June 12, 1859, is generally accepted as the re-discovery date of the Comstock Lode. Gold and silver had been found in the area as early as 1850 by emigrants on their way to California. It proved to be the richest silver lode in the US, with miners collecting nearly seven million tons of silver over the next two decades.
On June 11, 1872, Hawaii celebrated its first Kamehameha Day, in honor of the king who united the Kingdom of Hawaii.
On June 9, 1973, Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes race, becoming the first U.S. Triple Crown winner in 25 years.
On June 7, 1917, the Lions Club held their first national meeting in Chicago. The oldest continuously operating Lions Club was established on January 18, 1916, in Austin, Texas.
On June 5, 1971, the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS) was officially dedicated after decades of work. One of the largest civil works projects up to that time, it accounts for more than $1billion in trade transportation each for Arkansas and Oklahoma.
One June 3, 1942, Japanese forces kicked of the 14-month Aleutian Islands Campaign. The campaign’s two Japanese invasions were the only ones on US soil during the war.
Patricia Roberts Harris was born on May 31, 1924, in Mattoon, Illinois. Harris achieved several firsts in her life. She was the first black woman to serve as an American ambassador, serve in the US Cabinet, be dean of a law school, and sit on the board of directors of a Fortune 500 company.
On May 30, 1854, President Franklin Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act into law. The act had been created to settle tensions over slavery and open new lands for development, but instead only proved to create more division and move America closer to Civil War.
On May 28, 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge officially opened to traffic. It was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time of its opening and was dubbed a “Wonder of the World” structure.