June 8, 1939: For the 1st time, a British monarch sets foot on American soil. And, for the 1st time, a British monarch visits the White House.
It wasn't the 1st time a British monarch had met a President of the United States: In 1919, King George V had welcomed President Woodrow Wilson to Buckingham Palace, on Wilson's way to the Versailles Conference to settle things in Europe after World War I. But this was the 1st time a British monarch had come to America, to meet the President or for any other reason.
It was also the 1st visit by a British monarch to Canada, though not the 1st by a member of the royal family. King George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, crossed the border at Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara Falls, New York. They went through Buffalo, down through New York State into Pennsylvania, into Maryland at Baltimore, and into Washington, D.C.
Upon arrival at Union Station, they were met by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his wife, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. They were given a motorcade through the city, an afternoon reception at the British Embassy, and a formal evening of dining and music at the White House. (The King was 43 years old; the President, 56.)
On June 9, the Roosevelts and the Windsors (the royal family is officially the House of Windsor) boarded the USS Potomac, the Presidential yacht, and sailed down the Potomac River, to visit Mount Vernon, home of George Washington. It had been 158 years since the Battle of Yorktown, so, bygones were bygones. The heads of state and their wives were then driven to Arlington National Cemetery, with a wreath-lying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
On June 10, they boarded a train, and went up through Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania at Philadelphia, and New Jersey into New York. They went through New York City, up the Hudson River, to Springwood, the Roosevelt estate at Hyde Park, Dutchess County.
On June 11, a picnic was held, and, to the horror of FDR's domineering, oh-so-proper mother, Sara, the King and the Queen were served hot dogs. The King and the Queen enjoyed the items. There was also a visit to the World's Fair in Flushing Meadow, Queens.
After leaving Hyde Park, the King and the Queen headed north up the Hudson, back to the British Commonwealth at Montreal. The Queen wrote to the King's mother, Queen Mary, of the Roosevelts: "They are such a charming and united family and living so like English people when they come to their country house."
But this was no ordinary state visit. FDR wanted to assure George VI that America and Britain would be allies in case Nazi Germany were to go to war with Britain. Deals were made regarding military cooperation. What's more, FDR wanted to humanize the King to the American people, to show that the stories of the 2 wars between the countries (1775-1783 and 1812-1815) belonged to the past, and that the present was one of friendship.
FDR died in 1945, just as World War II was on the verge of being won. The stress of the war had aged him badly and unduly affected his health. The same was true for George VI, who died of cancer in 1952. Upon their deaths, the President was 63, the King only 56. Their wives lived a bit longer: Eleanor Roosevelt until 1962, and the woman my generation knew as Elizabeth the Queen Mother until 2002, at the age of 101.
The highway from Toronto to the Peace Bridge on the Fort Erie-Buffalo border is named the Queen Elizabeth Way, for the Queen Mother. And the famous cruise liners Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth 2 (a.k.a. the QE2) and Queen Elizabeth 3 (QE3) are also named for the Queen Mother, not Elizabeth II, regardless of how they're numbered.
Queen Elizabeth II, the daughter of King George and Queen Elizabeth (who is not part of the numbering system, as Queen Elizabeth I reigned from 1558 to 1603), now 96, has met with every President of the United States since Harry Truman, except for Lyndon Johnson. This includes a meeting at Windsor Castle with Joe Biden this past June. (UPDATE: She died on September 8, 2022. Her son, King Charles III, had already met with every President since Richard Nixon in his role as Prince of Wales.)
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June 8, 1939 was a Thursday. These games were played in what would later be called Major League Baseball:
* The New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Joe DiMaggio went 3-for-4, including a home run, in support of Atley Donald.
* The New York Giants beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-3 at the Polo Grounds.
* The Boston Bees beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-0 at National League Park in Boston. Lou Fette pitched a 3-hit shutout for Boston, in the middle of a rebranding effort after a horrible 1935 season as the Braves. But the names "Bees" and "National League Park" (or "The Bee Hive") never caught on, and in 1941, they went back to using "Boston Braves" and "Braves Field."
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-2 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Washington Senators, 7-5 at League Park in Cleveland.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 8-4 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. The ballpark was renamed Tiger Stadium in 1961.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Browns, 8-7 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Jimmie Foxx hit 2 home runs for the BoSox, and rookie Ted Williams went 1-for-5.
* And the Brooklyn Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals were not scheduled.
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