June 27
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1778: The day the Liberty Bell came home
On this day in 1778, a jubilant wagon procession escorted the Liberty Bell back to Philadelphia after it had been hidden in Allentown, Pennsylvania, during the British occupation of the city. Fearing that British forces would melt the bell down for ammunition, Patriot officials had secretly removed it the previous year. Its triumphant return marked the end of an extraordinary wartime journey and preserved one of America’s most enduring symbols of liberty.
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© TAKAYUKI UEDA—iStock/Getty Images
Featured Event
© Gordon Brown
After having served as chancellor of the Exchequer (1997–2007), British Labour Party politician Gordon Brown became prime minister of the United Kingdom. [Test your knowledge of British culture and politics.]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
© 1955 Warner Brothers
Adept at both comedy and drama in a career that spanned more than 50 years, American actor Jack Lemmon, who died this day in 2001, won two Academy Awards, including best actor for his performance in Save the Tiger (1973).
Famous Birthdays
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1977
© Mark Reinstein—Corbis/Getty Images
1930
American businessman and philanthropist Ross Perot, who was an independent candidate for U.S. president in 1992 and 1996, was born. [Test your knowledge of U.S. presidential elections.]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1917
Courtesy of Isabella Saccà
1871
First minted in 1869, the yen was adopted as Japan’s official monetary unit when the government suspended the exchange of clan notes, money issued by feudal lords that had circulated since the 16th century. [How much do you know about the history of currency?]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-B8171-0932 DLC)
1862
During the first Battle of Cold Harbor in the American Civil War, Confederate General Robert E. Lee attacked Union troops, driving them back in disorder and forcing them to withdraw to the south side of the Chickahominy River. [Test your knowledge of the American Civil War.]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.(Digital File Number: cph 3b33173)
1846
Charles Stewart Parnell, Irish nationalist and leader in the struggle for Irish Home Rule, was born in Avondale, County Wicklow. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about famous Europeans.]
Courtesy of the Community of Christ, Independence, Missouri
1844
Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon church, was murdered by an armed mob in Carthage, Illinois. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about religions.]
Courtesy of The National Portrait Gallery, London
1787
British historian Edward Gibbon completed The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. [How much do you know about the Roman Empire?]