This Day in Minnesota History

July 2, 1679

Daniel Greysolon, the Sieur Du Luth, attaches the coat of arms of King Louis XIV to a tree on the shore of Mille Lacs, intending to claim the land for France.

This Day in Minnesota History

July 1, 1974

The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota opens. The facility treats injured birds of prey and helps to rehabilitate them for release into the wild.

This Day in Minnesota History

July 1, 1931

The Interstate Bridge in Stillwater opens, replacing a wooden one built in 1876.

This Day in Minnesota History

July 1, 1922

A nationwide walkout by railroad shop craft and other employees includes 8,000 workers in the Twin Cities. The strike ends in defeat for the workers, with scab labor permanently replacing many of them, but the new Farmer-Labor Party's assistance during the strike encourages the workers' support of the party in later elections, making the Farmer-Labor Party, rather than the Democratic Party, the principal opposition party in Minnesota.

This Day in Minnesota History

January 28, 1880

Dr. H. S. Tanner of Minneapolis begins a forty-day fast in New York in an effort to prove his theory that neither the human stomach nor food is required to sustain life. He resides in a room in Clarendon Hall that had been carefully searched for any morsel. Dropping fifty pounds and shrinking two inches, he makes it to the end, breaking his fast on a meal of milk and watermelon. Dr. Tanner moved to California and died in 1919 at the age of 87.

This Day in Minnesota History

June 27, 1977

Heiress Elizabeth Congdon and her nurse are murdered at Glensheen mansion in Duluth. In a sensational trial, Congdon's son-in-law, Roger Caldwell, is convicted of the murders. New evidence in the case sets him free a year later but incriminates his wife, Marjorie. Acquitted of these murders but found guilty in two arson cases, Marjorie is sentenced to serve time in an Arizona prison.

This Day in Minnesota History

June 4, 1869

John S. and Charles A. Pillsbury buy a third interest in the Frazee and Murphy Flour Mill. The Pillsbury Company marks this date as its birthday.

This Day in Minnesota History

June 3, 1999

Duluth's Ed Hommer is the first double amputee to reach the top of Mount McKinley (20,320 feet). He had lost his legs to frostbite after a plane crash on the mountain in 1981.

This Day in Minnesota History

June 3, 1990

Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev spends a few hours in the Twin Cities.

This Day in Minnesota History

June 3, 1859

Logs driven by floodwaters knock down the second and third bridges built over the Mississippi River, in Minneapolis. The first, the Father Louis Hennepin Suspension Bridge, remains standing.

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