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On This Day: Ballpoint pen patented

On June 10, 1943, Hungarian Laszlo Biro secured a patent for his invention -- the first successful and widely used ballpoint pen.
By UPI Staff   |   June 10, 2018 at 3:00 AM
On June 10, 1943, Hungarian Laszlo Biro, pictured in 1978, secured a patent for his invention -- the first successful and widely used ballpoint pen. File Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Col. Theodore Roosevelt aboard the S.S. Aiden upon his return from South America ca. 1914. File Photo by Library of Congress/UPI Singer Ray Charles performs a tribute to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Nat King Cole during ceremonies in New York on May 6, 2000. Charles died on this day in 2004. File Photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI Outgoing House Republican leader Eric Cantor of Virginia arrives for House Republican leadership elections on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 19, 2014. Cantor lost his district's primary election to Tea Party challenger David Brat on this day in 2014. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI

On this date in history:

In 1692, Bridget Bishop was found guilty of the practice of witchcraft and hanged in Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. She was the first colonist executed during the Salem witch trials.

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In 1898, U.S. Marines invaded Cuba in the Spanish-American War.

In 1916, whatever momentum former President Theodore Roosevelt had built up as he campaigned for the Republican nomination for president was extinguished when the progressive convention voted for reconciliation with the GOP.

In 1935, Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in Akron, Ohio.

In 1942, the German Gestapo burned the tiny Czech village of Lidice after shooting 173 men and shipping the women and children to concentration camps.

In 1943, Hungarian Laszlo Biro secured a patent for his invention -- the first successful and widely used ballpoint pen.

In 2000, Syrian President Hafez Assad died from a heart attack at age 69. He had ruled the country since 1970.

UPI File Photo

In 2003, a three-member Ontario Court of Appeal in Canada ordered that full marriage rights be extended to same-sex couples.

In 2004, Ray Charles, a 12-time Grammy-winning singer-pianist who pioneered the blending of country and R&B, died at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 73.

In 2006, three detainees at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, hanged themselves.

File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI

In 2009, Chrysler, one of America's "Big 3" automakers, climbed out of bankruptcy with a reconstruction plan that included a partnership deal with Italian carmaker Fiat.

In 2013, car bombings killed at least 57 people in central and northern Iraq.

In 2014, Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., the U.S. House Republican leader, was defeated by Tea Party challenger David Brat, a college economics professor, in one of the most stunning primary election upsets in congressional history.

In 2017, Tapwrit, ridden by Jose Ortiz, overtook favorite Irish War Cry deep in the stretch to win the Belmont Stakes.

File Photo by Mark Abraham/UPI