1928 – Aviator Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly in an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean (she is a passenger; Wilmer Stultz is the pilot and Lou Gordon the mechanic).

1940 – The "Finest Hour" speech is delivered by Winston Churchill.

1948 – Columbia Records introduces the long-playing record album in a public demonstration at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.

1983 – Space Shuttle program: STS-7, Astronaut Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space.

…and if today is your birthday, Happy Birthday To You! You get to share birthday cake with…

1857 – Henry Clay Folger, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Folger Shakespeare Library (d. 1930)

1884 – Édouard Daladier, French captain and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1970)

1896 – Blanche Sweet, American actress (d. 1986)

1903 – Jeanette MacDonald, American actress and singer (d. 1965)

1904 – Keye Luke, Chinese-American actor (d. 1991)

1913 – Sammy Cahn, American pianist and composer (d. 1993)

1913 – Sylvia Porter, American economist and journalist (d. 1991)

1913 – Robert Mondavi, American winemaker and philanthropist (d. 2008)

1914 – E. G. Marshall, American actor (d. 1998)

1917 – Richard Boone, American actor, singer, and director (d. 1981)

1929 – Jürgen Habermas, German sociologist and philosopher

1934 – Barack Obama Sr., Kenyan economist (d. 1982)

1937 – Jay Rockefeller, American lawyer and politician, 29th Governor of West Virginia

1942 – Roger Ebert, American journalist, critic, and screenwriter (d. 2013)

1942 – Thabo Mbeki, South African politician, 23rd President of South Africa

1942 – Paul McCartney, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

1949 – Chris Van Allsburg, American author and illustrator

1952 – Carol Kane, American actress

1952 – Isabella Rossellini, Italian actress, director, producer, and screenwriter

1964 – Uday Hussein, Iraqi commander (d. 2003)

Almanac - Friday 6/18/21

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