“United States” was chosen as the official name of the 13 American colonies by the Continental Congress on September 9th, 1776. The newly-independent nation had been known as the “United Colonies” before that.
Exactly 15 years later, on this date in 1791, the new nation’s capital along the Potomac River was named “Washington,” after the incumbent president.
Esther was the name of the first child of a president to be born at the White House. She was born September 9th, 1893. Esther’s parents were President Grover Cleveland and his wife, Frances.
People in the audience at the Fox Theater in Riverside, California, didn’t know the name of the movie they were about to see on September 9th, 1939, after the scheduled showing of “Hawaiian Nights.” Therefore, they didn’t know they would be the first regular audience to watch a much-anticipated picture. One witness said the crowd reaction was “thunderous” when the movie’s title appeared on the screen…”Gone With the Wind.”
People watching NBC on September 9th, 1967 didn’t know they were going to see a TV show that would become the #1 prime-time series within two years. “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In” debuted as a comedy special leading into the broadcast of the Miss America pageant. Performers on the special who would become regulars on the “Laugh-In” series included Ruth Buzzi, Judy Carne, Arte Johnson, Henry Gibson, and Jo Anne Worley.
June 2nd in history:
The first “First Lady” of the U.S., Martha Washington, was born on June 2nd, 1731 – making her a few months older than George.
Frances Folsom became First Lady on June 2nd, 1886 – the day she married President Grover Cleveland at the White House. Cleveland was not the only president to marry while in office, but he was the only one to have the ceremony at the Executive Mansion.
Britain’s “first lady” since the 1950s, Queen Elizabeth II, celebrated her coronation on this day in 1953. It was the first coronation of a British monarch to be televised.
She was not a “First Lady,” and some might not even call Bridget Bishop a “lady” at all. Somebody claimed she was a witch – and on this date in 1692, she became the first defendant in the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts. Bishop was convicted, and hanged eight days after the start of her trial.
And it’s the birthday of “Saturday Night Live’s” “Church Lady”…but that was no lady, that was comedian Dana Carvey (born 1955). Carvey also is well-known for his impersonation of President George Herbert Walker Bush, and as Wayne’s buddy Garth in the “Wayne’s World” sketches and movies.