- 167th Day of 2012 / 199 Remaining
- 5 Days Until Summer Begins
- Sunrise:5:47
- Sunset:8:34
- 14 Hours 47 Minutes of Daylight
- Moon Rise:3:02am
- Moon Set:5:21pm
- Moon’s Phase: 13 %
- The Next Full Moon
- June 3 @ 11:51am
- Full Buck Moon
- Full Thunder Moon
- Full Hay Moon
- July is normally the month when the new antlers of buck deer push out of their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur. It was also often called the Full Thunder Moon, for the reason that thunderstorms are most frequent during this time. Another name for this month’s Moon was the Full Hay Moon.
- Tides
- High:10:02am/8:41pm
- Low:3:22am/2:36pm
- Rainfall (measured July 1 – June 30)
- This Year:15.82
- Last Year:28.51
- Normal To Date:23.77
- Annual Seasonal Average: 23.80
- Holidays
- National Lobster Day
- Key West Conch Fritter Day
- Magna Carta Day
- Native American Citizenship Day
- Nature Photography Day
- Admission Day-Arkansas
- Work at Home Father's Day
- Day of National SalvationAzerbaijan
- Valdemars Day-Denmark
- National Flag Day-Denmark
- On This Day In …
- 1215 --- In a meadow called Ronimed, between Windsor and Staines, England, King John of England sealed the Magna Carta, the first charter of English liberties. The Magna Carta is considered one of the most important historical documents defining political and human freedoms.
- 1752 --- It was a dark and stormy night and since there was nothing on TV worth a darn and, since he had been wondering if there really was electricity up in those dark clouds, Benjamin Franklin tied an iron wire to his kite and let it sail. He flew the kite from a long piece of twine tied to a silk ribbon on the end. Franklin attached a metal key where the twine and silk met. Ben, not being a total dummy, flew the kite high in the wind, but stood in a doorway so the silk ribbon (and he) would not get wet. His idea was that any electricity overhead would be attracted to the wire on top of the kite. It was lucky for Franklin that no actual lightning bolt struck the wire or Ben would have been toast! However, as lightning began to flash, he put his hand near the key and sparks flew. The test was a success! Franklin used his discovery to start a new business. He made and sold lightning rods. These metal rods were attached to the tops of buildings. A wire ran down the side of the structure to the ground. When lightning struck the top of the rod, it ran down the wire and safely to ground without doing damage to the building. Benjamin Franklin’s kite flying and, subsequently, lightning rods have prevented many buildings from going up in smoke.
- 1836 --- First acquired by the United States through the Louisiana Purchase, Arkansas officially became the 25th of the United States of America. The Land of Opportunity as Arkansas is called, was founded in the late 17th century by Frenchman Henri de Tonti. His intrepretation of Quapaw, the Indian tribe that lived in the area, was Arkansas. Little Rock, the state’s largest city is also its capital. The state bird and the state flower are the mockingbird and apple blossom, respectively.
- 1844 --- Vulcanized rubber was patented by Charles Goodyear of New York City. Vulcanized rubber later was made into tires with Goodyear’s name on them. Charles never benefited from his invention and was poverty-stricken.
- 1846 --- Representatives of Great Britain and the United States sign the Oregon Treaty, which settles a long-standing dispute with Britain over who controlled the Oregon territory. The treaty established the 49th parallel from the Rocky Mountains to the Strait of Georgia as the boundary between the United States and British Canada. The United States gained formal control over the future states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana, and the British retained Vancouver Island and navigation rights to part of the Columbia River. In 1818, a U.S.-British agreement had established the border along the 49th parallel from Lake of the Woods in the east to the Rocky Mountains in the west. The two nations also agreed to a joint occupation of Oregon territory for 10 years, an arrangement that was extended for an additional 10 years in 1827. After 1838, the issue of who possessed Oregon became increasingly controversial, especially when mass American migration along the Oregon Trail began in the early 1840s. American expansionists urged seizure of Oregon, and in 1844 Democrat James K. Polk successfully ran for president under the platform "Fifty-four forty or fight," which referred to his hope of bringing a sizable portion of present-day Vancouver and Alberta into the United States. However, neither President Polk nor the British government wanted a third Anglo-American war, and on June 15, 1846, the Oregon Treaty, a compromise, was signed. By the terms of the agreement, the U.S. and Canadian border was extended west along the 49th parallel to the Strait of Georgia, just short of the Pacific Ocean.
- 1877 --- Henry O. Flipper became the first African American to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
- 1938 --- Cincinnati Red Johnny Vander Meer pitches his second consecutive no-hit, no-run game. Vander Meer is the only pitcher in baseball history to throw two back-to-back no-hitters. Johnny Vander Meer, a hard-throwing lefty, was just 23 in 1938, his first full season in the majors. In his one season in the minors, he had struck out 295 batters, but was prone to wild pitches. In spring training in 1938, Pitching Coach Bill McKechnie helped Vander Meer to harness his power into throwing strikes. The training quickly paid off: On June 11, Vander Meer pitched a Saturday afternoon game for the Reds against the Boston Braves. He didn’t allow a hit in nine innings, and of the 28 batters he faced, he walked three and struck out four. It was the first no-hitter thrown in the National League since 1934 and the first no-hitter by a lefthander since 1931. Four days later, Vander Meer pitched in the first night game in New York in big league history. Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, turned the lights on for the first time, drawing a sell-out crowd of 48,000. Although the lights overshadowed Vander Meer’s return to the mound, he soon pitched himself back into the story. In the seventh inning, Vander Meer walked Cookie Lavagetto and Dolph Camilli to put a runner on second, the first time the Dodgers had a runner on second all game. Vander Meer worked his way out of the jam, and headed into the ninth inning looking for his second no-hitter in a row. The crowd buzzed with anticipation in the bottom of the ninth, with the Reds leading 6-0 and Vander Meer poised to make history. After fielding a lazy ground ball hit by Dodger left fielder Buddy Hassett to lead off the inning, Vander Meer began to show signs of nerves. He proceeded to walk the bases loaded with one out, bringing centerfielder Ernie Koy to the plate. Koy hit a dribbler to Reds third basemen Lew Riggs, who, afraid of making a mistake, threw home to catcher Dolph Camilli instead of turning a double play. With two outs and the bases loaded, Dodger shortstop Leo Durocher stepped up to the plate. Durocher had a habit of delivering clutch hits, but after walloping a foul ball into the stands in right field, Durocher managed only a slow fly ball to center field, where Harry Craft gloved it for the final out to secure Vander Meer’s place in history.
- 1956 --- Fifteen-year-old John Lennon of the music group The Quarrymen met 13-year-old Paul McCartney and invited him to join the group. In a few years, the group became The Beatles.
- 1969 --- The variety show "Hee Haw" premiered on CBS.
- 1983 --- The U.S. Supreme Court reinforced its position on abortion by striking down state and local restriction on abortions.
- 1991 --- Long-dormant Mount Pinatubo erupted with a vengeance in the Philippines. The volcano covered the surrounding area with ash which turned into mud following severe rainstorms. Villages and U.S. military bases (Clark Air Force Base and Subic Bay Naval Base) were evacuated. The bases were damaged and many people lost their homes.
- 1992 --- At a spelling bee in a Trenton, New Jersey school, U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle, corrects a student's spelling of 'potato' by telling him it should have an 'e' at the end.
- 2001 --- A Houston jury convicted accounting firm Arthur Andersen of obstruction of justice, the first conviction involving the collapse of Enron.
- Birthdays
- Tim Lincecum
- Helen Hunt
- Jim Belushi
- Mario Cuomo
- Billy Williams
- Julie Hagerty
- Leah Remini
- Yuri Andropov
- Erroll Garner
- Harry Nilson
- Waylon Jennings
- 'Ice Cube' (O'Shea Jackson)
- Neil Patrick Harris
- Courtney Cox Arquette
- Mike Holmgren