Michigan History

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Today in Michigan History

June 22, 1937

Joe Louis won his first heavyweight title.

After training vigorously for the opportunity to take on defending heavyweight champion James Braddock, Detroit’s Joe Louis stepped into the ring at Chicago’s Comiskey Park. After biding his time in the early rounds, Louis hit Braddock with what he called the DOA, “Dead On your A–,” which consisted of a left to the body and a right to the chin. The first punch knocked Braddock off balance. The second one took him off his feet. Braddock whirled and fell on his face. He later said the punch felt like “someone jammed an electric bulb in my face and busted it. I couldn’t have got up if they offered me a million dollars.” Joe Louis was the new heavyweight champion of the world.

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Today in Michigan History

June 17, 1866

Lewis Cass died in Detroit.

Born in New Hampshire and raised in Ohio, Lewis Cass arrived in the Michigan Territory to help fight the British in late summer 1812. In 1813, he was appointed territorial governor—a position he retained until 1831 when President Andrew Jackson appointed him secretary of war. In 1848, Cass served the Democratic party as its presidential candidate, but he lost to Zachary Taylor. Besides appointments as ambassador to France and secretary of state (under President James Buchanan), Cass served Michigan in the U.S. Senate until 1857 when Republicans took control of Michigan politics.

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Today in Michigan History

June 16, 1856

James Jesse Strang was assassinated.

After the murder of Mormon leader Joseph Smith in 1844 in Illinois, most Mormons followed Brigham Young west to Utah. A few Mormons accepted the leadership of James Strang, a native New Yorker, and settled in Wisconsin. Looking for a more isolated environment, Strang and his followers were attracted to Beaver Island in northern Lake Michigan. Strang’s community grew rapidly and he crowned himself king in 1850. Strang ran his kingdom with a strong hand and a few disgruntled followers murdered him over the issue of women’s clothes. Left leaderless, the Mormons on Beaver Island were forced to flee when non-Mormons arrived on the island.

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Today in Michigan History

June 14, 1671

The Pageant of the Sault was held.

French officials, led by Simon Francois, Sieur de St. Lusson, gathered at Sault Ste. Marie “to extend God’s glory and to promote the king of France.” In a ceremony attended by Native Americans from fourteen different nations, Lusson raised a cross and claimed that most of the interior of North America, including Michigan, belonged to the French crown.

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Today in Michigan History

June 10, 1919

Michigan ratified the Nineteenth Amendment.

Michigan suffragists were delighted when the all-male Michigan legislature ratified the constitutional amendment ending a decades-long campaign to win equal rights at the polls. The Nineteenth Amendment was ratified by the necessary three-fourths of the states in August 1920. Michigan women voted for president in November 1920 for the first time.

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Today in Michigan History

June 9, 1881

The Soo Locks were given to the federal government.

Federal ownership of this valuable passageway at Sault Ste. Marie, ended the several-cent toll that Michigan had collected from ships passing between Lakes Huron and Superior. Today, the locks remain toll free and are operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

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Today in Michigan History

June 8, 1926

Babe Ruth came to Detroit.

Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees hit one of the longest home runs in the history of Detroit’s Navin Field. The homer measured 626 feet. After clearing the fence, it bounced off the tops of several cars before being retrieved a block from the stadium.

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Today in Michigan History

June 7, 1860

The Republicans nominated Austin Blair for governor.

In a meeting at Detroit’s Merrill Hall, the Republicans chose Austin Blair of Jackson as their gubernatorial candidate. Born in New York in 1818, Blair arrived in Michigan in 1837. He was elected to the state House in 1845 as a Whig. A founder of the Michigan Republican party, Blair served in the state Senate before being elected governor in 1860. Re-elected in 1862, Blair was a firm opponent of slavery and became one of the nation’s leading governors to support Abraham Lincoln’s efforts to win the Civil War.

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Today in Michigan History

June 4, 1896

Henry Ford introduced his quadricycle.

Ford and his assistant Jim Bishop prepared to drive Ford’s quadricycle. The light and small horseless carriage, which drew heavily on Ford’s experience as a bicycle maker, was too wide for the shed door where it had been constructed. Ford took an axe and knocked out enough bricks to allow the vehicle to pass into early morning darkness. With Bishop riding ahead on his bicycle, Ford started the engine, took hold of the steering lever and moved down the cobblestone alley onto Detroit’s Washington Boulevard. After a short ride, the two returned to Ford’s home on Bagley Avenue where Clara Ford served the men breakfast.

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Today in Michigan History

June 3, 1798

Father Gabriel Richard arrived in Detroit.

Escaping the Reign of Terror in France, Father Gabriel Richard reached Detroit in time to organize relief for the town, which burned to the ground on June 11. Surveying the devastation, Richard was heard to say, “Speramus meliora; resurget cineribus.” Translated, it meant “We hope for better things; it will arise from the ashes.” It became Detroit’s city motto. Richard served his adopted city as an educator, minister and politician until 1832 when he died after ministering to Detroiters who contracted cholera.

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