UPI Almanac for Monday, June 28, 2021

Today is Monday, June 28, the 179th day of 2021 with 186 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Cancer. They include Pope Paul IV in 1476; English King Henry VIII in 1491; Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens in 1577; English clergyman John Wesley, founder of Methodism, in 1703; French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau in 1712; Italian author Luigi Pirandello in 1867; composer Richard Rodgers in 1902; filmmaker/comedian Mel Brooks in 1926 (age 95); actor Pat Morita in 1932; former CIA Director/Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in 1938 (age 83); comedian Gilda Radner in 1946; actor Kathy Bates in 1948 (age 73); actor Alice Krige in 1954 (age 67); football Hall of Fame member John Elway in 1960 (age 61); actor John Cusack in 1966 (age 55); actor Mary Stuart Masterson in 1966 (age 55); singer/actor Danielle Brisebois in 1969 (age 52); actor Tichina Arnold in 1969 (age 52); actor Steve Burton in 1970 (age 51); entrepreneur Elon Musk in 1971 (age 50); skateboarder/TV personality Rob Dyrdek in 1974 (age 47); actor Felicia Day in 1979 (age 42); country singer Kellie Pickler in 1986 (age 35).

On this date in history:

In 1778, the Continental Army under command of Gen. George Washington defeated the British at Monmouth, N.J.

In 1838, Victoria was crowned queen of England. She would rule for 63 years, 7 months.

In 1914, Archduke Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia, an act considered to have ignited World War I.

In 1919, World War I officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.

In 1969, the clientele of a New York City gay bar, the Stonewall Inn, rioted after it was raided by police. The event is considered the start of the gay liberation movement.

In 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the use of public funds for parochial schools was unconstitutional.

In 1972, President Richard Nixon announced that no more draftees would be sent to Vietnam unless they volunteered for service in the Asian nation.

In 1997, Mike Tyson bit off a piece of one of heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield's ears during a title fight in Las Vegas.

In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Boy Scouts of America had a constitutional right to exclude gay members. The ban was lifted in January 2014.

In 2007, the American bald eagle was removed from the endangered species list. Officials of the Interior Department said the eagle, which had been declared endangered in 1967, was flourishing and no longer imperiled.

In 2009, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, rousted out of bed in the middle of the night by soldiers, was forced from office and into exile in Costa Rica in the culmination of a bitter power struggle over proposed constitutional changes. He was in exile for more than a year.

In 2011, the International Monetary Fund's executive board named Christine Lagarde chairwoman, the first woman to lead the organization.

In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the new healthcare law known as the Affordable Care Act.

In 2016, militants opened fire and set off explosions at Turkey's Ataturk Airport, killing 45 people and leaving more than 230 injured. Turkish officials blamed the Islamic State.

In 2018, five people -- four journalists and a sales assistant -- died after a gunman opened fire at the Annapolis, Md., office of the Capital Gazette newspaper.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic topped two milestones -- 10 million cases and 500,000 deaths.

A thought for the day: "Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one." -- American country singer Brad Paisley