Union as the 35th U.S. state, or the 24th state if the secession of the 11 Southern states were taken into account. The same day, Arthur Boreman was inaugurated as West Virginia’s first state governor. Settlement of the western lands of Virginia came gradually in […]

On June 20, 1900, Chinese nationalists behind the so-called Boxer Rebellion occupy the capital city of Peking (later Beijing), kill several Westerners—including German ambassador Baron von Ketteler—and besiege the foreign legations in the diplomatic quarter of the city. The occupation would last 55 days. In response to widespread foreign encroachment upon China’s national affairs, the […]

After a long and bitter struggle on the part of Henry Ford against cooperation with organized labor unions, Ford Motor Company signs its first contract with the United Automobile Workers of America and Congress of Industrial Organizations (UAW-CIO) on June 20, 1941.    In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s allies in Congress passed the landmark […]

To lessen the threat of an accidental nuclear war, the United States and the Soviet Union agree to establish a “hot line” communication system between the two nations. The agreement was a small step in reducing tensions between the United States and the USSR following the October 1962 Missile Crisis in Cuba, which had brought […]