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 […]

On June 20, 1919, during the final days of the Versailles Peace Conference held in Paris, France, the German cabinet deadlocks over whether to accept the peace terms presented to its delegation by the other nations at the peace conference–most notably the Council of Four: France, Britain, the United States and Italy–and ratify the Versailles […]

Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, the man who brought organized crime to the West Coast, is shot and killed at his mistress Virginia Hill’s home in Beverly Hills, California. Siegel had been talking to his associate Allen Smiley when three bullets were fired through the window and into his head, killing him instantly. Siegel’s childhood had been […]

Not so much a band as an audacious business plan, a group called Stars on 45 climbs all the way to the top of the U.S. pop charts on June 20, 1981, with a single whose impossibly long title takes almost as long to read as the song itself takes to play: “Medley: Intro ‘Venus’/Sugar […]