On This Day in History - June 4th - Almanac

Today is Sunday, June 4, the 155th day of 2023 with 210 to follow.

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

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 95); actor Bruce Dern in 1936 (age 87); singer Freddy Fender in 1937; publisher/commentator Mortimer Zuckerman in 1937 (age 86); singer/actor Michelle Phillips in 1944 (age 79); actor Parker Stevenson in 1952 (age 71); actor Bradley Walsh in 1960 (age 63); singer Eldra "El" DeBarge in 1961 (age 62); fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli in 1963 (age 60); actor Scott Wolf in 1968 (age 55); actor Horatio Sanz in 1969 (age 54); actor Noah Wyle in 1971 (age 52); author Joe Hill in 1972 (age 51); comedian Russell Brand in 1975 (age 48); actor/filmmaker Angelina Jolie in 1975 (age 48); actor Robin Lord Taylor in 1978 (age 45); actor Josh McDermitt in 1978 (age 45); actor Rebecca Henderson in 1980 (age 43); actor T.J. Miller in 1981 (age 42); model Bar Refaeli in 1985 (age 38); U.S. Olympic figure skater Evan Lysacek in 1985 (age 38); actor/musician Quincy Brown in 1991 (age 32); Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, member of the British royal family, in 2021 (age 2).

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. Jonathan was sentenced to life in prison and was paroled and released in 2015. Anne Pollard was released after serving three and a half years in prison.

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 2019, after racking up $2.4 million in prize money, professional sports gambler James Holzhauer's record-breaking run on Jeopardy! came to an end. In 33 games, he set 15 records for the most money won in a single episode, topping out with $131,127 on April 17.

In 2020, a knife-wielding man attacked and injured 39 children and teachers at a primary school in China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

A thought for the day: "What the people want is simple. They want an America as good as its promise." -- U.S. Rep. Barbara C. Jordan