June 16 in History: Ford Motor Company Begins, America’s First Roller Coaster Opens, and Space Invaders Arrives

Discover what happened on June 16 in history, from groundbreaking moments in transportation and technology to entertainment milestones, famous speeches, and events that helped shape American culture and industry.

What Happened on June 16 in History?

Important events on this day include Abraham Lincoln’s famous House Divided speech, the opening of America’s first roller coaster at Coney Island, the incorporation of Ford Motor Company, the debut of the movie Psycho, and the first public demonstration of the video game Space Invaders.

JUNE 16 – TODAY IN HISTORY:

1858 – In a speech in Springfield, IL, U.S. Senate candidate Abraham Lincoln said the slavery issue had to be resolved. He declared, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

1884 – At Coney Island, in Brooklyn, NY, the first roller coaster in America opened. It was called the “Switchback Railway”.

1884 – John Ball Park in Grand Rapids, MI, officially opened.

1890 – The second Madison Square Gardens opened.

1891 – The George A. Hormel & Company was founded in Austin, MN. One of their most famous products is Spam, which was introduced in 1937. It is now the world’s biggest selling canned meat product.

1893 – The Rueckheim Brothers produced a new snack called “Cracker Jack”. It was made with popcorn, peanuts, and molasses, and first presented it to the public at the World’s Columbian Exposition (Chicago’s first World’s Fair). Unfortunately, the molasses of this early version was too sticky and the recipe had to be changed.

1883 – The New York Giants baseball team admitted all ladies for free to the ballpark. It was the first Ladies Day.

1897 – The U.S. government signed a treaty of annexation with Hawaii.

1903 – The Pepsi-Cola Company officially trademarked “Pepsi-Cola”. On the same day, a patent for Chicken Goggles was also issued. The small goggles were designed to protect chickens from being pecked in the eyes.

1903 – Ford Motor Company was incorporated. The firm’s ten employees begin producing its first car, the Model A.

1909 – Glenn Hammond Curtiss sold his first airplane, the “Gold Bug” to the New York Aeronautical Society for $5,000.

1910 – The first Father’s Day was celebrated in Spokane, WA.

1922 – Henry Berliner accomplished the first helicopter flight at College Park, MD.

1929 – Otto E. Funk arrived in San Francisco, CA to become the first person to walk across the United States while playing a violin. His journey took 183 days and he walked 4,165 miles.

1941 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the closure of all German consulates in the United States. The deadline was set as July 10.

1952 – The TV show “My Little Margie” debuted on CBS.

1952 – “Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl” was published in the United States.

1955 – The U.S. House of Representatives voted to extend Selective Service until 1959.

1960 – The movie “Psycho” debuted in New York, NY.

1963 – 26-year-old Valentina Tereshkova went into orbit aboard the Vostok 6 spacecraft for three days. She was the first female space traveler.

1976 – The TV show “The Jacksons” began airing for four weeks on CBS.

1978 – The film “Grease” premiered in New York, NY. The movie became the summer’s #1 film and spun off several big hits, including Frankie Valli’s #1 theme, written by Barry Gibb.

1978 – The video game “Space Invaders” was first demonstrated by Taito Corporation in Tokyo.

1980 – The movie “The Blues Brothers” opened in Chicago, IL.

1981 – The “Chicago Tribune” purchased the Chicago Cubs baseball team from the P.K. Wrigley Chewing Gum Company for $20.5 million.

1985 – Willie Banks broke the world record for the triple jump with a leap of 58 feet, 11-1/2 inches in the U.S.A. championships in Indianapolis, IN.

1992 – President George H.W. Bush welcomed Russian President Boris Yeltsin to a meeting in Washington, DC. The two agreed in principle to reduce strategic weapon arsenals by about two-thirds by the year 2003.

1993 – The U.S. Postal Service released a set of seven stamps that featured Bill Haley, Buddy Holly, Clyde McPhatter, Otis Redding, Ritchie Valens, Dinah Washington and Elvis Presley.

1995 – The movie “Batman Forever”, starring Val Kilmer, debuted in theaters.

1995 – Pearl Jam began a tour without using Ticketmaster. They chose to use a mail order ticket service.

1998 – The Detroit Red Wings completed a four-game sweep of the Washington Capitals with a 4-1 victory in Game 4 of the Finals. The Red Wings became the first time since the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and 1992 to repeat as champions.

1999 – Al Gore declared his Presidential candidacy.

1999 – The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that a 1992 federal music piracy law does not prohibit a palm-sized device that can download high-quality digital music files from the Internet and play them at home.

1999 – Phil Collins received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2000 – Oscar winning actor Michael Caine was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

2000 – U.S. federal regulators approved the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE Corp. The merger created the nation’s largest local phone company.

2000 – U.S. Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson reported that an employee at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico had discovered that two computer hard drives were missing. The hard drives contained sensitive data. They were later found behind a copying machine.

2011 – New York Democrat Anthony Weiner resigned from Congress, having admitted that he’d tweeted lewd photos to six women over the past few years.

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS ON JUNE 16:

Jim Dine – 91 years old (1935) – Painter and illustrator

Joyce Carol Oates – 88 years old (1938) – Novelist, short story writer, critic, and poet

Billy "Crash" Craddock – 87 years old (1939) – Singer-songwriter

Eddie Levert – 84 years old (1942) – R&B/soul singer-songwriter, musician, and actor

Joan Van Ark – 83 years old (1943) – Actress

Tom Harrell – 80 years old (1946) – Trumpet player and composer

Al Cowlings – 79 years old (1947) – Football player and actor

Tom Malone – 79 years old (1947) – Trombonist, composer, and producer

Ron LeFlore – 78 years old (1948) – Baseball player and manager

Ralph Mann – 77 years old (1949) – Hurdler and author

Jerry Petrowski – 76 years old (1950) – Politician and farmer

Laurie Metcalf – 71 years old (1955) – Actress

Ian Buchanan – 69 years old (1957) – Scottish-American actor

Darrell Griffith – 68 years old (1958) – Basketball player

Wally Joyner – 64 years old (1962) – Baseball player and coach

Arnold Vosloo – 64 years old (1962) – South African-American actor

The Sandman – 63 years old (1963) – Wrestler

Danny Burstein – 62 years old (1964) – Actor and singer

Richard Madaleno – 61 years old (1965) – Politician

Phil Vischer – 60 years old (1966) – Voice actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, co-created VeggieTales

Adam Schmitt – 58 years old (1968) – Singer-songwriter, musician, and producer

James Patrick Stuart – 58 years old (1968) – Actor

MC Ren – 57 years old (1969) – Rapper

Clifton Collins Jr. – 56 years old (1970) – Actor

Cobi Jones – 56 years old (1970) – Soccer player and manager

Phil Mickelson – 56 years old (1970) – Golfer

John Cho – 54 years old (1972) – Actor

Andy Weir – 54 years old (1972) – Novelist

Eddie Cibrian – 53 years old (1973) – Actor

Joseph May – 52 years old (1974) – British-born Canadian-American actor

Anthony Carter – 51 years old (1975) – Basketball player and coach

Kerry Wood – 49 years old (1977) – Baseball player

Brandon Armstrong – 46 years old (1980) – Basketball player

Justin Tranter – 46 years old (1980) – Singer-songwriter and activist

Olivia Hack – 43 years old (1983) – Actress

Dan Ryckert – 42 years old (1984) – Writer and entertainer

Diana DeGarmo – 39 years old (1987) – Singer-songwriter and actress

Ali Stroker – 39 years old (1987) – Actress

Jermaine Gresham – 38 years old (1988) – Football player

Gnash – 33 years old (1993) – Singer, songwriter, rapper, DJ and record producer

Justin Jefferson – 27 years old (1999) – Football player

Snail Mail – 27 years old (1999) – Singer-songwriter

DAYS OF THE YEAR FOR JUNE 16:

For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.com, www.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.