TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Saturday, June 6, the 158th day of 2020. There are 208 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On June 6, 1968, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy died at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, 25 ½ hours after he was shot by Sirhan Bishara Sirhan. On this date: In 1799, American politician and orator Patrick Henry died at Red Hill Plantation in Virginia.
In 1816, a snowstorm struck the northeastern U.S., heralding what would become known as the “Year Without a Summer.”
In 1918, U.S. Marines suffered heavy casualties as they launched their eventually successful counteroffensive against German troops in the World War I Battle of Belleau Wood in France.
In 1933, the first drive-in movie theater was opened by Richard Hollingshead in Camden County, New Jersey. (The movie shown was “Wives Beware,” starring Adolphe Menjou.)
In 1939, the first Little League game was played as Lundy Lumber defeated Lycoming Dairy 23-8 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
In 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.
In 1955, the U.S. Post Office introduced regular certified mail service.
In 1966, black activist James Meredith was shot and wounded as he walked along a Mississippi highway to encourage black voter registration.
In 1978, California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 13, a primary ballot initiative calling for major cuts in property taxes.
In 1982, Israeli forces invaded Lebanon to drive Palestine Liberation Organization fighters out of the country. (The Israelis withdrew in June 1985.)
In 1989, burial services were held for Iran’s spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Washington state Democrat Tom Foley succeeded Jim Wright as House speaker.
In 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.
Ten years ago: The Vatican released a working paper which said the international community was ignoring the plight of Christians in the Middle East, and that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the war in Iraq and political instability in Lebanon had forced thousands to flee the region.