On June 28, 1914, Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated by a Bosnia Serb nationalist, sparking World War I.
On June 27, 1895, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad’s Royal Blue became the first US passenger service to use electric locomotives, signaling a new era of modern rail travel. Running from Washington, DC, to New York City, the train combined speed, comfort, and cutting-edge technology.
America’s first joint issue stamp was created to honor the completion of the St. Lawrence Seaway. The US and Canada worked together to create the seaway to connect the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.
On June 25, 1788, Virginia ratified the US Constitution and was admitted as the 10th state of the Union.
America’s 22nd and 24th president, Grover Cleveland, died on June 24, 1908, in Princeton, New Jersey. He was America’s first president to serve two non-consecutive terms and was known for his honesty and integrity.
On June 20, 1863, West Virginia joined the Union as the 35th state. It had formed from the western counties of Virginia which disagreed with the state’s decision to secede during the Civil War.
On May 24, 1940, Igor Sikorsky successfully flew the first single-rotor helicopter. Sikorsky developed the world’s first mass-produced helicopter and one of the first American helicopters used in World War II.
On April 8, 1918, Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks held a war bond drive on Wall Street to bolster support for the war effort.
On March 21, 1918, Germany launched its Spring Offensive in the hopes of tipping the scales of the war before American troops and supplies could reach the front.
On June 28, 1776, South Carolina patriots won their first decisive victory of the Revolutionary War at Sullivan’s Island.
Nurse Clara Louise Maass was born on June 28, 1876, in East Orange, New Jersey. Maass’s participation in the Army’s Yellow Fever Commission claimed her life, but also contributed to the discovery of a treatment for the dangerous disease.
Stamp and poster artist Louis James Nolan Jr. was born on June 28, 1926, in Washington, DC. During his long career, he designed several military recruiting posters and over a dozen US stamps.
On June 28, 1778, US and British forces clashed at Monmouth Court House, New Jersey. While the battle was inconclusive, it produced one of the war’s most notable legend – Molly Pitcher.
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