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1971–The New York Times publishes the once-secret government documents known as the Pentagon Papers. On June 3rd, The U.S. Supreme Court had cleared away any legal impediment to their publication. These documents, which cast major doubts on the U.S. Government's conduct during the Vietnam War, were major factors in the anti-war movement.


313–The Edict of Milan, signed by Constantine the Great and co-emperor Valerius Licinius, granting religious freedom throughout the Roman Empire, is posted in Nicomedia.

823–Charles the Bald, King of West Francia (843-877), King of Italy (875-877), and Holy Roman Emperor (875-877), is born in Frankfurt, Germany. He was a grandson of Charlemagne.

839–Charles the Fat, Holy Roman Emperor, is born in East Francia, Kingdom of Germany.

1036–Ali az-Zahir, Egyptian Caliph, dies of the plague at age 30. He was the Seventh Caliph of the Fatimids (1021-1036). He assumed the Caliphate after the disappearance of his father, Tariqu I-Hakim bi Amr al-Lah.

1231–Priest and Saint, Anthony of Padua, dies in Padua, Italy, at age 35. Noted by his contemporaries for his forceful preaching, expert knowledge of scripture, and undying love and devotion to the poor and the sick, he was the most-quickly canonized saint. He was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church on January 16, 1946. He is also the patron saint of lost things.

1373–The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance takes place between England (succeeded by the United Kingdom) and Portugal. It is the oldest alliance in the world which is still in force.

1381–The Peasants Revolt led by Wat Tyler, culminates in the burning of the Savoy Palace. It was considered the grandest nobleman's townhouse of medieval London, and was the residence of John of Gaunt, a younger son of King Edward III. It lay between the Strand and the River Thames: the present Savoy Theatre and Savoy Hotel were named in its memory.

1514–The Henry Grace à Dieu is dedicated. At over 1,000 tons, it is the largest warship in the world, built at the new Woolwich Dockyard in England.

1525–Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the celibacy doctrine decreed by the Roman Catholic Church on priests and nuns.

1625–King Charles I of England marries Henrietta Maria, Princess of France.

1740–Georgia provincial governor, James Oglethorpe, begins an unsuccessful attempt to take Spanish Florida during the Siege of St. Augustine.

1762–Dorothea Erxleben, the first German female medical doctor, dies in Quedlinburg, Germany, at age 46. In 1742, she published a tract arguing that women should be allowed to attend university. In 1754, she was the first German woman to receive a M.D. from the University of Halle.

1774–Rhode Island becomes the first colony to prohibit the importation of slaves.

1777–Marquis de Lafayette lands near Charleston, South Carolina, to help the Continental Congress train its army.

1790–José Antonio Páez, President of Venezuela, is born in Curpa, Portuguesa, Venezuela.

1798–Mission San Luis Rey de Francia is founded in California.

1805–Scouting ahead of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Meriwether Lewis and four companions sight the Great Falls of the Missouri River.

1861–Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin, French magician and father of modern magic, dies of pneumonia in Saint-Gervais-la-Forêt, France, at age 65. His autobiography is The Memoirs of Robert-Houdin.

1863–Fashion designer, Lady Lucy Duff Gordon, is born Lucy Christiana Sutherland in London, England. Lucile, the first British-based designer to achieve international acclaim, was a widely acknowledged innovator in couture styles. She originated the "mannequin parade," a precursor to the modern fashion show, and trained the first professional models. She launched liberating slit skirts and low necklines, popularized less restrictive corsets, and promoted alluring and pared-down lingerie.

1865–Poet, William Butler Yeats, is born in Dublin, Ireland. He was one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. Along with Lady Gregory, he started the Irish Literary Theatre in 1899, which became the Abbey Theatre. Yeats produced his greatest work between the ages of 50 and 75. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923.

1866–The U.S. House of Representatives passes the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, assuring civil rights.

1877–Futurist painter, Joseph Stella, is born in Muro Lucano, Italy. He was associated with the Precisionist Movement of the early 20th century. Stella is most remembered for his scenes of the Brooklyn Bridge and industrial America.

1881–The ship USS Jeannette is crushed in an Arctic Ocean ice pack.

1886–A fire devastates much of Vancouver, British Columbia.

1886–Ludwig II of Bavaria dies of gunshot wounds in Lake Starnberg, Bavaria, German Empire, at age 40. He was attempting to escape from Berg. He held the titles of Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria, Duke of Franconia, and Duke in Swabia. Ludwig is generally well-regarded and even revered by many Bavarians today. His legacy of architecture and art includes many of Bavaria's important tourist attractions.

1888–The U.S. Congress establishes the Department of Labor.

1892–Actor, Basil Rathbone, is born Philip St. John Basil Rathbone in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is best known for the role of Sherlock Holmes in 14 Hollywood films made between 1939 and 1946. He appeared in the films A Notorious Affair, The Lady Surrenders, David Coperfield, Anna Karenina, Captain Blood, A Tale of Two Cities, Romeo and Juliet, Son of Frankenstein, We’re No Angels, and The Court Jester.

1893–Grover Cleveland undergoes secret surgery to remove a large, cancerous portion of his jaw. The operation is not revealed to the American public until 1917, nine years after the President's death.

1894–Poet and teacher, Mark Van Doren, is born in Hope, Illinois. In almost 40 years of teaching at Columbia University, he met such students as John Berryman, Clifton Fadiman, Thomas Merton, Lionel Trilling, Allen Ginsberg, and Jack Kerouac. He also wrote more than 50 works of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.

1898–Yukon Territory is formed, with Dawson chosen as its capital.

1899–Carlos Chávez, Mexican composer, conductor, and journalist, is born Carlos Antonio de Padua Chávez y Ramírez in Mexico City, Mexico. He founded the Mexican Symphonic Orchestra.

1905–Jazz musician, Doc Cheatham, is born Adolphus Anthony Cheatham in Nashville, Tennessee. He performed with Benny Carter, Teddy Wilson, Fletcher Henderson, and Claude Hopkins in the 1940s; after World War II he started working regularly with Latin bands in New York City, including the bands of Perez Prado, Marcelino Guerra, and Ricardo Ray. He led his own band on Broadway for five years starting in 1960, after which he toured with Benny Goodman.

1910–The University of the Philippines College of Engineering is established.

1910–Character actress, Mary Wickes, is born Mary Isabella Wickenhauser in St. Louis, Missouri. She appeared in the films The Man Who Came to Dinner, Now, Voyager, On Moonlight Bay, I’ll See You in My Dreams, Young Man with Ideas, The Story of Will Rogers, By the Light of the Silvery Moon, The Actress, White Cristmas, Destry, Good Morning Miss Dove, It Happened to Jane, Cimarron, The Music Mans, Dear Heart, The Trouble with Angels, and Sister Act.

1913–Radio and TV host, Ralph (Livingstone) Edwards, is born in Merino, Colorado. He is best known for his radio-TV game shows Truth or Consequences and This Is Your Life.

1917–In World War I, the deadliest German air raid on London, England, is carried out by Gotha G bombers, killing 162 people (including 46 children) and injuring 432 others.

1918–Actor, Ben Johnson, is born Ben Johnson, Jr. in Foraker, Oklahoma. He was also a stuntman and world champion rodeo cowboy. He appeared in the films The Outlaw, Tall in the Saddle, Nevada, Angel and the Badman, Fort Apache, 3 Godfathers, Red River, Mighty Joe Young, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Wagon Master, Rio Grande, Shane, Oklahoma!, One-Eyed Jacks, Cheyenne Autumn, Major Dundee, Will Penny, Hang ‘Em High, The Wild Bunch, Chisum, The Last Picture Show, Junior Bonner, Dillinger, The Sugarland Express, Breakheart Pass, The Hunter, Tex, Red Dawn, Cherry 2000, Radio Flyer, and The Evening Star.

1918–Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia is murdered in Perm, Russian SFSR, at age 39. He was the youngest son of Emperor Alexander III of Russia.

1923–Jazz pianist, Erroll (Louis) Garner, is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His best-known composition, Misty, is a jazz standard. His 1955 live album, Concert by the Sea, was a best-selling jazz album, despite the low quality of the recording. Short in stature (5 feet, 2 inches), Garner performed sitting on multiple telephone directories. He was also known for his “vocalizations” while playing, which can be heard on many of his recordings.

1925–The first public demonstration of a moving image is broadcast in Washington, D.C., via television. The image is of the moving blades of a model windmill. Secretary of the Navy, Dwight Wilburn, is present for the demonstration in the event the new medium has a military application.

1926–Comic actor, Paul (Edward) Lynde, is born in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. He is best known for the role of Uncle Arthur on the TV sitcom Bewitched. He was also the “center square” on the game show Hollywood Squares. He appeared in the movies Bye Bye Birdie, Under the Yum Yum Tree, For Those Who think Young, and Beach Blanket Bingo.

1927–A ticker-tape parade is held on 5th Avenue in New York City for aviator, Charles Lindbergh.

1930–The first Nudist Colony opens.

1934–Adolf Hitler and Mussolini meet in Venice, Italy. Mussolini later describes the German dictator as “a silly little monkey.”

1934–Computer scientist and engineer, Leonard Kleinrock, is born in New York, New York. As a computer science professor at UCLA's Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, he made several important contributions to the theoretical foundations of computer networking. He played an influential role in the development of the ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet, at UCLA. His doctoral thesis at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1962, was to establish a mathematical theory of packet networks. His theoretical work on hierarchical routing in the late 1970s, with student Farouk Kamoun, is now critical to the operation of today's Internet.

1935–In one of the biggest upsets in championship boxing, the 10 to 1 underdog, James J. Braddock, defeats Max Baer in Long Island City, New York, to become the Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the world. Braddock’s story is told in the film Cinderella Man.

1935–Environmental artist, Christo (Javacheff), is born in Bulgaria. He would become best known for the large scale wrapped works he created with his wife, Jeanne-Claude. Their most famous works are the wrapping of the Reichstag in Berlin, Germany; the Pont-Neuf bridge in Paris, France; the 24-mile Running Fence in Northern California; The Umbrellas; and The Gates in New York City's Central Park. During the 1970s, Christo and Jeanne-Claude's works became so well known that Charles M. Schultz had Christo wrap Snoopy's doghouse in one of his “Peanuts” comic strips. In 2003, Christo presented an actual wrapped doghouse to the Charles M. Schulz Museum.

1940–Hitler’s Germany begins assaulting the English with 9,000 V1 rockets.

1940–Singer, Bobby Freeman, is born Robert Thomas Freeman in San Francisco, California. He is best known for his two “Top Ten” hits Do You Want to Dance and C'mon and Swim.

1942–The United States opens its Office of War Information.

1943–Actor, Malcolm McDowell, is born Malcolm John Taylor in Horsforth, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. He appeared in the films If...., The Raging Moon, A Clockwork Orange, O Lucky Man!, Royal Flash, Caligula, The Passage, Time After Time, Look Back in Anger, Britannia Hospital, Cat People, Blue Thunder, Cross Creek, The Player, Milk Money, My Life So Far, I Spy, The Compamy, Hildago, The Artist, and How to Make Love Like an Englishman. He was married to actress, Mary Steenburgen.

1944–During World War II, in the Battle of Villers-Bocage, German tank ace, Michael Wittmann, ambushes elements of the British 7th Armoured Division, destroying up to 14 tanks, 15 personnel carriers, and two anti-tank guns in a Tiger I tank.

1944–German combat elements, reinforced by the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division, launch a counterattack on American forces near Carentan.

1944–Germany launches a V1 Flying Bomb attack on England. Only four of the 11 bombs actually hit their targets.

1945–Sci-fi writer, (Louis) Whitley Strieber, is born in San Antonio, Texas. He is best known for his horror novels The Wolfen and The Hunger, as well as for Communion, a non-fiction account of his alleged experiences with extraterrestrials.

1949–Singer, Dr. Hook, is born Dennis (Michael) Locorriere in Union City, New Jersey. The band was originally called Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show and they had big hits with Sylvia’s Mother and The Cover of Rolling Stone.

1950–Actress, Belinda Bauer, is born Belinda Sylvia Taubman in Australia. She appeared in the films Winter Kills, The American Success Company, Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann, Flashdance, The Rosary Murders, Act of Piracy, RoboCop 2, The Servants of Twilight, and Poison Ivy II: Lily.

1951–Actor, Richard Thomas, is born in New York, New York. He is best known for the role of John Boy on the TV series The Waltons. He appeared in the films Red Sky at Morning, You’ll Like My Mother, and September 28, 1954.

1953–Comedian-actor, Tim Allen, is born Timothy Allen Dick in Denver, Colorado. He is best known for his starring role on the TV sitcom Home Improvement. He appeared in the films The Santa Clause, Galazy Quest, Big Trouble, Christmas with the Kranks, Wild Hogs, and Geezers!

1955–Mir Mine is the first diamond mine to be discovered in the USSR.

1958–Rocker, Frank Zappa, graduates from Antelope Valley High School in Lancaster, California.

1962–Actress, Ally Sheedy, is born Alexandra Elizabeth Sheedy in New York, New York. She appeared in the films Bad Boys, WarGames, Oxford Blues, The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo’s Fire, Twice in a Lifetime, Blue City, Short Circuit, Maid to Order, Heart of Dixie, Betsy’s Wedding, Fear, The Pickle, High Art, and Sugar Town.

1963–Paul (Gerald) De Lisle, of Smash Mouth, is born in Exeter, Ontario, Canada.

1966–The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Miranda v. Arizona that the police must inform suspects of their rights before questioning them.

1967–President Lyndon Johnson nominates Solicitor-General, Thurgood Marshall, to become the first black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

1969–Governor Preston Smith of Texas signs a bill into law converting the former Southwest Center for Advanced Studies, originally founded as a research arm of Texas Instruments, into the University of Texas at Dallas.

1970–A chart topper: The Long and Winding Road by The Beatles. It will be the group’s last single.

1971–The New York Times publishes the once-secret government documents known as the Pentagon Papers. On June 3rd, The U.S. Supreme Court had cleared away any legal impediment to their publication. These documents, which cast major doubts on the U.S. Government's conduct during the Vietnam War, were major factors in the anti-war movement.

1972–Singer, Clyde McPhatter, the first lead singer of The Drifters, dies from complications of heart, liver, and kidney disease in Teaneck, New Jersey, at age 39. He is best known for his solo hit A Lover's Question.

1975–John Lennon appears in a pre-taped television performance for the special Salute to Sir Lew Grade. This will be Lennon's final stage appearance.

1975–American architect, John Ogden Merrill, Sr., dies at his home in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at age 78. He was the co-founder of the preeminent architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

1977–James Earl Ray, convicted assassin of civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr., is recaptured following his escape three days earlier from a Tennessee prison.

1978–Israeli Defense Forces withdraw from Lebanon.

1979–The Sioux Nation is awarded $105 million in compensation for the U.S. seizure of the Black Hills in South Dakota in 1877.

1979–Child actress, Darla Hood, dies of acute hepatitis and heart failure in North Hollywood, California, at age 47. She appeared in the Our Gang and The Little Rascals comedy series.

1981–At the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London, England, teenager, Marcus Sarjeant, fires six blank shots at Queen Elizabeth II.

1981–Tom Snyder interviews convicted murderer, Charles Manson, on the late night talk show Tomorrow.

1982–Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia, dies of a heart attack in Ta’if in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, at age 69. His bother, Fahd, becomes king.

1983–Pioneer 10 becomes the first man-made object to leave the Solar System.

1984–American architect, Nathaniel Alexander Owings, dies in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at age 81. He was the co-founder of the preeminent architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

1986–Actress twins, Ashley (Fuller) Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen, are born in Sherman Oaks, California. They are best known for the role of Michelle Tanner on the TV sitcom Full House. They have both gone on to successful careers in the fashion industry.

1986–Bandleader, Benny Goodman, dies of a heart attack in New York, New York, at age 77. Goodman was given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for launching the Big Band era, encouraging future jazz stars, and dissolving racial barriers by featuring black musicians in his band. One of his biggest hits was Swing, Swing, Swing.

1987–Actress, Geraldine Page, dies of a heart attack in New York, New York, at age 62. She appeared in the films Hondo, Summer and Smoke, Sweet Bird of Youth, Toys in the Attic, Dear Heart, The Three Sisters, You’re a Big boy Now, The Happiest Millionaire, What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?, The Beguiled, J.W. Coop, Pete ‘n’ Tillie, The Day of the Locust, Interiors, Honky Tonk Freeway, I’m Dancing as Fast as I can, The Pope of Greenwich Village, The Trip to Bountiful, and Native Son.

1989–Rock and roller, Jerry Lee Lewis, gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1989–43rd NBA Championship: The Detroit Pistons beat the Los Angeles Lakers, in 4 games.

1989–Television personality, Fran Allison, dies of myelodysplasia in Sherman Oaks, California, at age 81. She is best known for her starring role on the weekday children’s show Kukla, Fran and Ollie, which ran from 1947 to 1957, occasionally returning to the air until the mid-1980s.

1990–East Germany begins the final demolition of the Berlin Wall, knocking out concrete slabs all over the city to re-open streets sealed off since the Cold War barrier was built in 1961.

1990–In the first day of the Mineriad in Romania, at least 240 strikers and students are arrested or killed in the chaos ensuing from the first post-Ceausescu elections.

1994–A jury in Anchorage, Alaska, blames recklessness by Exxon and Captain Joseph Hazelwood for the Exxon Valdez disaster, allowing victims of the oil spill to seek $15 billion in damages.

1995–French President, Jacques Chirac, announces the resumption of nuclear tests in French Polynesia.

1996–The Montana Freemen surrender after an 81-day standoff with FBI agents. The Montana Freemen espoused belief in the doctrine of individual sovereignty and rejected the authority of the federal government of the United States. They conceived their own system of government in "Justus Township," including their own versions of common-law court, banking, and credit.

1997–A jury sentences Timothy McVeigh to death for his part in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

1997–A fire at the Uphaar Cinema, in New Delhi, India, kills 59 people and injures over 100 others.

1997–The 51st NBA Championship: The Chicago Bulls beat the Utah Jazz, 4 games to 2.

2000–Italy pardons Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turkish gunman who tried to kill Pope John Paul II in 1981.

2000–President Kim Dae Jung, of South Korea, meets Kim Jong-il, leader of North Korea, for the beginning of the first ever inter-Korea summit, in the northern capital of Pyongyang.

2002–The United States withdraws from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

2003–Gerry Marsden, of Gerry and the Pacemakers, is awarded an MBE (Member of the British Empire) in the annual Queen's Birthday Honours.

2005–In Santa Maria, California, pop singer, Michael Jackson, is acquitted of molesting 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo at Jackson’s Neverland Ranch.

2007–The Al Askari Mosque is bombed for a second time.

2010–A capsule of the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa, containing particles of the asteroid 25143 Itokawa, returns to Earth.

2010–Singer and businessman, Jimmy Dean, dies in Varina, Virginia, at age 81. He is best known for his 1961 country crossover hit, Big Bad John, and his ABC TV series The Jimmy Dean Show. He founded the Jimmy Dean Sausage Company with his brother, Don.

2012–A series of bombings across Iraq, including Baghdad, Hillah and Kirkuk, kills at least 93 people and wounds over 300 others.

2015–Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland, marries Sofia Hellqvist in Stockholm, Sweden.

2015–A man opens fire at officers outside the police headquarters in Dallas, Texas, and a bag containing a pipe bomb is found. He was later shot dead by police.

2016–Donald Trump’s presidential campaign will no longer issue press credentials to The Washington Post, stopping the publication from gaining access to press areas at his events. Trump's campaign repeated criticism the candidate has made of Post owner, Jeff Bezos, who also owns the online retail giant, Amazon.com.

2016–Microsoft agrees to buy the networking site LinkedIn for $26.2 billion.

2016–Actor, Michu Meszaros, dies from a stroke in Los Angeles, California, at age 76. He is best known for performing with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and was the man behind the costume in the sitcom Alf. Michu was two feet, nine inches tall. He appeared in the films Big Top Pee-wee, Waxwork, Warlock: The Armageddon, and Freaked.

2016–The Stanley Cup: The Pittsburgh Penquins beat the San Jose Sharks, 3 games to 1.

2017–Two Baldwin State Prison inmates, Donnie Russell Rowe and Ricky Dubose, escape from a prisoner transport vehicle on Georgia State Route 16, after overpowering and killing two police officers. The prisoners then carjack a passing Honda Civic and flee towards Eatonton, Georgia.

2017–Model and actress, Anita Pallenberg, dies at age 73. She appeared in the films Candy, Barbarella, Dillinger Is Dead, and Performance. She was the romantic partner of The Rolling Stones' multi-instrumentalist and guitarist, Brian Jones, and later, from 1967 to 1979, the partner of Keith Richards, the guitarist of the same band, with whom she had three children.

2018–Musician, D.J. Fontana, dies in his sleep at age 87. He was the drummer for Elvis Presley for 15 years and played on over 460 cuts with “The King” on such hits as Heartbreak Hotel, Blue Suede Shoes, Houng Dog, Love Me Tender, All Shook Up, Jailhouse Rock, One Night, It’s Now or Never, Are You Lonesome Tonight, Can’t Help Falling in Love, Return to Sender, Viva Las Vegas, and Blue Christmas.


PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Charles the Fat, Holy Roman Emperor; José Antonio Páez, President of Venezuela; a Joseph Stella painting of the Booklyn Bridge; Basil Rathbone; Carlos Chávez; Ben Johnson; a ticker-tape parade for Charles Lindbergh; Christo's wrapping of the Reichstag in Berlin, Germany; Malcolm McDowell; Belinda Bauer; Ally Sheedy; Clyde McPhatter; Darla Hood; Geraldine Page; Kukla, Fran & Ollie, Gerry Marsden with his MBE; and Donald Trump.
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