On June 17, 1885, the dismantled Statue of Liberty, a gift of
friendship from the people of France to the people of America,
arrived in New York Harbor after being shipped across the
Atlantic Ocean in 350 individual pieces packed in more than
200 cases. The copper and iron statue, which was reassembled
and dedicated the following year in a ceremony presided over
by U.S. President Grover Cleveland, became known around the
world as an enduring symbol of freedom and democracy.

The statue was originally copper-colored, but over the years it
underwent a natural color-change process called patination that produced its current greenish-blue hue.

On June 16, 1884, the first roller coaster in America opens at Coney Island, in Brooklyn, New York. Known as a switchback railway, it
was the brainchild of LaMarcus Thompson, traveled approximately
six miles per hour and cost a nickel to ride. The new entertainment
was an instant success and by the turn of the century there were hundreds of roller coasters around the country.

On June 14, 1951, the U.S. Census Bureau dedicated UNIVAC, the
world’s first commercially produced electronic digital computer.
UNIVAC, which stood for Universal Automatic Computer, was
developed by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, makers of
ENIAC, the first general-purpose electronic digital computer.

These giant computers, which used thousands of vacuum tubes
for computation, were the forerunners of today’s computers.

On May 30, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a presidential proclamation establishing a national Flag Day on June 14. Many Americans celebrate Flag Day by displaying the Red, White and
Blue in front of homes and businesses. The day commemorates
the adoption of the Stars and Stripes as the official flag of the
United States.

Ned Thomas Beatty (July 6, 1937 – June 13, 2021)

(AP) – Ned Beatty, the indelible character actor whose first film
role as a genial vacationer brutally raped by a backwoodsman
in 1972′s “Deliverance” launched him on a long, prolific and accomplished career, has died.

Beatty’s manager, Deborah Miller, said Beatty died Sunday of
natural causes at his home in Los Angeles surrounded by
friends and loved ones.

Ned Beatty in the movie “Deliverance”.