Today in history

On June 5, 1783, Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier demonstrated their hot-air balloon in a 10-minute flight over Annonay, France. In 1794 Congress passed the Neutrality Act, prohibiting Americans from enlisting in the service of a foreign power. In 1884 Civil War Gen. William T. Sherman told the Republican Party convention as it considered nominating him for president: “I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected.” In 1933 the U.S. abandoned the gold standard. In 1940 the Battle of France began in World War II.

In 1941 All Star Comics No. 8 hit newsstands marking the debut of Wonder Woman. (This issue was cover-dated December 1941-January 1942.)

In 1962 Amazing Fantasy No. 15 was published, marking the comics debut of Spider-Man. (The issue was cover-dated August 1962.)

In 1967 the Six-Day War began between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

In 1968 Sen. Robert Kennedy, D-N.Y., was shot by Sirhan Sirhan in a Los Angeles hotel shortly after winning the California presidential primary. (He died the next day.)

In 1981 the Centers for Disease Control reported that five homosexuals in Los Angeles had come down with a rare kind of pneumonia — the first recognized cases of what later became known as AIDS.

In 1986 a federal jury in Baltimore convicted Ronald Pelton of selling secrets to the Soviet Union. (Pelton was sentenced to three life prison terms plus 10 years.)

In 2003, speaking to U.S. soldiers in Qatar, President George W. Bush argued the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was justified and pledged that “we’ll reveal the truth” about Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction.

In 2003 the United States agreed to pull ground troops away from the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea.

In 2004 Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, died at 93 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s.

In 2005 “Monty Python’s Spamalot” won three Tony Awards, including best musical.