Today in New Jersey History
June 1, 1813: Burlington-born Captain James Lawrence, a hero of the war against the Barbary Pirates, sailed the USS Chesapeake out of Boston Harbor to battle HMS Shannon. Lawrence’s crew was not yet properly trained, and the Leopard won the brief engagement, during which Lawrence was mortally wounded and gained eternal fame for his words “Don’t give up the ship.” They did.
June 1,1863: Dr. Solomon Andrews, former mayor of Perth Amboy, physician and prolific inventor, flew his Aereon airship over the city. Composed of gasbags and a rudder, the ship, unlike contemporary balloons, was, according to Andrews, navigable through the air—a true “flying machine.” Andrews was ahead of his time but nothing ever materialized from his project.
Find out what's happening in Wallfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
June 1, 1927: Three earthquake shocks were felt along the New Jersey coast from Sandy Hook to Toms River. The highest intensities were observed from Asbury Park to Long Branch, where chimneys fell, plaster cracked and objects were thrown from shelves.
June 1, 1933: New Jersey became the fifth state to approve the 21st Amendment, repealing the 18th Amendment that initiated Prohibition.
Find out what's happening in Wallfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
June 1, 1942: In a New York Times article, Virginia Farr of West Orange, the only New Jerseyan among twenty-five American women serving in the British Air Transport Auxiliary, flying Spitfire and Hurricane fighter planes from factories to RAF bases around the British Isles during World War II, was quoted as saying she was “having the time of my life and would not have missed it for anything.”
