Today in history
On June 8, 1972, during the Vietnam War, a South Vietnamese Air Force jet dropped a napalm bomb onto the village of Trang Bang. Associated Press photographer Nick Ut captured the image of a screaming 9- yearold girl, Phan Thi Kim Phuc, as she ran naked and severely burned from the scene of the explosion along with other victims.
In A. D. 632, the prophet Muhammad died in Medina.
In 1845, Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States, died in Nashville, Tenn.
In 1861, voters in Tennessee approved an Ordinance of Secession passed the previous month by the state legislature.
In 1912, the ballet “Daphnis et Chloe,” with music by Maurice Ravel, choreography by Michel Fokine and Vaslav Nijinsky and Tamara Karsavina in the title roles, was premiered by the Ballets Russes in Paris.
In 1915, Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan resigned in a disagreement with President Woodrow Wilson over U. S. handling of the sinking of the Lusitania.
In 1942, Bing Crosby recorded “Adeste Fideles” and “Silent Night” in Los Angeles for Decca Records.
In 1953, the Supreme Court ruled that restaurants in the District of Columbia could not refuse to serve blacks.
In 1962, 20th Century Fox fired actress Marilyn Monroe from its production “Something’s Got to Give,” saying she was unreliable. ( Fox later changed its mind, but Monroe died before filming could resume, and the movie was abandoned.)
In 1967, 34 U. S. servicemen were killed when Israel attacked the USS Liberty, a Navy intelligence- gathering ship in the Mediterranean. ( Israel later said the Liberty had been mistaken for an Egyptian vessel.)
In 1978, a jury in Clark County, Nev., ruled the so- called “Mormon will,” purportedly written by the late billionaire Howard Hughes, was a forgery.
In 1982, President Ronald Reagan became the first American chief executive to address a joint session of the British Parliament.
In 1987, Fawn Hall began testifying at the Iran- Contra hearings, describing how, as secretary to National Security aide Oliver L. North, she helped to shred some documents and spirit away others.
Ten years ago: President George W. Bush ended talks at Camp David with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak; Bush sidestepped Arab pleas to impose a deadline for Palestinian statehood while Mubarak defended Yasser Arafat and urged, “Give this man a chance.” Serena Williams won the French Open, defeating her older sister, Venus, 7- 5, 6- 3. Sarava, a 70- 1 shot, captured the Belmont Stakes; Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner War Emblem finished eighth. Lennox Lewis kept his heavyweight titles by stopping Mike Tyson in the eighth round of their fight in Memphis, Tenn.
Five years ago: Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the Bush administration was replacing Gen. Peter Pace as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and recommending Adm. Mike Mullen for the job. Mary Winkler, who’d killed her preacher husband with a shotgun blast to the back as he lay in bed, was sentenced in Selmer, Tenn., to three years in prison ( she ended up serving 67 days in custody, 12 in jail and the rest in a mental health facility). Paris Hilton was sent screaming and crying back to jail after a judge in Los Angeles ruled she had to serve out her sentence for a probation violation behind bars rather than under house arrest. The space shuttle Atlantis blasted off on a mission to the international space station. Love hath no physic for a grief too deep. – Robert Nathan, American author and poet
( 1894- 1985).