TODAY IN HISTORY
1844: The Young Men’s Christian Association was founded in London.
1912: Novarupta, a volcano on the Alaska peninsula, began a three-day eruption, sending ash as high as 100,000 feet; it was the most powerful volcanic eruption of the 20th century and ranks among the largest in recorded history.
1934: The Securities and Exchange Commission was established.
1939: The first Little League game was played as Lundy Lumber defeated Lycoming Dairy 23-8 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
1944: During World War II, Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, on “D-Day” as they began the liberation of German-occupied Western Europe.
1968: Sen. Robert F. Kennedy died at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, 25 1/2 hours after he was shot by Sirhan Bishara Sirhan.
1977: A sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law imposing an automatic death sentence on defendants convicted of the first-degree murder of a police officer.
1982: Israeli forces invaded Lebanon to drive Palestine Liberation Organization fighters out of the country. (The Israelis withdrew in June 1985.) 1989: Burial services were held for Iran’s spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Washington state Democrat Tom Foley succeeded Jim Wright as House speaker.
2001: Democrats formally assumed control of the U.S. Senate after the decision of Vermont Republican James Jeffords to become an independent. 2005: The Supreme Court ruled, 6-3, that people who smoked marijuana because their doctors recommended it to ease pain could be prosecuted for violating federal drug laws.
2006: Soul musician Billy Preston died in Scottsdale, Arizona, at age 59.
2020: Tens of thousands rallied in cities from Australia to Europe to honor George Floyd and voice support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Massive, peaceful protests took place nationwide to demand police reform, as services for George Floyd were held in North Carolina, near his birthplace.
2012: Business social network LinkedIn reported that some of its users’ passwords had been stolen and leaked onto the Internet.