This Day in History for June 26 – Berlin Airlift Begins and More

Here’s a look at some interesting events that took place on this day in history:

1870 – Christmas is declared a federal holiday in the United States (More info)

1948 – In response to the Soviet blockade of land routes into West Berlin, the United States begins a massive airlift of food, water, and medicine that comes to be known as the Berlin Airlift (More info)

1963 – President John Kennedy gives his famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech in West Berlin (More info)

2000 – The first map of the human genome, which required decoding more than 3 billion biochemical “letters” of human DNA, is completed (More info)

2003 – The Supreme Court ruling in Lawrence v. Texas declares that laws banning gay sexual activity are unconstitutional (More info)