June 14, 1777: During the American Revolution, the
Continental Congress adopted a resolution stating
that “the flag of the United States be thirteen alternate
stripes red and white” and  that “the Union be thirteen
stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.”       

       
The national flag, which became known as the “Stars and Stripes,
” was based on the “Grand Union” flag, a banner carried by the Continental Army in 1776 that also consisted of 13 red and white
stripes. According to legend, Philadelphia seamstress Betsy
Ross designed the new canton for the Stars and Stripes, which
consisted of a circle of 13 stars and a blue background, at the
request of General George Washington. Historians have been
unable to conclusively prove or disprove this legend.

With the entrance of new states into the United States after independence, new stripes and stars were added to represent
new additions to the Union. In 1818, however, Congress enacted
a law stipulating that the 13 original stripes be restored and that
only stars be added to represent new states.

Elizabeth Griscom Ross
(January 1, 1752 – January 30, 1836)

After more than a decade in space, Pioneer 10, the world’s
first outer-planetary probe, left the outer limits of the known
solar system by crossing the orbit of Neptune, the system’s
then farthest planet.

The following day, it radioed back its first scientific data on
interstellar space.

     
   
     
    
   
On June 13, 1966, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its
decision in Miranda v. Arizona, establishing the principle that
all criminal suspects must be advised of their rights before
interrogation.

If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you,” has
been heard so many times in television and film dramas that
it has become almost cliche.     
    
    

            
CAMILLE BOHANNON

On June 12, 1987, in one of his most famous Cold War
speeches, President Ronald Reagan challenged Soviet
Leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down” the Berlin Wall,
a symbol of the repressive Communist era in a divided
Germany.