Today in History

Today is Thursday, June 28, the 180th day of 2012. There are 186 days left in the year.

Today's Highlights in History:

On June 28, 1712, philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, one of the most influential thinkers of the 18th century Enlightenment, was born in Geneva.

On this date:

In 1778, the Revolutionary War Battle of Monmouth took place in New Jersey; it was from this battle that the legend of "Molly Pitcher" arose.

In 1836, the fourth president of the United States, James Madison, died in Montpelier, Va.

In 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, were assassinated in Sarajevo by Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip -- the event which sparked World War I.

In 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed in France, ending the First World War. In Independence, Mo., future president Harry S. Truman married Elizabeth Virginia Wallace.

In 1922, the Irish Civil War began between rival nationalists over the Anglo-Irish Treaty establishing the Irish Free State. (The conflict lasted nearly a year, resulting in defeat for anti-treaty forces.)

In 1939, Pan American Airways began regular trans-Atlantic air service with a flight that departed New York for Marseilles, France.

In 1944, the Republican national convention in Chicago nominated New York Gov. Thomas E. Dewey for president and Ohio Gov. John W. Bricker for vice president.

In 1950, North Korean forces captured Seoul, the capital of South Korea.

In 1962, a jury in New York awarded $3.5 million to former radio-TV personality John Henry Faulk in his libel suit against the group AWARE Inc. and two individuals who'd accused him of Communist sympathies and gotten him blacklisted. (The judgment was reduced to $550,000 by an appeals court.)

In 1978, the Supreme Court ordered the University of California-Davis Medical School to admit Allan Bakke, a white man who argued he'd been a victim of reverse racial discrimination.

In 1981, a bomb exploded at the Tehran headquarters of Iran's ruling Islamic Republic Party, killing 74 people, including Iran's chief judge, Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti.

In 2000, seven months after he was cast adrift in the Florida Straits, Elian Gonzalez was returned to his native Cuba.

Ten years ago: WorldCom Inc. began laying off 17,000 employees worldwide after disclosing accounting irregularities that later forced it into bankruptcy protection. Xerox Corp. said it had overstated revenue by $6.4 billion over the previous five years; the copier company said it had overhauled its books but still had $1.9 billion to report as revenue in the future.

Five years ago: The U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to strike down school integration plans in Louisville, Ky., and Seattle, a decision that was denounced hours later by Democratic presidential candidates in their third primary debate. President George W. Bush's immigration plan to legalize as many as 12 million unlawful immigrants while fortifying the border collapsed in the Senate. The American bald eagle was removed from the endangered species list.

One year ago: Taliban fighters raided an international hotel in Kabul and killed 10 people on the eve of a conference to discuss plans for Afghan forces to take over security when international troops left by the end of 2014. French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde was chosen to lead the International Monetary Organization. Former All-Star goalie Ed Belfour was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, joining Doug Gilmour, Mark Howe and Joe Nieuwendyk as inductees.

Today's Birthdays: Comedian-movie director Mel Brooks is 86. Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., is 78. Comedian-impressionist John Byner is 75. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is 74. Rock musician Dave Knights (Procul Harum) is 67. Actor Bruce Davison is 66. Actress Kathy Bates is 64. Actress Alice Krige is 58. College and Pro Football Hall of Famer John Elway is 52. Record company chief executive Tony Mercedes is 50. Actress Jessica Hecht is 47. Rock musician Saul Davies (James) is 47. Actress Mary Stuart Masterson is 46. Actor John Cusack is 46. Actor Gil Bellows is 45. Actress-singer Danielle Brisebois is 43. Jazz musician Jimmy Sommers is 43. Actress Tichina Arnold is 43. Actor Alessandro Nivola (nih-VOH'-luh) is 40. Actress Camille Guaty is 36. Rock musician Tim Nordwind (OK Go) is 36. Rock musician Mark Stoermer (The Killers) is 35. Country singer Big Vinny Hickerson (Trailer Choir) is 29. Country singer Kellie Pickler is 26.

Thought for Today: "Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains. One thinks himself the master of others, and still remains a greater slave than they." -- Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778).

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.