The Black and White Minstrel Show

June 14, 1958

The British variety show The Black and White Minstrel Show (1958-78) premieres on BBC. It presented American minstrel and country songs, music hall numbers, adorned with lavish costumes. The show was controversial due to its use of blackface. Rising objections to the use of blackface as being offensive and racist caused it to be replaced by Music Music Music, in which the minstrels appeared without blackface. Due to the poor ratings of Music Music Music, the show was brought back. The show spawned a stage show that toured until 1989.

"Under God" Added to Pledge of Allegiance

June 14, 1954

U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs into law the Congressional bill adding the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance. The original pledge, written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy a devout Christian, had no mention of God, as Bellamy strongly believed in the separation of church and state.
The previous version: "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all," was changed to "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

What Happened To Channel 1?

June 14, 1948

The FCC removes channel 1 from the U.S. television broadcasting channels. Channel 1's frequency range of 44–50 MHz was then allotted to land and mobile services. Instead of renumbering 2 through 13, channel 1 was simply removed. There were originally channels 1 through 19 allocated in 1938, but channels 14 through 19 had already been removed.

First Black Performer on Television

June 14, 1939

Ethel Waters becomes the first black performer on television when NBC broadcasts the one-hour variety show The Ethel Waters Show. The show featured skits and Waters performing a scene from her recent Broadway play Mamba's Daughters, along with two black actresses from the production, Georgette Harvey and Fredi Washington. The show also included white performers Joey Faye and Philip Loeb.
Waters also went on to become the first black star of a TV dramatic series (1950-51, Beulah) and the first black actress nominated for an Emmy (1961, for an episode of Route 66).

American Flag

June 14, 1777

The flag of 13 stars and 13 stripes is adopted by the Second Continental Congress, replacing the Grand Union flag. It did not specify any particular arrangement, number of points, nor orientation for the stars, or whether the flag had to have seven red stripes and six white stripes or vice versa. Those choices were left up to the flag maker.
It is known as the Stars-and-Stripes Flag and Betsy Ross is credited with making the first one, but this is disputed by historians.

Donald Trump

Born June 14, 1946

American businessman, real estate developer, politician. 45th & 47th U.S. President (2017-21, 2025‑). He was at the time the oldest (age 70) person to assume the U.S. presidency (until Joe Biden, age 78) and wealthiest person to assume the U.S. presidency. He is the first U.S. president without prior military or governmental service.
TV: WrestleMania IV and V (1988-89, host and in 2013 Trump was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame), The Apprentice (2004-17, executive producer, host, with Trump's catchphrase "You're fired"), and Miss Universe pageant (1996-2015, producer, for which he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame).

Burl Ives (Burle Icle Ivanhoe)

Born June 14, 1909 d. 1995

American Oscar-winning actor, singer. He was jailed in Mona, Utah, for singing Foggy Foggy Dew (An Irish ballad) in public, which authorities deemed a bawdy song.
Film: Big Country (1958, Oscar) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958, Big Daddy). TV: Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964, voice of Samuel The Snowman) and The Bold Ones: The Lawyers (1969-72, Walter Nichols).

Nicolaus Otto (Nicolaus August Otto)

Born June 14, 1832 d. 1891

German co-inventor of the internal combustion engine (1867) and built a four-stroke Otto cycle engine (1876) which is used in most automobiles.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Born June 14, 1811 d. 1896

American author. Writings: Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852, which was the first American novel to sell 1,000,000 copies). It was first published in serial form in a Washington D.C. anti-slavery newspaper.