1997:
Andrew Cunanan suicided on this day in 1997 while aboard a houseboat in Miami. At the time Cunanan was wanted for questioning over five murders, with most publicity surrounding the shooting of fashion designer Gianni Versace in front of Versace's Miami home. Part of the mystique involved in the search for Cunanan was due to the fact that the FBI released so many pictures of him, at varying stages of his life. The media morphed him into some type of master of disguise, which he clearly was not.
1715: The first lighthouse in America was authorized for construction at Little Brewster Island, Massachusetts.
1827: The first swimming school in the U.S. opened in Boston, MA.
1829: William Burt patented the typographer, which was the first typewriter.
1877: The first municipal railroad passenger service began in Cincinnati, Ohio.
1886: Steve Brodie, a New York saloonkeeper, claimed to have made a daredevil plunge from the Brooklyn Bridge into the East River.
1904: The ice cream cone was invented by Charles E. Menches during the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, MO.
1914: Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia following the killing of Archduke Francis Ferdinand by a Serb assassin. The dispute led to World War I.
1938: The first federal game preserve was approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The area was 2,000 acres in Utah.
1945: The first passenger train observation car was placed in service by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad.
1952: Egyptian military officers led by Gamal Abdel Nasser overthrew King Farouk I.
1954: A law is passed that states that "The Secretary of the Navy is authorized to repair, equip, and restore the United States Ship Constitution, as far as may be practicable, to her original appearance, but not for active service, and thereafter to maintain the United States Ship Constitution at Boston, Massachusetts."
1958: The submarine Nautilus departed from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, under orders to conduct "Operation Sunshine." The mission was to be the first vessel to cross the north pole by ship. The Nautils achieved the goal on August 3, 1958.
1962: The "Telstar" communications satellite sent the first live TV broadcast to Europe.
1967: In Detroit, MI, rioting that claimed some 43 lives.
1972: Eddie Merckx of Belgium won his fourth consecutive Tour de France bicycling competition.
1972: The U.S. launched Landsat 1 (ERTS-1). It was the first Earth-resources satellite.
1977: A jury in Washington, DC, convicted 12 Hanafi Muslims of charges stemming from the hostage siege at three buildings the previous March.
1984: Miss America, Vanessa Williams, turned in her crown after it had been discovered that nude photos of her had appeared in "Penthouse" magazine. She was the first to resign the title.
1986: Britain's Prince Andrew married Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey in London. They divorced in 1996.
1997: Police in Miami Beach, FL, found the body of Andrew Cunanan. He was the suspected killer of Gianni Versace.
1998: U.S. scientists at the University of Hawaii turned out more than 50 "carbon-copy" mice, with a cloning technique.
2000: Lance Armstrong won his second Tour de France.
