Today in History

Here’s a look back at some interesting events of June 4:

125 years ago – In 1896, Henry Ford made a successful test run of his Horseless Carriage in a nighttime drive through the streets of Detroit.

84 years ago – In 1937, Oklahoma City grocery store owner Sylvan Goldman invented the Shopping Cart.

54 years ago – In 1967, “The Monkees“ won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series.

49 years ago – In 1972, the Dodgers retired the numbers of Jackie Robinson (42), Sandy Koufax (32), and Roy Campanella (39).

45 years ago – In 1976, the Boston Celtics beat the Phoenix Suns with a score of 128-126 in three overtimes in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

39 years ago – In 1982, what some say is the best “Star Trek” movie of them all, “Star Trek 2:  The Wrath of Khan”, was released.  That’s the one where Spock Dies.  It’s also the one where Kirk yells, “Khaaaaaaaan!”

39 years ago– In 1982, “Poltergeist” was released.

37 years ago – In 1984, the album “Born In The U.S.A.“ by Bruce Springsteen, was released.  It contains SEVEN Top-10 singles . . . including “I’m On Fire“, “Glory Days“ and “Dancing in the Dark“.  It spent seven weeks at the top of the chart.

32 years ago – In 1989, Chinese army troops stormed Tiananmen Square in Beijing to crush the pro-democracy movement.  Hundreds, possibly thousands, of people died.  It’s hard to get a straight answer from China on the subject.

29 years ago – In 1992, Young Elvis beat out Chubby Elvis in a nationwide vote for which Elvis should be featured on a U.S. postage stamp.

18 years ago – In 2003, Martha Stewart stepped down as CEO of her company just hours after being indicted on insider trading charges, including obstruction of justice, conspiracy and securities fraud.  She served five months in prison, plus another five of home confinement.

17 years ago – In 2004, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” was released.