Today is Monday, June 6, the 157th day of 2005. There are 208 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On June 6, 1944, the D-Day invasion of Europe took place during World War II as Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France.
On this date:
In 1844, the Young Men’s Christian Association was founded in London.
In 1918, the World War I Battle of Belleau Wood, which resulted in a U.S. victory over the Germans, began in France.
In 1925, Walter Percy Chrysler founded the Chrysler Corporation.
In 1933, the first drive-in movie theater opened in Camden, N.J.
In 1934, the Securities and Exchange Commission was established.
In 1942, Japanese forces retreated in the World War II Battle of Midway.
In 1966, black activist James Meredith was shot and wounded as he walked along a Mississippi highway to encourage black voter registration.
In 1968, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy died at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, a day after he was shot by Sirhan Bishara Sirhan.
In 1978, California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 13, a primary ballot initiative calling for major cuts in property taxes.
In 1985, authorities in Brazil exhumed a body later identified as the remains of Dr. Josef Mengele, the notorious “Angel of Death” of the Nazi Holocaust.
Ten years ago: U.S. astronaut Norman Thagard broke NASA’s space endurance record of 84 days, one hour and 16 minutes, aboard the Russian space station Mir.
Five years ago: Unilever agreed to buy Bestfoods for $20.3 billion in a deal creating the world’s biggest food company.
One year ago: World leaders, including President Bush and French President Jacques Chirac put aside their differences to commemorate the D-Day invasion that broke Nazi Germany’s grip on continental Europe. “Avenue Q” won best musical at the Tony Awards, while “I Am My Own Wife” was named best play; Phylicia Rashad, who starred in a revival of “A Raisin in the Sun,” became the first black actress to win a Tony for a leading dramatic role. Unseeded Gaston Gaudio upset Guillermo Coria 0-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 8-6 to win the French Open.
Today’s Birthdays: Actress Billie Whitelaw is 73. Civil rights activist Roy Innis is 71. Singer Levi Stubbs (The Four Tops) is 69. Singer-songwriter Gary “U-S” Bonds is 66. Country singer Joe Stampley is 62. Actor Robert Englund is 56. Folk singer Holly Near is 56. Singer Dwight Twilley is 54. Playwright-actor Harvey Fierstein is 51. Comedian Sandra Bernhard is 50. Tennis player Bjorn Borg is 49. Actress Amanda Pays is 46. Comedian Colin Quinn is 46. Record producer Jimmy Jam is 46. Rock musician Steve Vai is 45. Actor Jason Isaacs is 42. Rock musician Sean Yseult (White Zombie) is 39. Actor Max Casella is 38. Actor Paul Giamatti is 38. Rhythm-and-blues singer Damion Hall (Guy) is 37. Rock musician Bardi Martin is 36. Country singer Lisa Brokop is 32. Rapper-rocker Uncle Kracker is 31. Actress Staci Keanan is 30.
Thought for Today: “To be successful, grow to the point where one completely forgets himself; that is, to lose himself in a great cause.” — Booker T. Washington, American educator (1856-1915).