On This Day: Friday June 24, 2005 This is the 175th day of the year, with 190 days remaining in 2005. Fact of the Day: Typewriter In 1867, the American inventor Christopher Latham Sholes read an article in the journal Scientific American describing a new British-invented machine and was inspired to created what became the first practical typewriter. His second model was patented the next year and "wrote" at a speed far faster than a pen. Those the first typewriter was crude and large, it underwent improvements each year and in 1873 Sholes signed a contract with E. Remington and Sons for its manufacture and the machine was soon named a "Remington." It wrote capital letters only; the first shift-key typewriter (Remington 2) appeared on the market in 1878 and could write uppercase and lowercase. There was a serious problem with jamming, so one of Sholes's business associates, James Densmore, suggested splitting up keys for letters commonly used together, thereby creating the slowest keyboard arrangement possible. This arrangement - known as the QWERTY keyboard - is still used in almost all computers today. Mark Twain purchased a Remington and became the first author to submit a typewritten book manuscript. Holidays Feast day of St John the Baptist, St Bartholomew of Farne, St Simplicius of Autun, and St Ralph of Bourges. Newfoundland, Canada: Newfoundland Discovery Day. Quebec, Canada: St. Jean-Baptiste Day. China: Macao Day. Latvia and several other countries: John's Day / Midsummer Night Day. Peru: Countryman's Day. Scotland: Bannockburn Day. Venezuela: Battle of Carabobo Day. Macao: Macao Day. Spain: King Juan Carlos's Saint's Day. UK except Scotland: Midsummer Quarter Day. Events 1314 - The forces of Scotland's King Robert I defeated the English in the Battle of Bannockburn. 1497 - The first recorded sighting of North America by a European took place -- as explorer John Cabot spotted land, in Canada somewhere between Halifax and southern Labrador. 1509 - Henry VIII was crowned king of England. 1664 - The colony of New Jersey, named after the Isle of Jersey, was founded. 1675 - King Philip's War began when a band of Wampanoag warriors raided the Swansee, MA, and massacred the English colonists. 1793 - The first republican constitution in France was adopted. 1812 - French Emperor Napoleon ordered his Grande Armée of 500,000 soldiers, the largest European military force ever assembled to that date, into Russia. 1916 - The most lucrative movie contract to the time was signed by actress, Mary Pickford, the first seven-figure Hollywood deal. Pickford would get $250,000 per film with a guaranteed minimum of $10,000 a week against half of the profits, including bonuses and the right of approval of all creative aspects of her films. 1922 - The American Professional Football Association changed its name to the National Football League. 1932 - A coup ended Siam's absolute monarchy during the reign of King Prajadhipok of the Chakri dynasty. 1940 - France signed an armistice with Italy. 1948 - Communist forces cut off all land and water routes between West Germany and West Berlin, prompting the western allies to organize the massive Berlin Airlift. 1953 - John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier announce their engagement. 1964 - The Federal Trade Commission announces that, starting in 1965, cigarette makers must include warning labels about the harmful effects of smoking. 1997 - The US Air Force released a report on the so-called "Roswell Incident," saying the alien bodies witnesses reported seeing in 1947 were probably life-sized dummies. Births 1842 - Ambrose Bierce, American writer and satirist. 1895 - Jack Dempsey, world heavyweight boxing champion (1919-1926). 1912 - Norman Cousins, essayist, journalist. 1916 - John Ciardi, poet.