June 21, 1740

1740 From the Castillo de San Marcos, Spanish Gov. Manuel de Montiano totally rejected James Oglethorpe’s ultimatum of the previous day demanding the surrender of St. Augustine and the fortress. Montiano promised to fight to the end if necessary. Upon receipt of Montiano’s reply, Oglethorpe directed his artillery on Anastasia Island in the harbor to resume firing at the town and fort. The siege of Florida’s capital continued.

June 21, 1754

1754 In London, the King and Council approved a new seal for Georgia to reflect its status as a royal colony. According to the language of the order, the seal’s design would consist of "a figure, representing the Genius of the Colony, . . . offering a skein of silk to his Majesty, with the motto, ’Hinc landem spetate Coloni,’ and around the circumference ’Sigillum Provinciae nostrae Georgiae in America;’ and on the obverse are his Majesty’s arms, crown, garter, supporters, and motto, with the inscription, ’Georgius II. Dei Gratia Magnae Britanniae Fr. et Hib Rex Fidei Defensor, Brunswici et Lunenbergi Dux, Sacri Romani Imperii Archi Thesaurarius et Elector.’"

June 21, 1788

1788 Ratification of the new U.S. Constitution was achieved when New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the document.

June 21, 1859

1859 African-American artist Henry Ossawa Tanner was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Tanner, best known for his sensitive painting "The Banjo Lesson", he later taught art at Clark College in Atlanta before immigrating to France to pursue his career in art.

June 21, 1913

1913 Prominent Atlanta attorney Reuben Arnold announced that he had joined Leo Frank’s defense team. In his statement Arnold said he had reviewed all the evidence and was convinced of Frank’s innocence, adding that he would not agree to represent him otherwise. While Arnold did not directly accuse Jim Conley of the murder of Mary Phagan, he did say Conley’s story had no credence in regards to Frank then added: "I do not believe that any white man committed this crime."

June 21, 1915

1915 One day before his term ended, Georgia Governor John M. Slaton commuted the death sentence of Leo Frank, who had been convicted of the death of Mary Phagan in a trial that violated most standards of due process and fairness. Despite the commutation, on the night of August 16, a lynch mob broke into the Georgia State Prison at Milledgeville and seized Frank, taking him to Cobb County, where he was hanged.

June 21, 1933

1933 Governor Eugene Talmadge surrounded himself with a military guard ordered to prohibit any authorities from serving him with legal orders from any judge. Talmadge took this action after a federal judge had allowed deposed state highway board chairman J.W. Barnett to file an injunction challenging Talmadge’s declaring martial law over the state highway department.

June 21, 1959

1959 Hank Aaron hit three home runs in a single game -- the seventh Braves player in franchise history to accomplish this feat.

June 21, 1971

1971 Atlanta-born Jerry Reid Hubbard had a recording that tops U.S. country music charts today. The song -- "When You’re Hot, You’re Hot" -- eventually earned this artist accolades as the top country song of 1971. We know Jerry Reed not only for his music but for his co-starring with Burt Reynolds in the movie "Smokey and the Bandits".

June 21, 1973

1973 In the case of Paris Adult Theater v. Slaton, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the Georgia Supreme Court’s decision declaring that the theater had shown pornographic films.