Also on this date
In 1770, Captain James Cook, commander of the British ship Endeavour, “discovered” the Great Barrier Reef off Australia by running onto it.
In 1776, the Continental Congress formed a committee to draft a Declaration of Independence calling for freedom from Britain.
In 1947, the U.S. government announced the end of sugar rationing for households and “institutional users” (e.g., restaurants and hotels) as of midnight.
In 1955, in motor racing’s worst disaster, more than 80 people were killed during the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France when two of the cars collided and crashed into spectators.
In 1962, three prisoners at Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay staged an escape, leaving the island on a makeshift raft; they were never found or heard from again.
In 1985, Karen Ann Quinlan, the comatose patient whose case prompted a historic right-to-die court decision, died at age 31.
In 2001, Timothy McVeigh, 33, was executed by injection at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people.
In 2009, with swine flu reported in more than 70 nations, the World Health Organization declared the first global flu pandemic in 41 years.
Ten years ago: Rejecting calls by Democratic leaders for him to resign in a sexting scandal, Rep. Anthony Weiner instead announced he was seeking professional treatment and asking for a leave of absence from Congress. (Weiner ended up resigning.)
Five years ago: Queen Elizabeth II and her family marked her official 90th birthday with a parade and an appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony.
One year ago: Louisville, Kentucky, banned the use of “no-knock” warrants and named the new ordinance for Breonna Taylor, who’d been fatally shot by officers who burst into her home. San Francisco’s mayor said city police officers would stop responding to non-criminal activities such as disputes between neighbors; they would be replaced on those calls by trained, unarmed professionals.