On This Day in History - June 4th - Almanac

Today is Tuesday, June 4, the 155th day of 2019 with 210 to follow.

The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Jupiter, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus and Venus. Evening stars are Jupiter, Mars, Mercury and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Gemini. They include George III, king of England during the American Revolutionary War, in 1738; actor Rosalind Russell in 1907; actor Dennis Weaver in 1924; radio/TV host Ruth Westheimer in 1928 (age 91); actor Bruce Dern in 1936 (age 83); singer Freddy Fender in 1937; publisher/commentator Mortimer Zuckerman in 1937 (age 82); singer/actor Michelle Phillips in 1944 (age 75); actor Parker Stevenson in 1952 (age 67); singer El DeBarge in 1961 (age 58); fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli in 1963 (age 56); actor Scott Wolf in 1968 (age 51); actor Horatio Sanz in 1969 (age 50); actor Noah Wyle in 1971 (age 48); comedian Russell Brand in 1975 (age 44); actor/filmmaker Angelina Jolie in 1975 (age 44); actor Robin Lord Taylor in 1978 (age 41); actor Josh McDermitt in 1978 (age 41); actor T.J. Miller in 1981 (age 38); model Bar Refaeli in 1985 (age 34); U.S. Olympic figure skater Evan Lysacek in 1985 (age 34); actor/musician Quincy Brown in 1991 (age 28).

On this date in history:

In 1783, the first public demonstration of a hot-air balloon occurred at Annonay, France.

In 1784, France's Marie Thible of Lyons became the first woman to fly in a hot-air balloon.

In 1896, Henry Ford wheeled his first car from a brick shed in Detroit and drove it around darkened streets on a trial run.

In 1917, the first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded.

In 1940, the World War II evacuation of Dunkirk, France, was completed. A flotilla of small boats spent nearly a week crossing the English Channel to rescue nearly 350,000 British, French and Belgian troops from advancing German forces.

In 1942, the Battle of Midway began. It raged for four days and was the turning point for the United States in the World War II Pacific campaign against Japan.

In 1944, the last of German occupiers fled Rome ahead of the advancing U.S. 9th Army. Reynolds Packard reopened the United Press' offices the next day.

In 1963, President John F. Kennedy ordered Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace "to cease and desist" from any unlawful obstruction of justice in connection with the admission of two African-American students to the University of Alabama. The order was a final technical step required before the president could use federal troops to enforce the court order for desegregation of the university.

In 1972, black militant Angela Davis was acquitted of murder, kidnapping and criminal conspiracy charges stemming from a California courtroom shootout in which a judge and three other people were killed.

In 1985, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down an Alabama minute-of-silence law as specifically fostering classroom prayer.

In 1986, American Jonathan Pollard, accused of selling stacks of secret documents to Israel, and his wife pleaded guilty to espionage charges, admitting they were part of an Israeli spy network that included three Israeli officials and an embassy secretary.

In 1989, in what became known as the Tiananmen Square massacre, hundreds of student-led pro-democracy demonstrators were reported killed and thousands injured as Chinese troops removed them from the square in Beijing.

In 1990, an Oregon woman, Janet Adkins, killed herself in Michigan using a "suicide machine" developed by "Dr. Death" Jack Kevorkian. She was the retired pathologist's first reported "medicide" patient.

In 1991, Albania's Cabinet resigned, ending 46 years of Communist rule.

In 1998, Terry Nichols was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for his part in the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City.

In 2005, the Covington Diocese in Kentucky agreed to pay up to $120 million to more than 100 alleged victims of child molestation from the past 50 years.

In 2018, Jordanian Prime Minister Hani al-Mulki resigned after days of large-scale street protests against a proposed tax hike. He had been in office for two years.

A thought for the day: "Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving." -- W.T. Purkiser