On this day in history, June 26, 1945, the United Nations was
formally established with the signing of the U.N. Charter in San Francisco, California.

According to the National Archives, Article 111 of the charter
indicated, “The present Charter, of which the Chinese, French,
Russian, English, and Spanish texts are equally authentic,
shall remain deposited in the archives of the Government of
the United States of America. Duly certified copies thereof
shall be transmitted by that Government to the Governments
of the other signatory states.”

According to the United Nations official website, the U.N.
Charter was signed by representatives of the 50 countries
attending the United Nations Conference on International
Organization in San Francisco. 

Wilbert (Bill) Francisco Cobbs (June 16, 1934 – June 25, 2024)

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Cobbs is known for such film roles as
Louisiana Slim in The Hitter (1979), Walter in The Brother from
Another Planet (1984), Reginald in Night at the Museum (2006)
and Master Tinker on Oz the Great and Powerful (2013).

He made his feature film debut in The Taking of Pelham One
Two Three in 1974. His role…(man on platform).

Bill Cobbs served in the U.S. Air Force as a radar technician for
eight years.

On the morning of June 26, 1974, at a supermarket in Troy, Ohio,
a pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit chewing gum became the first
grocery item scanned with a Universal Product Code, or UPC.

The result of years of scientific experimentation and industry cooperation, the UPC barcode would go on to be used well
beyond the grocery checkout counter, becoming a ubiquitous
feature of modern commerce, with billions of barcodes scanned
daily.