Business Birthdays and Anniversaries in June

BIRTHDAYS

• June 8, 1916  - Francis Crick: Discoverer with James Watson of the structure of DNA in 1953.

• June 8, 1955 -  Tim Berners-Lee: Inventor of the World Wide Web

• June 9, 1781 -  George Stephenson: English inventor and developer of the steam locomotive

• June 11, 1910 -  Jacques Cousteau: French undersea explorer, invented the Aqualung.

• June 14, 1820 -  John Bartlett: Compiler of one of the most-used reference works of the English language, Bartlett's "Familiar Quotations", 1855.

• June 14, 1946 -  Donald Trump: Real estate mogul, businessman and television personality

• June 18, 1913 -  Sylvia Porter: Financial journalist, wrote more than 20 books, syndicated column in more than 450 newspapers worldwide. Noted for her ability to turn complex economic language into readable prose

• June 21, 1967 -  Pierre Omidyar: Founder of eBay. Over a holiday weekend, he wrote the code for what would become eBay because he wanted to see what would happen if everyone had equal access to venues of trade.

• June 22, 1922 -  Bill Blass: Fashion designer who put American fashion on the map

• June 23, 1911 -  David Ogilvy: Legendary advertising executive, known for his creativity and writings on the business

• June 25, 1874 -  Rose Cecil O'Neill: Illustrator, author and doll designer, designed the Kewpie Doll, a marketing phenomenon for 3 decades starting in 1910

• June 27, 1899 -  Juan Trippe: Commercial aviation visionary and CEO of Pan Am. He made air travel more accessible to the masses by introducing tourist class fares.

• June 29, 1858 -  George Washington Goethals: Chief engineer of the Panama Canal and first civil governor of the Canal Zone

• June 29, 1858 -  Julia C. Lathrop: Pioneer in the battle to establish child labor laws; was instrumental in establishing the first juvenile court in the US.

• June 29, 1861 -  William James Mayo: Surgeon, one of the Mayo brothers who established the Mayo Foundation and Mayo Clinic.

ANNIVERSARIES IN JUNE

• 4 - 1917: First Pulitzer Prizes are awarded.

• 6 - 1933: First drive-in movie theatre opens in Camden, NJ. By 1958, there were more than 4,000 drive-ins across the U.S. By the 1990s, fewer than 600 remained.

• 8-9 - 1919: First non-stop trans-Atlantic flight. Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Brown flew a Vickers Vimy bomber from St. John’s Newfoundland to Clifden, County Galway, Ireland, sparking public interest in aviation. (Charles Lindbergh’s more famous flight followed in 1927.)

• 10 - 1652: The first mint in America opens, established by silversmith John Hull.

• 10 - 1943: The ball point pen is patented by Laszlo Biro. He had been working on the invention throughout the 1930s. In many languages, the name for ball point pen is “biro.”

• 11 - 1895: The first US patent for a gasoline-powered automobile is granted to Charles Duryea. Bicycle makers Charles and Frank Duryea had successfully tested their invention on the streets of Springfield, Massachusetts. The Duryea automobile is produced until the 1920s.

• 15 - 1977: Apple II computer is released. It had 4K of memory and sold for just under $1300.

• 18 - 1971: Southwest Airlines begins flying. Starting as a local Texas airline, it grows to serve 59 cities.

• 19 - 1910: First Father’s Day celebrated in Spokane, Washington. Sonora Dodd is recognized as the creator of the holiday. The idea of a national observance was supported by President Calvin Coolidge in 1924. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation, setting aside the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day.

• 18 - 1980: Cable News Network (CNN), TV’s first all-news network, goes on the air. Founded by Ted Turner, it is widely credited for introducing the concept of 24-hour news coverage. Its combined services are available to more than 1 billion people in over 212 countries and territories.

• 25 - 1951: CBS sends first color TV broadcast over the air.

• 26 - 1974: The bar code is introduced. US grocers and manufacturers had recommended a Universal Product Code that would allow items to be scanned electronically. The first item scanned was a pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum in Troy, Ohio.

• 26 - 2000: Human Genome mapped.

• 27 - 1859: “Happy Birthday to You” melody is composed by schoolteacher Mildred Hill. Her younger sister, Patty Hill Smith, adds the lyrics. “Happy Birthday” is probably the most frequently sung song in the world. Although it is believed that the original authors earned very little from the song, the copyright holder was reported to have later earned about $1 million per year. The copyright expires in 2010 and the song is expected to enter the public domain.

• 28 - 1965: Intelsat I (“Early Bird”), launched in April, goes into service, transmitting television and voice broadcasts. Officials in Europe and the US exchange greetings, beginning the era of satellite communications.

• 29 - 1956: Interstate Highway system is born. President Eisenhower signs a $33.5 billion bill for highway construction, making it the largest public works program in history.

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