Today's Highlight in History:
On June 4, 1913, British suffragist Emily Davison was struck and mortally injured after moving into the path of a horse during the running of the Epsom Derby; her exact motives remain unclear. (The horse that ran into Davison was Anmer, owned by King George V. Jockey Herbert Jones was thrown off and injured; Anmer recovered and completed the race on its own; Davison died at a hospital four days later.)
On this date:
In 1783, the Montgolfier brothers first publicly demonstrated their hot-air balloon, which did not carry any passengers, over Annonay, France.
In 1812, the Louisiana Territory was renamed the Missouri Territory. The U.S. House of Representatives approved a declaration of war against Britain.
In 1892, the Sierra Club was incorporated in San Francisco.
In 1919, Congress approved the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing citizens the right to vote regardless of their gender, and sent it to the states for ratification.
In 1939, the German ocean liner St. Louis, carrying more than 900 Jewish refugees from Germany, was turned away from the Florida coast by U.S. officials.
In 1940, during World War II, the Allied military evacuation of more than 338,000 troops from Dunkirk, France, ended.
In 1942, the World War II Battle of Midway began, resulting in a decisive American victory against Japan and marking the turning point of the war in the Pacific.
In 1943, the president of Argentina, Ramon Castillo, was overthrown in a military coup.
In 1954, French Premier Joseph Laniel and Vietnamese Premier Buu Loc signed treaties in Paris according "complete independence" to Vietnam.
In 1972, a jury in San Jose, Calif., acquitted radical activist Angela Davis of murder and kidnapping for her alleged connection to a deadly courthouse shootout in Marin County in 1970.
In 1986, Jonathan Jay Pollard, a former Navy intelligence analyst, pleaded guilty in Washington to conspiring to deliver information related to the national defense to a foreign government, specifically Israel. (He is serving a life prison term.)
In 1998, a federal judge sentenced Terry Nichols to life in prison for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.
Ten years ago: President George W. Bush held landmark meetings with the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers, hoping to advance a Middle East peace plan after winning new support from top Arab leaders. Martha Stewart stepped down as head of her media empire, hours after federal prosecutors in New York charged her with obstruction of justice, conspiracy, securities fraud and lying to investigators. (Stewart was later convicted of lying about why she'd sold her shares of ImClone Systems stock in 2001, just before the stock price plunged.)
Five years ago: Barack Obama, having clinched the Democratic presidential nomination, picked Caroline Kennedy to help him choose a running mate. Police in Hartford, Conn., released a surveillance video showing a 78-year-old man being struck by a hit-and-run driver on a busy city street and being ignored by most passersby. (The victim, Angel Acre Torres, was removed from life support in May 2009.) Travis Alexander was stabbed to death at his suburban Phoenix home by his girlfriend, Jodi Arias, who later claimed self-defense but was convicted of first-degree murder. The Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup for the fourth time in 11 seasons with a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6 of the finals.
One year ago: With President Barack Obama standing by his side, former President Bill Clinton warned during a speech in New York that a Mitt Romney presidency would be "calamitous" for the nation and the world. Al-Qaida's second-in-command, Abu Yahya al-Libi, was killed in a U.S. drone strike in North Waziristan, Pakistan.
Today's Birthdays: Actor Bruce Dern is 77. Musician Roger Ball is 69. Actress-singer Michelle Phillips is 69. Jazz musician Anthony Braxton is 68. Rock musician Danny Brown (The Fixx) is 62. Actor Parker Stevenson is 61. Actor Keith David is 57. Actress Julie Gholson is 55. Actor Eddie Velez is 55. Singer-musician El DeBarge is 52. Actress Julie White is 52. Actress Lindsay Frost is 51. Tennis player Andrea Jaeger is 48. Rhythm-and-blues singer Al B. Sure! is 45. Actor Scott Wolf is 45. Actor-comedian Rob Huebel is 44. Comedian Horatio Sanz is 44. Actor Noah Wyle is 42. Rock musician Stefan Lessard (The Dave Matthews Band) is 39. Actor-comedian Russell Brand is 38. Actress Angelina Jolie is 38. Actor Theo Rossi is 38. Alt-country singer Kasey Chambers is 37. Rock musician JoJo Garza (Los Lonely Boys) is 33. Country musician Dean Berner (Edens Edge) is 32. Model Bar Refaeli is 28. Rock musician Zac Farro is 23.
Thought for Today: "Reputation is a bubble which a man bursts when he tries to blow it for himself." — Emma Carleton, American journalist (1850-1925).
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