On June 24, 1664, Sir George Carteret was granted lands between the Delaware and Hudson rivers. In the Royal charter, the lands were called “New Jersey” for the first time.
Image of Sir George Carteret via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
‘Blow fight!’ – the evocative title later associated with Adolph Metzner’s sketch of General August Willich at Liberty Gap, where fighting erupted on June 24, 1863. As part of Major General Alexander McCook’s XX Corps, Willich’s brigade advanced through Tennessee’s rugged terrain with discipline and aggressive maneuvering, helping to dislodge entrenched Confederate forces. The image, though quiet on the surface, reflects Willich’s determined leadership and the calculated momentum that marked the Union’s strategic success in the Tullahoma Campaign.
Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
“Saloons and disreputable places of Hazen, Nevada
June 24, 1905.”
Hazen, Nevada first appeared on maps two years earlier in 1903.
Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
On June 24, 1953, Senator John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier were engaged.
They announced their engagement the next day.
Image: President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jackie Kennedy, 10 years later at The White House in 1963 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
On June 24, 1938, a meteor that weighed about 1 million pounds broke into pieces when it hit the earth’s atmosphere about a dozen miles over Chicora, Pennsylvania.
The explosion was so great that local residents believed that a nearby storehouse for gunpowder had detonated.
Image of the Chicora meteor fragment via Smithsonian NMNH – Mineral Sciences Dept., no known restrictions
Portrait of American abolitionists (brother and sister) Henry Ward Beecher & Harriet Beecher Stowe
Henry Ward Beecher was born on June 24, 1813 in Litchfield, Connecticut.
H. W. Beecher Quote:
“Success is full of promise till men get it; and then it is last year’s nest from which the bird has flown.”
via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Field Telegraph, battery wagon and officers tent of Military Telegraph Corps, headquarters Army of the Potomac on June 24, 1864
via Library of Congress, no known restrictions
To oversee U.S. Naval aviation forces, Congress created the position of Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Aeronautics on June 24, 1926.
The first person to take office
was Edward P. Warner (shown here) who assumed office nearly 2 weeks later.
Image via Wikimedia Commons, no known restrictions
On June 24, 1980 satellite equipment was placed in this chamber in order to simulate a space environment so that a nuclear device could be detonated directly below it, in an underground shaft.
The purpose for the experiment dubbed “Huron King” was to evaluate the effects of nuclear radiation on communication satellites in space in the event of a nuclear explosion.
The experiment cost more $10 million.
Image via Wikimedia Commons, no known restrictions
American inventor Thomas Blanchard was born on June 24, 1788 in Sutton, Massachusetts.
His first machine was a tack making machine that he developed in 1806 that could make 500 tacks per minute.
In 1825 Blanchard also invented a steam-powered “horseless carriage” which is considered to be one of the first automobiles in America.
Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Jack Dempsey was born on June 24, 1895 in Manassa, Colorado.
Dempsey became Heavyweight Champion on July 4, 1919 and held the title for over 7 years
Image of Jack Dempsey & children c. early 1920s via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
“Hidden in hollows and behind clumps of rank brambles were large tents, dimly lighted with candles, but looking comfortable. The kind of comfort they supplied was indicated by pairs of men entering and reappearing, bearing litters; by low moans from within and by long rows of dead with covered faces outside. These tents were constantly receiving the wounded, yet were never full; they were continually ejecting the dead, yet were never empty…”
Ambrose Bierce from What I Saw At Shiloh (1881). American author and Civil War veteran, Ambrose Bierce was born on June 24, 1842 in Meigs County, Ohio.
Born on June 24, 1865, Robert Henri transformed American art by urging painters to depict life as it is – raw, unfiltered, and deeply human. His portraits, including Laughing Boy, Dutch Girl in White, and O in Black with Scarf, captured the dignity and inner life of everyday individuals with radical honesty. At his side stands Marjorie Organ, Irish-born cartoonist and illustrator, who became his wife in 1908 and remained his creative companion until his death in 1929. A pioneering artist in her own right, she brought wit to the comics page and, as the subject of some of Henri’s most intimate and expressive portraits, became both muse and mirror to his artistic vision. Together, they championed an art rooted in truth, vitality, and the shared rhythms of ordinary experience.
Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
“They flew like a saucer would if you skipped it across the water,” said American aviator and businessman Kenneth Arnold after witnessing nine mysterious objects flying in formation near Mount Rainier, Washington, on June 24, 1947. His report became the first widely publicized modern UFO sighting in the United States, sparking a national fascination with ‘flying saucers.’ In the years that followed, Arnold remained active in the emerging field of ufology, publishing accounts of his experience, collaborating with other early investigators, and advocating for serious inquiry into aerial phenomena that defied conventional explanation.
Image via Shutterstock
On June 24, 1916 Mary Pickford signed a one million dollar, two-year contract with Paramount.
“America’s Sweetheart” not only starred in the films, but the new contract gave her a percentage of movie revenue.
Image: Mary Pickford and a furry friend in 1916 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Los Angeles, June 24, 1933
John Wayne—still Marion Morrison—stands in front of a floral trellis with his bride, Josephine Saenz, in the garden of actress Loretta Young. A close friend to the bride, Young served as the maid of honor and hosted the ceremony at her home, a gesture that reflects the tight-knit Catholic and studio-adjacent circles that shaped Josephine’s world in LA.
As the devout daughter of the Panamanian Consul, Saenz brought Wayne into a community of parish gatherings and cultural traditions that would remain a persistent influence throughout his life.
Though Wayne was raised Presbyterian and spent most of his adulthood outside the Church, Josephine’s faith established a foundation he would eventually return to in his final days. Two days before his death in 1979, Wayne formally embraced Catholicism and was baptized. His grandson, Matthew Muñoz, was present as a 14-year-old witness to this conversion, an experience that profoundly moved him and eventually inspired his own vocation to the priesthood.
The photograph captures Wayne at the beginning of a journey that would eventually circle back to the faith and community embodied by this day.
Image via Alamy
