THIS DAY IN HISTORY

[IceWizard]

Bald Eagle removed from list of threatened species





2007
June 28


On June 28, 2007, the United States removes one of its most commonly-used national
symbols from its List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. The de-listing of the bald eagle,
which had been close to vanishing from North America around the middle of the 20th
century, was one of the most notable wildlife rehabilitation efforts in American history.

Sacred to some Indigenous American cultures, the bald eagle is the national bird of the
United States and features prominently in its iconography. Despite its significance, the
bird's population declined rapidly over the first half of the 20th century. Use of the
common pesticide DDT, which negatively affects bald eagles' fertility and the strength
of their egg shells, was a major factor in this decline, but there were a variety of others,
including hunting, poaching, electrocution by power line, pollution, and the destruction
of large swathes of their natural habitat. The overall population in the lower 48 states,
estimated to have been around 400,000 in the 1700s, had declined to fewer
than 1,000 by the 1950s.

Congress banned the commercial trapping and killing of bald eagles in 1940, strengthening
restrictions in the '60s and '70s. The ban of DDT use in the U.S. in 1972, and its heavy
restriction in Canada, also helped revive the species, as did the protective powers afforded
the government by the 1973 Endangered Species Act. After being reclassified from
“endangered” to “threatened” in 1985, the bald eagle’s de-listing in 2007 represented a
major victory for wildlife preservationists.



ALSO ON THIS DAY



The Stonewall Riots
1970S
1969
The Stonewall Riots begin in NYC’s Greenwich Village

Sometime after midnight on June 28, 1969, in what is now
regarded by many as history’s first major protest on behalf of
equal rights for LGBTQ people, a police raid of the
Stonewall Inn—a popular gay club located on New York City's
Christopher Street—turns violent as patrons and ...
read more





REFORMATION
1519
Charles I of Spain elected Holy Roman emperor
Charles I of Spain, who by birth already held sway over much
of Europe and Spanish America, is elected the successor of his
late grandfather, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. Charles,
who was also the grandson of Ferdinand II and Isabella of Spain,
had bribed the princes of ... read more


WORLD WAR I
1919
John Maynard Keynes predicts economic chaos

At the Palace of Versailles outside Paris, Germany signs the
Treaty of Versailles with the Allies, officially ending World War I.
The English economist John Maynard Keynes, who had attended
the peace conference but then left in protest of the treaty,
was one of the most outspoken ... read more


WORLD WAR I
1914
Austria's Archduke Ferdinand assassinated

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie are shot
to death by a Bosnian Serb nationalist during an official visit to
the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. The killings
sparked a chain of events that led to the outbreak of World War I
by early August. On ... read more


INVENTIONS & SCIENCE
1953
Workers assemble first
Corvette in Flint, Michigan

On June 28, 1953, workers at a Chevrolet plant in Flint, Michigan,
assemble the first Corvette, a two-seater sports car that would
become an American icon. The first completed production car
rolled off the assembly line two days later, one of just 300
Corvettes made that year. ... read more





VIETNAM WAR
1965
U.S. forces launch first offensive

In the first major offensive ordered for U.S. forces, 3,000 troops
of the 173rd Airborne Brigade–in conjunction with 800 Australian
soldiers and a Vietnamese airborne unit–assault a jungle area
known as Viet Cong Zone D, 20 miles northeast of Saigon.
The operation was called off ... read more

VIETNAM WAR
1972
Nixon announces draftees will not go to Vietnam

President Nixon announces that no more draftees will be sent to
Vietnam unless they volunteer for such duty. He also announced
that a force of 10,000 troops would be withdrawn by September 1,
which would leave a total of 39,000 in
Vietnam. ... read more


SPORTS
1997
Mike Tyson bites ear

On June 28, 1997, Mike Tyson bites Evander Holyfield’s ear in
the third round of their heavyweight rematch. The attack led
to his disqualification from the match and suspension from boxing,
and was the strangest chapter yet in the champion’s
roller-coaster career. Mike Tyson ... read more





NATURAL DISASTERS & ENVIRONMENT
1992
Two big quakes rock California

Two of the strongest earthquakes ever to hit California strike the
desert area east of Los Angeles on June 28, 1992. Although the
state sits upon the immense San Andreas fault line, relatively few
major earthquakes have hit California in modern times.
Two of the strongest, but ... read more





CRIME
1975
A teenage girl’s boyfriend murders her parents

Police are called to the home of Jim and Naomi Olive in Terra Linda,
California, after Jim Olive’s business partner reports that the
couple has not been seen in a week. The house in disarray,
officers found no sign of either the Olives or their adopted teenage
daughter Marlene. ... read more





INVENTIONS & SCIENCE
2006
DaimlerChrysler announces
Smart’s arrival in United States

After a flurry of rumors, DaimlerChrysler chairman Dieter Zetsche
announces on June 28, 2006 that the company’s urban-focused
Smart brand–already popular in Europe–will come to the
United States in early 2008. Smart–an acronym for Swatch
Mercedes ART–began as a joint venture ... read more





AMERICAN REVOLUTION
1836
Former President James Madison dies

On June 28, 1836, James Madison, drafter of the Constitution,
recorder of the Constitutional Convention, author of the
“Federalist Papers” and fourth president of the United States,
dies on his tobacco plantation in Virginia. Madison first distinguished
himself as a student at ... read more


WORLD WAR II
1940
Britain recognizes General Charles de Gaulle
as the leader of the Free French

On June 28, 1940, General Charles de Gaulle, having set up
headquarters in England upon the establishment of a puppet
government in his native France, is recognized as the leader
of the Free French Forces, dedicated to the defeat of Germany
and the liberation of all France. For ... read more