This week in American history

Here is what happened this week in American History.

• June 2. On this day in 1919, bombs explode in eight US cities resulting in two deaths and two injuries. Sent through the mail, the packages appeared innocuous enough with a label indicating they were from “Gimbel Brothers – Novelty Samples.” Each package actually contained a stick of dynamite with a detonating device activated when the package was opened. One of the bombs was sent to Georgia Senator Thomas Hardwick and opened by a housekeeper. The explosion blew off one of her hands and injured Hardwick’s wife, who suffered severe burns to her face and neck. The bombings were blamed on followers of Italian anarchist Luigi Galleani.

• June 3. Today in 1781, Jack Jouett – sometimes referred to as the “Paul Revere of the South” begins a midnight ride to warn Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia legislature of an impending raid by the British. The ride lasted until dawn.

• June 4. In 1855, US Army Major Henry C. Wayne departs New York aboard the sailing vessel USS Supply. His mission is to obtain camels for use by the US Camel Corps in the American desert. The experiment was abandoned with the outbreak of the American Civil War. The camels were eventually sold at auction though some sources report that some of the animals escaped. The last reported sighting of one of the camels was in 1891 in Arizona.

• June 5. On this day in 1851, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” written by Harriet Beecher Stowe begins being published in the National Era newspaper. In is a 10-month run. While the novel is anti-slavery, today the name “Uncle Tom” is considered derogatory describing a person as excessively subservient especially when based on race.

• June 6. Today in 1912, the volcano Novarupta erupts in what is now the Katmai National Park and Preserve, southwest of Anchorage, Alaska. The violent series of eruptions lasted about 60 hours and is recorded as the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th centry.

• June 7. In 1965, the US Supreme Court issues a decision in Griswold v. Connecticut that prohibits the states from making use of birth control by married couples a criminal offense.

• June 8. On this day in 2009, journalists Euna Lee and Laura King are in Korea working for Current TV are detained after crossing into North Korea. They were tried and sentenced to twelve years of hard labor. They would be pardoned after a visit by former President Bill Clinton reportedly on behalf of then President Barack Obama.

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