On This Day in History - June 28 The First Corvette

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

June 28, 1953: Workers assemble first Corvette in Flint, Michigan

On this day in 1953, workers at a Chevrolet plant in Flint, Michigan, assemble the first Corvette, a two-seater sports car that would become an American icon. The first completed production car rolled off the assembly line two days later, one of just 300 Corvettes made that year.

The idea for the Corvette originated with General Motors' pioneering designer Harley J. Earl, who in 1951 began developing plans for a low-cost American sports car that could compete with Europe's MGs, Jaguars and Ferraris. The project was eventually code-named "Opel." In January 1953, GM debuted the Corvette concept car at its Motorama auto show at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. It featured a fiberglass body and a six-cylinder engine and according to GM, was named for the "trim, fleet naval vessel that performed heroic escort and patrol duties during World War II." The Corvette was a big hit with the public at Motorama and GM soon put the roadster into production.

On June 30, 1953, the first Corvette came off the production line in Flint. It was hand-assembled and featured a Polo White exterior and red interior, two-speed Powerglide automatic transmission, a wraparound windshield, whitewall tires and detachable plastic curtains instead of side windows. The earliest Corvettes were designed to be opened from the inside and lacked exterior door handles. Other components included a clock, cigarette lighter and red warning light that activated when the parking brake was applied--a new feature at the time. The car carried an initial price tag of $3,490 and could go from zero to 60 miles per hour in 11 or 12 seconds, then considered a fairly average speed.

In 1954, the Corvette went into mass production at a Chevy plant in St. Louis, Missouri. Sales were lackluster in the beginning and GM considered discontinuing the line. However, rival company Ford had introduced the two-seater Thunderbird around the same time and GM did not want to be seen bowing to the competition. Another critical development in the Corvette's survival came in 1955, when it was equipped with the more powerful V-8 engine. Its performance and appeal steadily improved after that and it went on to earn the nickname "America's sports car" and become ingrained in pop culture through multiple references in movies, television and music.

Today was an important date during the Crusades. Also, it was on this date that France established the colony of Guadeloupe.  Catherine II took over in Russia, and the Quakers built a school for blacks in Philadelphia. A couple of important dates during the Revolutionary War, as an attack by the British Navy was repulsed at Charleston, South Carolina This is the anniversary of an important date in New Jersey history - the Battle at Monmouth, in which Washington defeated Clinton. Later on in American history, during another war, this date marked the fourth and middle day of a seven day battle in Virginia. At the end of that war (the Civil War) the Army of the Potomac was disbanded on this day in 1865. In between the Revolutionary War and the Civil War, tomatoes were proven to be not poisonous, and the first ever dog show was held. El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras joined to form the Central American Republic (it did not last). The first French air show was held on this date in 1909. The biggest single event in history to have transpired on this day surely must have been the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand by young Serbian Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, an event which precipitated "The Great War" (World War I), which was easily the most brutal and horrific war up to that point (it would be overtaken by World War II). That war was made possible by the unfair terms of the Treaty of Versailles that set the peace terms following World War I, and this was signed on this date in history. Before that other world war, the man who would essentially bring that war to European soil, and who strongly rejected the terms and the spirit of the Treaty of Versailles, Adolf Hitler, flew to Essen during the "Night of Long Knives" in 1934. It was on this date a year later that Franklin D. Roosevelt would order the construction of a federal gold vault at Fort Knox in Kentucky to hold much of the nation's gold wealth. It was on this date in 1963 that Khrushchev visited East Berlin during the Cold War. This is an important date for wars, evidently, as a couple of years after that, President Lyndon B. Johnson authorized the first ground forces in Vietnam. It would not take long for them to see action. OPEC raised oil prices by 24%.

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:


767 - St Paul I ends his reign as Catholic Pope

1098 - Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul.

1119 - Battle of Sarmada - Emir Ilghazi defeat French Crusaders

1245 - First Council of Lyons (13th ecumenical council) opens

1389 - Ottomans defeat Serbian army in the bloody Battle of Kosovo, opening the way for the Ottoman conquest of Southeastern Europe (see Vidovdan).

1461 - Edward IV crowned king of England

1485 - Gent/Brugge/Ieper recognize Maximilian of Austria as regent of Neth

1519 - King Carlos I elected Roman Catholic German emperor Charles V

1524 - Duke van Bourbon occupies Province

1575 - Spanish troops conquer Buren

1583 - Duke French van Valois returns to France

1593 - Earl Mauritius conquerors Geertruidenberg

1629 - Peace of Ales: Rights of French huguenots limited

1635 - French colony of Guadeloupe established in Caribbean

1651 - Battle of Beresteczko between Poles and Ukrainians starts.

1675 - Battle at Fehrbellin: Frederick William of Brandenburg crushed the Swedes.

1709 - The Russians defeated the Swedes and Cossacks at the Battle of Poltava.

1748 - Riot after public execution in Amsterdam, 200+ killed

1762 - Fiist reported counterfeiting attempt (Boston)

1762 - Russian Tsarina Catharina II grabs power

1770 - Quakers open a school for blacks in Philadelphia

1776 - Charleston, SC repulsed British sea attack

1776 - American Colonists repulsed a British sea attack on Charleston, SC.

1778 - Mary "Molly Pitcher" Hays McCauley, wife of an American artilleryman, carried water to the soldiers during the Battle of Monmouth and, supposedly, took her husband's place at his gun after he was overcome with heat. Overall, Gen Washington defeated Clinton.

1807 - British troops landed at Ensenada, Argentina

1820 - Tomato is proven non-poisonous

1832 - Gerrit Moll measures noise of guns

1836 - The fourth president of the United States, James Madison, died at Montpelier, his Virginia estate.

1838 - Coronation of Queen Victoria in Westminster Abbey, London

1841 - The Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique in Paris premieres the ballet Giselle

1846 - Saxophone is patented by Antoine Joseph Sax

1855 - The Sigma Chi Fraternity was founded at Miami University

1859 - 1st dog show held (Newcastle-on-Tyne, England)

1861 - Leipzig Observatory discovers short-period (6.2 yrs) Comet d'Arrest

1862 - Day 4 of 7 Days-Battle of Savage's Station/Garnett's Farm, VA

1865 - The Army of the Potomac is disbanded

1869 - Amsterdam typographer strike

1869 - R. W. Wood was appointed as the first Surgeon General of the U.S. Navy.

1874 - Freedmen's Bank closes

1880 - Ned Kelly the Australian bushranger captured at Glenrowan.

1887 - Phillies most lopsided shut-out beating Indianapolis 24-0

1892 - Phillies tie club record of 16 straight victories

1894 - The U.S. Congress made Labor Day a U.S. national holiday.

1895 - El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua form Central American Union

1897 - Marquis C de Bonchamps' expedition reaches Gore Ethiopia

1902 - Congress authorizes Louisiana Purchase Expo $1 gold coin

1902 - US buys concession to build Panama canal from French for $40 million

 1902 - The U.S. Congress passed the Spooner bill, it authorized a canal to be built across the isthmus of Panama.

1904 - International Anti-Military Cooperation (IAMV) forms in Amsterdam

1904 - The SS Norge Runs aground and sinks

1907 - Nationals steal a record 13 bases off catcher Branch Rickey

1909 - First French air show, Concours d'Avation opens

1911 - Joseph Caillaux forms government in France

1911 - Samuel J. Battle became the first African-American policeman in New York City.

1914 - Austria invades Siberia (WW I)

1914 - Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Duchess Sophie, in Sarajevo by young Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip at 10.45 , the casus belli of World War I.

1917 - Potato entrepreneurs begins in Amsterdam

1917 - Raggedy Ann doll invented

1918 - 1st flight between Hawaiian Islands

1919 - Carl Mazes pitches a complete doubleheader against NY Yankees

1919 - The Treaty of Versailles was signed ending World War I exactly five years after it began. The treaty also established the League of Nations.

1921 - A coal strike in Great Britain was settled after three months.

1923 - Dodgers lost 7-0 lead, as Phillies score 8 in bottom of 9th

1923 - Queen Wilhelmina & Prince Henry for state visit to London

1924 - Test cricket umpire debut for Frank Chester, v South Africa at Lord's

1924 - Tornado strikes Sandusky Ohio & Lorain Ohio, killing 93

1928 - Alfred E Smith (NY-Gov) nominated for president at Dem Convention

1928 - Friedrich Schmiedl attempted rocket mail in Austria (unsuccessful)

1930 - First night game in Detroit at newly built Hamtramck Stadium as Negro League Detroit Stars take on KC Monarchs

1930 - More than 1,000 communists were routed during an assault on the British consulate in London.

1934 - Hitler flies to Essen (Night of Long Knifes)

1935 - Earl Averill's consecutive-game streak ends at 673

1935 - FDR orders a federal gold vault to be built at Fort Knox Kentucky

1936 - The Japanese puppet state of Mengjiang is formed in northern China.

1938 - Bradman scores 102* in drawn 2nd Test cricket at Lord's

1938 - The U.S. Congress created the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to insure construction loans.

1939 - Pan American Airways began the first transatlantic passenger service.  

1939 - Joe Louis TKOs Tony Galent in 4 for heavyweight boxing title

1939 - Pan Am opens southern route transatlantic air service (Dixie Clipper)

1939 - Yanks hit 13 HRs, sweep A's 23-2 & 10-0

1940 - The "Quiz Kids" was heard on NBC radio for the first time.

1940 - Romania cedes Bessarabia to Soviet Union

1941 - German & Romanian soldiers kill 11,000 Jews in Kishinev

1941 - German troops occupy Galicia Poland

1942 - Col-gen Von Hoth' 6th Pantser enters Voronezj

1942 - Dumont TV network begins (WABD NY)

1942 - German troops launched an offensive to seize Soviet oil fields in the Caucasus and the city of Stalingrad.

1943 - "The Dreft Star Playhouse" debuted on NBC radio.

1944 - "The Alan Young Show" debuted on NBC radio.

1945 - U.S. General Douglas MacArthur announced the end of Japanese resistance in the Philippines.

1945 - Polish Provisional government of National Unity set up by Soviets

1946 - Enrico de Nicola becomes 1st pres of Italy

1946 - Permanent radio play-by-play of Cleve Indians games begins

1947 - "Temptation (Tim-Tayshun) by Red Ingle with Jo Stafford hits #1

1948 - US/British airlift to West-Berlin begins

1949 - The last U.S. combat troops were called home from Korea, leaving only 500 advisers.  

1950 - "Michael Todd's Peep Show" opens at Winter Garden NYC for 278 perfs

1950 - North Korean forces capture Seoul, South Korea in opening phase of the Korean War

1951 - "Amos 'n' Andy" moved from radio to television, premiered on CBS TV

1953 - 8th US Women's Open Golf Championship won by Betsy Rawls

1954 - 111°F (44°C) at Camden, South Carolina (state record)

1954 - French troops began to pull out of Vietnam’s Tonkin Province.

1956 - First atomic reactor built for private research operates Chicago Ill

1956 - Riots break out in Poznan Poland, 38 die

1957 - Reds' fans stuff ballot box, electing 8 Reds as All Star starters

1957 - Frick overrules & names Stan Musial, Willie Mays, & Hank Aaron to team

1958 - Brazil becomes world soccer champ in Sweden

1958 - Nancy Ramey swims world record 100m (1:09.6)

1959 - Phils Wally Post is only outfielder to throw out 2 runners in an inning twice (Losing to Giants 6-0)

1960 - In Cuba, Fidel Castro confiscated American-owned oil refineries without compensation.

1960 - 10.40" (26.42 cm) of rainfall, Dunmor, Kentucky (state 24-hour record)

1961 - Phils & SF set then record longest night game (5h11m) 7-7 15 inn tie

1962 - Thalidomide drug banned in Netherlands

1963 - Belaunde Terry inaugurated as pres of Peru

1963 - Khrushchev visits East-Berlin

1964 - Malcolm X founded the Organization for Afro American Unity to seek independence for blacks in the Western Hemisphere.

1965 - The first commercial satellite began communications service. It was Early Bird (Intelsat II).

1965 - First US ground combat forces in Vietnam authorized by Pres Johnson

1965 - Princess Beatrice & Claus von Amsberg announce engagement

1966 - Ernie Terrel beats Doug Jones in 15 wba for heavyweight boxing title

1967 - George Harrison is fined £6 for speeding

1967 - Israel annexes East Jerusalem  Israel formally declared Jerusalem reunified under its sovereignty following its capture of the Arab sector in the June 1967 war.

1968 - Daniel Ellsberg indicted for leaking Pentagon Papers

1969 - John Hampshire scores 107 on Test cricket debut v WI at Lord's

1969 - Stonewall riots begin in New York City.

1970 - Mary Mills wins LPGA Len Immke Buick Golf Open

1971 - Fillmore East closes

1971 - Phillies' Rick Wise hits 2 HRs & no-hits Reds

1971 - The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the draft evasion conviction of Muhammad Ali, 8-0.

1972 - U.S. President Nixon announced that no new draftees would be sent to Vietnam.

1973 - Lawsuit in Detroit challenges Little League's "no girls" rule

1973 - Black Sports Hall of Fame forms: Paul Robeson, Elgin Baylor, Jesse Owens, Jim Brown, Wilma Rudolph, Joe Louis & Althea Gibson elected

1974 - Fall of earth & rocks kill 200 (Quebrada Blanca Canyon, Colombia)

1974 - Wings release "Band on the Run" & "Zoo Gang" in UK

1975 - David Bowie releases "Fame"

1975 - Golfer Lee Trevino is struck by lightning at Western Open (Ill)

1976 - First woman was admitted to Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs Colo

1976 - Hijacked French Airbus lands in Entebbe, Uganda

1976 - The first women entered the U.S. Air Force Academy.

1977 - Billy Hunter becomes Rangers' 4th manager in 6 days

1977 - Supreme Court allows Federal control of Nixon tapes papers

1978 - UNICEF chooses rock group Kansas as ambassadors of goodwill

1978 - The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the medical school at the University of California at Davis to admit Allan Bakke. Bakke, a white man, argued he had been a victim of reverse racial discrimination.  

1979 - OPEC raises oil prices 24%

1980 - NYC transit fare rises from 50 cents to 60 cents

1981 - "Piaf" closes at Plymouth Theater NYC after 165 performances

1981 - 74 government officials die in attack in Iran

1982 - Prince Charles & Lady Diana name their baby "William"

1983 - Bridge section along I-95 in Greenwich, Ct collapsed kills 3

1983 - NASA launches Galaxy-A

1985 - Discovery ferried back to Kennedy Space Center via Bergstrom AFB, Tx

1986 - Irish population condemns divorce

1986 - Kenneth & Nellie Pike challenge Ala Dem runoff win by AG C Graddick

1987 - "Dreamgirls" opens at Ambassador Theater NYC for 177 performances

1987 - Deb Richard wins LPGA Rochester Golf International

1987 - Don Baylor sets career hit-by-pitch mark at 244 (Pitcher Rick Rhoden)

1988 - Mike Tyson sues to break contract with manager Bill Cayton

1990 - 17th annual Daytime Emmy Awards

1990 - Emmy 17th Daytime Award presentation - Susan Lucci loses for 11th time

1992 - "Chinese Coffee" opens at Circle in Sq Theater NYC for 18 performances

1992 - 2 earthquakes, including 3rd strongest in US (7.4) rock Calif

1992 - Burharnuddin Rabbani becomes president of Afghanistan

1992 - Italian government of Amato forms

1992 - LA Police commisioner Daryl Gates steps down

1992 - US Dream Team beats Cuba in 1st exhibition basketball game, 133-57

1992 - The Constitution of Estonia is signed into law.

1993 - Doctors recommend ligament transplant to Jose Canseco's arm

1993 - Jacques Lemaire is named NJ Devils 8th Head Coach

1993 - NCRV shows last "Cheers" in Neth

1993 - Carlton Fisk, 45, released by White Sox, as all time leader of most games caught & most HRs by a catcher

1994 - NY Met Pitcher Dwight Gooden suspended for 60 days due to drug charges

1995 - NJ Devils Stanley Cup Victory Party, admidst rumours they were moving to Nashville, goalie Chris Terreri holds up "Nashville? NO WAY!" sign    

1996 - "Nutty Professor," starring Eddie Murphy opens in theaters in the USA

1996 - The Constitution of Ukraine is signed into law.

1996 - The Citadel voted to admit women, ending a 153-year-old men-only policy at the South Carolina military school.

1996 - Charles M. Schulz got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1997 - Mike Tyson was disqualified for biting Evander Holyfield's ear after three rounds of their WBA heavyweight title fight in Las Vegas, NV, earning a 16-month suspension. 2000 Elian Gonzalez was returned to his father in Cuba.

1997 - "Master Class," closes at Golden Theater NYC after 601 performances

1997 - "Steel Peer," closes at Richard Rodgers Theater NYC after 76 perfs

1997 - TV evangelist Robert Schuller attacks a flight attendant

1998 - Poland, due to shortage of funds, is allowed to lease, U.S. aircraft to bring military force up to NATO standards.

1998 - The Cincinnati Enquirer apologized to Chiquita banana company and retracted their stories that questioned company's business practices. They also agreed to pay more than $10 million to settle legal claims.

2000 - The U.S. Supreme Court declared that a Nebraska law that outlawed "partial birth abortions" was unconstitutional. About 30 U.S. states had similar laws at the time of the ruling.

2000 - Darva Conger announced that she had done a layout for Playboy magazine. Conger had married Rick Rockwell on Fox-TV's "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire."

2000 - The European Commission announced that they had blocked the planned merger between the U.S. companies WorldCom Inc. and Sprint due to competition concerns.

2000 - Six-year-old Elián González returned to Cuba from the U.S. with his father on the order of the US Supreme Court. The child had been the center of an international custody dispute.

2001 - Serbia handed over Slobodan Milosevic, who was taken into custody and was handed over to the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands. The indictment charged Milosevic and four other senior officials, with crimes against humanity and violations of the laws and customs of war in Kosovo.

2001 - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit set aside an order that would break up Microsoft for antitrust violations. However, the judges did agree that the company was in violation of antitrust laws.

2004 - Estonia, Lithuania and Slovenia join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism

2004 - The U.S. turned over official sovereignty to Iraq's interim leadership. The event took place two days earlier than previously announced to thwart insurgents' attempts at undermining the transfer.

2004 - The U.S. resumed diplomatic ties with Libya after a 24-year break.

2004 - The 17th NATO Summit starts in Istanbul.

2004 - Sovereign power is handed to the interim government of Iraq by the Coalition Provisional Authority, ending the U.S.-led rule of that nation.

2005 - A final design for Manhattan's Freedom Tower is formally unveiled.

2006 - The Republic of Montenegro was admitted as the 192nd Member of the United Nations by General Assembly resolution 60/264.

2007 - Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros becomes the 27th member of the 3000 hit club, going 5 for 5 against the Colorado Rockies.

2007 - The American bald eagle was removed from the endangered species list.

2012 - A series of car bombs in Iraq kills 14 and injures 50 people







The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/jun22.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory