On this day in 1752, Benjamin Franklin flies a kite during a thunderstorm and collects a charge in a Leyden jar when the kite is struck by lightning, enabling him to demonstrate the electrical nature of lightning. Franklin became interested in electricity in the mid-1740s, a time when much was still unknown on the topic, and spent almost a decade conducting electrical experiments. He coined a number of terms used today, including battery, conductor and electrician. He also invented the lightning rod, used to protect buildings and ships. Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, in Boston, to a candle and soap maker named Josiah Franklin, who fathered 17 children,…

(CNN) — A newly discovered account of the shooting of Abraham Lincoln, and his death the next morning, gives a vivid and moving picture of the calamity. http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/07/us/lincoln-document-assasination/index.html?hpt=hp_t3 Dr. Charles Leale was in the audience at Ford’s Theater when Lincoln was shot, and was the first to attempt to treat the stricken president. In a report believed written the next day, April 15, 1865, Leale writes, “the report of a pistol was distinctly heard and about a minute after a man of low stature with black hair and eyes was seen leaping to the stage beneath, holding in his hand a drawn dagger.” Stumbling as he leaped from the president’s…

(Cupolas defined as: A small dome, esp. a small dome on a drum on top of a larger dome, adorning a roof or ceiling.) Alaska    Arizona    Hawaii    New Mexico     New York     North Carolina      North Dakota    Ohio    Oregon   Virginia   http://www.cupola.com/html/bldgstru/statecap/cap01.htm

The transit happens when Venus crosses the disc of the Sun as seen from Earth. In 1639, the first ever recorded scientific observation of the Transit of Venus occurred as observed by Horrocks and Crabtree. It occurs twice in eight years, in June or December, and then not again for over 100 years. So if you miss it in June 2012, then you won’t be able to see this rare event again until December 11, 2117. In other words, this is a once in a life time event as far as seeing it as a pair. The last occurance was eight years ago on June 8, 2004. The venus transit’s rareness can be blamed…

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/4/newsid_2496000/2496277.stm June 4 1989: Several hundred civilians have been shot dead by the Chinese army during a bloody military operation to crush a democratic protest in Peking’s (Beijing) Tiananmen Square. Tanks rumbled through the capital’s streets late on 3 June as the army moved into the square from several directions, randomly firing on unarmed protesters. The injured were rushed to hospital on bicycle rickshaws by frantic residents shocked by the army’s sudden and extreme response to the peaceful mass protest. Demonstrators, mainly students, had occupied the square for seven weeks, refusing to move until their demands for democratic reform were met. The protests began with a march by students in…