JUNE 23 ^RD

1868: Christopher Latham Sholes patents the “type-writer.” Although various designs of typewriters with keyboards had existed for 150 years, Sholes’ design was the first to use the QWERTY keyboard. That keyboard is still used on typewriters and computer keyboards today.

1905: The Wright brothers launch Flyer No. 3. Their third heavier-than-air craft was the first one to travel in a consistent straight line, and the last one the pioneering brothers designed before Wilbur Wright flew a 77- mile flight on New Year’s Eve, 1908.

1917: Babe Ruth punches an umpire. After Ruth walked the first batter, he began arguing with the umpire, who ejected Ruth from the game. Ruth punched him and was forcibly removed from the game. Ernie Shore was then brought in to pitch. He picked off the runner at first and then retired the next 26 batters, effectively pitching a nearly “perfect” game. The Red Sox beat the Washington Senators 4-0.

1931: Wiley Post and Harold Gatty take off to travel around the world. The American aviator and Australian navigator left Long Island on the first successful attempt to circumnavigate the globe in a single-engine airplane. They flew to Newfoundland, then to England, across Siberia, Alaska, and Canada before landing in New York. They completed the journey in eight days, fifteen hours, and 51 minutes.

JUNE 25 ^TH

1950: The Korean War begins. North Korea invaded South Korea after a series of skirmishes along the border. The United Nations and principally the United States committed troops to defending South Korea. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army entered the war on the side of the North. After four years of brutal combat and close to a million killed, the war ended in a stalemate. Neither side gained any significant territory or concessions from the other.