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On this date in history: In 1776, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston and Roger Sherman were appointed by the Continental Congress to write a declaration of independence for the American colonies from England.
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In 1919, Sir Barton became the first horse to win thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown.
In 1927, U.S. President Calvin Coolidge welcomed Charles Lindbergh home after the pilot made history's first non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean, New York to Paris.
In 1963, for a brief moment, Gov. George Wallace blocked the enrollment of two African-American students to the University of Alabama. His acts of defiance would be short-lived as President John F. Kennedy federalized the Alabama National Guard, instructing them to end Wallace's blockade of the school.
In 1967, the Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors ended with a U.N.-brokered cease-fire. The Israeli forces achieved a swift and decisive victory.
In 1985, Karen Ann Quinlan died at age 31 in a New Jersey nursing home, nearly 10 years after she lapsed into an irreversible coma. Her condition had sparked a nationwide controversy over her "right to die."
In 1987, Margaret Thatcher became the first British prime minister in 160 years to win three consecutive terms.
In 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down an anti-flag-burning law passed by Congress the year before.
In 1993, Jurassic Park opened and broke the record for the biggest three-day opening weekend with an estimated $48 million. That record has since been surpassed hundreds of times.
In 1994, after 49 years, the Russian military occupation of what had been East Germany ended with the departure of the Red Army from Berlin.
In, 2001, Timothy McVeigh was executed in Terre Haute, Ind., for the April 19, 1995, Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people and injured hundreds.
In 2004, Ronald Reagan reached his final resting place at his library in Southern California, closing a week of ceremony and tribute to the late president.
In 2010, flash floods swept across Arkansas campgrounds, killing at least 18 people.
In 2011, the leader of al-Qaida in East Africa, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, was killed in a shootout with Somali soldiers at a checkpoint in Mogadishu.
In 2012, Teofilo Stevenson of Cuba, winner of three Olympic gold medals and considered one of the best amateur boxers ever, died of a heart attack in Havana. He was 60.
In 2014, Rep. Eric Cantor, on the day after an unexpected primary election defeat in Virginia, said he would step down as U.S. House majority leader at the end of July.
In 2017, Spain's Rafael Nadal became the first man to win the French Open 10 times with his defeat of Stan Wawrinka. Nadal won his 11th French Open title a year later.
