June 1909

June 1, 1909 (Tuesday)

• The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition opened in Seattle at. From the White House, U.S. President William Howard Taft pressed "a telegraph key of Alaska gold" to signal the opening of the fair. A crowd of 89,286 turned out on the first day.
• Andrew Fisher resigned as Prime Minister of Australia after six months. He was succeeded by Alfred Deakin, who had joined with Joseph Cook in creating the Fusion Party. Deakin, who had been premier twice before, formed a government with Cook as Minister of Defence.

  June 2, 1909 (Wednesday)

• Muhammad Da´ud Murra ibn Yusuf, ruler since 1901 of the Ouaddai Kingdom in the northern part of what is now Chad, was forced to flee after French troops succeeded in capturing the capital at Abéché. The French forces released Adam Asil from confinement and placed him on the throne as a puppet ruler, while incorporating the kingdom into French Equatorial Africa.
• Harmon County, Oklahoma, was created by gubernatorial proclamation after being approved in an election on May 22. The new county was named in honor of Judson Harmon, who was Governor of Ohio at the time.

  June 3, 1909 (Thursday)

• Seven months after the fatal crash that killed Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge, the Wright brothers returned to Fort Myer, Virginia, with the improved Wright Military Flyer, which passed the U.S. Army's tests and was accepted on August 2.
• Left with only four ships after the Russo-Japanese War, the Russian Navy commenced rebuilding. The keels were laid down for four dreadnoughts, which were all launched in the summer of 1911.
• Born: Ira D. Wallach, American businessman and philanthropist; in New York City;

  June 4, 1909 (Friday)

• "Japanese Navy Day" was held at the A-Y-P Exposition in Seattle.

  June 5, 1909 (Saturday)

• In Somerville, Massachusetts, a butcher at the North Packing and Provision Company slaughterhouse attacked his co-workers with his knife. Five men were killed and four more wounded before John Murphy was overpowered and arrested.
• The first race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with three competitors setting off at and ascending into the sky—in balloons. Six more balloons were launched at for a distance race. John Berry, piloting the University City, landed in Alabama two days later, winning the endurance and distance races.

  June 6, 1909 (Sunday)

• The Hukuang Loan agreement was signed between the Imperial Chinese government and a consortium of British, German and French banks, providing that the bankers would finance the construction of two railroad lines in central China, connecting Canton, Hankow and Chengtu to the Beijing line. After the agreement was signed, the United States pressed for its own banks to be part of the program. The agreement was renegotiated, delaying construction of the railroad. Public outrage over the handling of the loan was later described as "one of the links in the chain of events that caused the revolution" of 1911, which overthrew the Empire in favor of a republic.
• Born: Isaiah Berlin, Russian-born British social theorist; in Riga, Latvia, Russian Empire

  June 7, 1909 (Monday)

• The Unfair Competition Act of 1909 was enacted in Germany, prohibiting five categories of anti-competitive business practices, and providing for injunctions and civil damages. Under the UWG, fishing for customers, obstructive practices, exploitation of reputation, breach of law and disturbance of the market are barred.
• The first Imperial Press Conference was held in London 7–20 June, and attended by delegates from Australia, Canada, India and other countries in the British Empire. Much discussion centred on anti-competitive behavior of the privately-owned cable news services, and calls were made for trans-oceanic cables to be nationalized. In a keynote speech Guglielmo Marconi predicted the rise of wireless news services.
• Born: Jessica Tandy, English-born American actress; in Hackney, London

  June 8, 1909 (Tuesday)

• An earthquake and tsunami destroyed the town of Korinchi on the island of Sumatra, now part of Indonesia, killing at least 230.

  June 9, 1909 (Wednesday)

• Alice Huyler Ramsey set off from New York to become the first woman to drive across the United States, setting off from the Maxwell Motors dealership at 1930 Broadway Street in New York, along with three female companions. The 22-year-old housewife and mother from Hackensack reached Chicago on June 18 and the four arrived in San Francisco on August 6, 59 days and 3,800 miles after departing. John D. Murphy of the Boston Herald handled publicity for Mrs. Ramsey, traveling ahead by train to prepare for each stop. Since there were no road maps for the Western U.S., Murphy went ahead in another car and followed telephone lines in order to avoid getting lost.
• Ali bin Hamud al-Busaid, the Sultan of Zanzibar, decreed that compensation claims for former slaveholders would no longer be considered after the end of 1911. Slavery had been abolished in the African nation in 1897, but the practice continued unofficially. Most slaveholders were Arab clover farmers, who used black African field hands.
• Born:
• *Virginia Apgar, American physician who developed the Apgar score in 1952, which aids in determining whether a newborn infant requires emergency medical attention; in Westfield, New Jersey
• * Peter Rodino, New Jersey Congressman who chaired the House Judiciary Committee that in 1974 voted to impeach President Richard Nixon; as Pellegrino Rodino, Jr., in West Orange, New Jersey

  June 10, 1909 (Thursday)

• The Cunard ocean liner RMS Slavonia, with 400 passengers on board, struck rocks off Flores Island and sank, the line's only passenger ship lost on a peacetime voyage this century. She became the first vessel to send the new international SOS wireless distress call, and all aboard were rescued by the Princess Irene, which was away when the call was received.
• The very first Lincoln cent coins were manufactured, as the Philadelphia Mint began production of the new penny, which was released into circulation on August 2. The first pennies included the initials "V.D.B.", placed on the dies designed by sculptor Victor D. Brenner, until the U.S. Mint eliminated the "signature" beginning August 12. The new one cent coin replaced the Indian Head cent which had been introduced 50 years earlier in 1859.
• Died: Edward Everett Hale, 87, American author, Unitarian minister, and abolitionist

  June 11, 1909 (Friday)

• At 9:16 in the evening, an earthquake struck Rognes, Lambesc and neighbouring villages in Southern France, killing 46 people. Rognes was half destroyed, especially the houses on the flanks of the hill Le Foussa. People were relocated under tents on another hill Le devin and near the primary school. Had the earthquake happened an hour later, more people would have been in bed, hence more casualties would have been recorded. The quake was the largest in France during the 20th century.
• George S. Patton graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, ranked 46th in his class of 103.

  June 12, 1909 (Saturday)

• Three people traveled in an airplane for the first time in history, as Louis Bleriot lifted off from Port-Aviation at Viry-Châtillon, France, in a monoplane, carrying Alberto Santos-Dumont and Heraclio Fournier.
• The "non-magnetic" yacht Carnegie was launched. Owned by the Carnegie Institution of Washington, the small ship was designed from materials that would not interfere with the workings of a magnetic compass, making accurate measurements of the Earth's changing magnetic field possible for the first time.
• Born: Archie Bleyer, American song arranger and band leader; in Queens, New York City

  June 13, 1909 (Sunday)

• Colombian President Rafael Reyes abruptly resigned and went into exile. Reyes' five-year dictatorial rule, known as the "Quinquenio", over the South American nation, ended after financial problems and public outrage over his recognition of Panamanian independence forced him to leave.

  June 14, 1909 (Monday)

• Four specimens of the now-extinct Caribbean monk seal, and the only ones known to be living in captivity, were brought to the New York Aquarium. The last of the species would be observed in 1952, and NOAA would declare the species extinct in 2008.
• Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton returned to a hero's welcome in London, and was knighted by King Edward VII.
• Prince Itō Hirobumi was forced to resign as Japan's Resident-General of Korea, at that time a Japanese protectorate, and was replaced by Baron Sone Arasuke. Ito's assassination, three months later, would lead to Korea being annexed.
• Born:
• *Burl Ives, American singer, actor and voice artist; in Hunt City, Illinois
• *Ettore "Ted" DeGrazia, American artist, composer, actor, director, author, designer, sculptor, and architect; in Morenci, Arizona Territory

  June 15, 1909 (Tuesday)

• Nilo Peçanha was sworn into office as the seventh President of Brazil, the day after the sudden death of President Afonso Pena. Peçanha, the descendant of slaves, was the only African-Brazilian president of South American's largest nation. He completed the remaining 17 months of Penna's term, serving until November 15, 1910.
• Representatives from England, Australia and South Africa meet at Lord's Cricket Ground to form the Imperial Cricket Conference.
• The cork center baseball was patented. Benjamin Shibe, later the owner of the Philadelphia Athletics, received U.S. patent No. 924,696.

  June 16, 1909 (Wednesday)

• U.S. President William Howard Taft recommended to Congress that it vote to propose an amendment to the United States Constitution to permit the federal government to levy an income tax upon persons and corporations. The Sixteenth Amendment was ratified effective February 25, 1913.