Today in History: June 6, D-Day in Normandy during World War II

Today in History

Today is Thursday, June 6, the 158th day of 2024. There are 208 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On June 6, 1944, during World War II, Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, on “D-Day” as they began the liberation of German-occupied Western Europe.

On this date:

In 1844, the Young Men’s Christian Association was founded in London.

In 1912, Novarupta, a volcano on the Alaska peninsula, began a three-day eruption, sending ash as high as 100,000 feet; it was the most powerful volcanic eruption of the 20th century and ranks among the largest in recorded history.

In 1934, the Securities and Exchange Commission was established.

In 1939, the first Little League baseball game was played as Lundy Lumber defeated Lycoming Dairy 23-8 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

In 1968, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy died at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, 25 1/2 hours after he was shot by Sirhan Bishara Sirhan.

In 1977, a sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law imposing an automatic death sentence on defendants convicted of the first-degree murder of a police officer.

In 1982, Israeli forces invaded Lebanon to drive Palestine Liberation Organization fighters out of the country. (The Israelis withdrew in June 1985.)

In 1989, burial services were held for Iran’s spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

In 2001, Democrats assumed control of the U.S. Senate after the decision of Vermont Republican James Jeffords to become an independent.

In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled, 6-3, that people who smoked marijuana because their doctors recommended it to ease pain could be prosecuted for violating federal drug laws.

In 2006, soul musician Billy Preston died in Scottsdale,...