In this June 14, 1957, file photo, the UH-13 Bell Ranger presidential helicopter undergoes a series of practice landings on the White House lawn to familiarize Air Force pilots, Maj. Joseph E. Barrett and Capt. Laurence R. Cummings, with the flight path and landing marks. On July 12, President Eisenhower became the first sitting president to fly in a helicopter. Photo courtesy National Museum of the USAF/UPI
Medal of Honor recipients stand for the Pledge of Allegiance during the opening ceremony for the annual Medal of Honor Convention at Soldier Field in Chicago on September 15, 2009. On July 12, 1862, the U.S. Congress authorized the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration for valor against an enemy. File Photo by Brian Kersey/UPI | License Photo
Labor Secretary Thomas Perez (L), joined by Assistant Majority Leader Richard Durbin (C) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks on congressional action to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on April 21, 2016. On July 12, 1933, a U.S. industrial code was established to fix a minimum wage of 40 cents an hour. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Walter Mondale and Rep. Geraldine Ferraro wave to the crowd at the Democratic National Convention on July 19, 1984, in San Francisco. On July 12, 1984, Mondale named Ferraro as his running mate. She was the first woman to share a major U.S. political party's presidential ticket. Mondale lost in November to incumbent Ronald Reagan. UPI File Photo | License Photo
July 12 (UPI) -- On this date in history:
In 1862, the U.S. Congress authorized a new award, the Medal of Honor, highest military decoration for valor against an enemy.
In 1933, a U.S. industrial code was established to fix a minimum wage of 40 cents an hour.
In 1957, Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first sitting president to ride in a helicopter. He traveled in a Bell Ranger as part of a nationwide civil defense exercise. The presidential helicopter has always been called Marine One.
In 1962, the Rolling Stones gave their first public performance -- at the Marquee Club in London.
File Photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI
In 1984, Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale named U.S. Rep. Geraldine Ferraro, D-N.Y., as his running mate. She was the first woman to share a major U.S. political party's presidential ticket. Mondale lost in November to incumbent Ronald Reagan.
In 1990, Boris Yeltsin quit the Soviet Communist Party, saying he wanted to concentrate on his duties as president of the Russian republic.
In 2008, Tony Snow, who was press secretary under U.S. President George W. Bush and a Fox News Channel host, died of cancer at age 53.
The urn containing the ashes of former White House press secretary Tony Snow is carried out of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception following his funeral service in Washington on July 17, 2008. File Photo by Kevin DietschUPI
In 2011, Ahmed Wali Karzai, 48, a half-brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and a powerful figure in Kandahar, was killed at his home by a bodyguard.
In 2013, a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest in a Kirkuk, Iraq, coffee shop, killing at least 33 people and injuring more than two-dozen others. It was the latest in a wave of random attacks that killed more than 2,000 people in the country since April.
