TODAY IN HISTORY

1940

The Nazis occupied Brussels, Belgium, during World War II.

1954

A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court handed down its Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision which held that racially segregated public schools were inherently unequal, and therefore unconstitutional.

1973

A special committee convened by the U.S. Senate began its televised hearings into the Watergate scandal.

1980

Rioting that claimed 18 lives erupted in Miami's Liberty City after an all-white jury in Tampa acquitted four former Miami police officers of fatally beating Black insurance executive Arthur McDuffie.

1987

37 American sailors were killed when an Iraqi warplane attacked the U.S. Navy frigate Stark in the Persian Gulf.

1996

President Bill Clinton signed a measure requiring neighborhood notification when sex offenders move in.

2004

Massachusetts became the first state to allow same-sex marriages.

Birthdays

TV personality Kathleen Sullivan is 69. Boxing Hall of Famer Sugar Ray Leonard is 66. Singer Enya is 61. Actor-comedian Craig Ferguson is 60. Actor Kat Foster is 44. Actor Nikki Reed is 34.