On this date...

Committee of Five

In 1776, the Continental Congress selects Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of Connecticut and Robert R. Livingston of New York to draft a declaration of independence. They have come to be known as the Committee of Five.

In 1865, an armed group of approximately 50 individuals robbed the Texas treasury in Austin, making off with cash, silver, and gold. While some of the cash was found, none of the precious metals were recovered. One of the robbers was wounded and detained, but none of the others were ever captured.

In 1919, Three-year-old Sir Barton wins the Belmont stakes, becoming the first horse to earn the coveted American Triple Crown. Amazingly, the thoroughbred had never notched a single career win until that year’s Kentucky Derby.

In 1927, American aviator Charles Lindbergh was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by U.S. President Calvin Coolidge.

In 1944, Lieutenant John F. Kennedy receives the Navy and Marine Corps Medal—one of the Navy’s highest honors for gallantry—for his heroic actions as the commanding officer of a motor torpedo boat during World War II on June 11, 1944. The future president also received a Purple Heart for wounds received during battle.

In 1949, country singer Hank Williams Sr., takes to the microphone of the Grand Ole Opry radio broadcast for the first time.

In 1962, Frank Morris, Clarence Anglin and John Anglin, prisoners at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in San Francisco Bay, staged an escape, leaving the island on a makeshift raft; they were never found or heard from again.

In 1963, the University of Alabama was desegregated.

In 2001, Timothy McVeigh was executed for the planning and carrying out of the attack on the Murdoch Building in Oklahoma City. The attack killed 168 people including many children.