This Day In Founding Fathers History – 13 June

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This Day In Founding Fathers History – 13 June 2013

On this day in 1866, Congress passed the 14^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It was ratified by 28 of the 37 states and went into effect just over two years later. ₁

In 1816 on this day, an announcement appeared in Baltimore newspapers, “Gas Light Without Oil, Tallow, Wick or Smoke.” It was a sensational headline for the time, but was followed by a description of the new gas lighting on display at the Peale Museum. An admission fee was charged for the public to enter and observe the innovative lighting. The Peale Museum was the first public building in the United States to use gas lighting. Rembrandt Peale installed the lights for the publicity they would garner, and he gained the attention of several investors. He purchased the patent for coal gas manufacturing of Dr. Kugler and organized the charter for the Gas Light Company of Baltimore. ₂

On this day in 1775, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress was notified that a New Hampshire citizen visiting Boston had overheard British commanders William Howe, John Burgoyne and Henry Clinton planning their capture of Dorchester and Charlestown. Their plan was to take the Dorchester Neck, fortify Dorchester Heights, and then take the colonial forces stationed in Roxbury. Then Charlestown would be taken and the forces in Cambridge repelled. On June 17, the Battle of Bunker Hill was fought. ₃

_{1 “14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Civil Rights,” www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=43
2 “Gas Institute News, Volume 5,” The Beginning of the Gas Industry in America, http://books.google.com/books?id=5DPOAAAAMAAJ&dq=rembrandt+peale+june+13,+1816&source=gbs_navlinks_s; “Peale Museum gas lights,” Today In Science History, todayinsci.com/6/6_13.htm
3 “Battle of Bunker Hill,” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bunker_Hill}