This Day In History

On June 5, 1883, the Orient Express made its first trip from Paris to Vienna. It quickly earned a reputation as the world’s most luxurious train.

On June 4, 1940, over 338,000 Allied troops were evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk after being cut off and surrounded there for weeks.

On June 3, 1942, Japanese forces kicked of the 14-month Aleutian Islands Campaign. The campaign’s two Japanese invasions were the only ones on US soil during the war.

On June 2, 1886, President Grover Cleveland married Frances Folsom in the White House, making him the only US president to be married in the executive mansion.

On May 23, 1918, Katherine Stinson became the first woman hired by the post office to deliver airmail in the US. She had several other notable firsts and records in her short flying career.

On May 17, 2010, the USPS issued the first stamp in the Butterfly Series.  The stamps were created for use on envelopes that couldn’t be sorted on the USPS’s automated equipment, otherwise known as “nonmachinable.”  They’re often used for greeting cards. 

On April 29, 1947, the United States issued its first aerogram, then called an air letter sheet. It was a simple folded sheet of paper, but it offered Americans a cheaper and faster way to send personal messages overseas in the growing age of air travel.

On April 23, 1976, the USPS issued the first regular postage stamp to include a service indicator. While most Americans would never use it or notice it, the 7.9-cent Drum coil stamp quietly solved a problem that had complicated bulk mailing for decades.

Doctor Paul Dudley White was born on June 6, 1886, in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Often considered the founder of preventive cardiology, he helped to found the American Heart Association and later served as its president.

On June 6, 1944, some 155,000 Allied troops stormed the shores of Normandy on D-Day, the start of Operation Overlord.

Artist John Trumbull was born on June 6, 1756, in Lebanon, Connecticut. A prolific artist, he painted many of America’s founding fathers as well as notable events and battles from the Revolutionary War.

On June 6, 1933, the first drive-in movie theater opened in Camden, New Jersey. The number of drive-ins in the US would eventually grow to over 4,000, becoming a beloved pastime for millions.