Today in History

Today in History

Today is Wednesday, June 1, the 153rd day of 2016. There are 213 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On June 1, 1916, Louis Brandeis took his seat as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, the first Jewish American to serve on the nation's highest bench.

On this date:

In 1792, Kentucky became the 15th state of the union.

In 1796, Tennessee became the 16th state.

In 1813, the mortally wounded commander of the USS Chesapeake, Capt. James Lawrence, gave the order, "Don't give up the ship" during a losing battle with the British frigate HMS Shannon in the War of 1812.

In 1868, James Buchanan, the 15th president of the United States, died near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, at age 77.

In 1915, the T.S. Eliot poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" was first published in "Poetry: A Magazine of Verse" in Chicago.

In 1926, actress Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson in Los Angeles.

In 1943, a civilian flight from Portugal to England was shot down by Germany during World War II, killing all 17 people aboard, including actor Leslie Howard.

In 1955, the romantic comedy "The Seven Year Itch," starring Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, had its world premiere in New York.

In 1968, author-lecturer Helen Keller, who'd earned a college degree despite being blind and deaf almost all of her life, died in Westport, Connecticut, at age 87.

In 1977, the Soviet Union formally charged Jewish human rights activist Anatoly Shcharansky with treason. (Shcharansky was imprisoned, then released in 1986; he's now known by the name Natan Sharansky.)

In 1990, President George H.W. Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev signed the foundation of a landmark treaty for the first-ever cuts in strategic nuclear missiles and a pact to slash chemical weapons stockpiles.

In 2009, Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330 carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean with the loss of everyone on board.

Ten years ago: Six world powers, including the U.S., agreed on a package of incentives to persuade Iran to halt its uranium enrichment program. A contrite U.S. Army Corps of Engineers took responsibility for the flooding of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina. Seven family members were shot to death in an Indianapolis house. (Two suspects were later convicted of murder; Desmond Turner was sentenced to life in prison without parole while co-defendant James Stewart received 425 years in prison.)

Five years ago: In a face-to-face meeting, GOP leaders complained to President Barack Obama that he had not produced a detailed plan of spending cuts and accused him of playing politics over Medicare; the White House said Obama had in fact led on the issue, and accused Republicans of trying to destroy the popular health care program for seniors. Space shuttle Endeavour and its six astronauts returned to Earth, closing out the next-to-last mission in NASA's 30-year program.

One year ago: South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham opened his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. The Supreme Court threw out the conviction of a Pennsylvania man prosecuted for making threats on Facebook, but the justices stopped short of laying out broad constitutional protections for such comments. A cruise ship capsized in China's Yangtze River, killing 442 people. Vanity Fair released its cover photo featuring the former Bruce Jenner with the headline, "Call Me Caitlyn" as the Olympic gold medalist publicly completed his gender transition.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Richard Erdman is 91. Singer Pat Boone is 82. Actor-writer-director Peter Masterson is 82. Actor Morgan Freeman is 79. Actor Rene Auberjonois is 76. Opera singer Frederica von Stade is 71. Actor Brian Cox is 70. Rock musician Ronnie Wood is 69. Actor Jonathan Pryce is 69. Actor Powers Boothe is 68. Actress Gemma Craven is 66. Blues-rock musician Tom Principato is 64. Country singer Ronnie Dunn is 63. Actress Lisa Hartman Black is 60. Actor Tom Irwin is 60. Singer-musician Alan Wilder is 57. Rock musician Simon Gallup (The Cure) is 56. Country musician Richard Comeaux (River Road) is 55. Actor-comedian Mark Curry is 55. Actor-singer Jason Donovan is 48. Actress Teri Polo is 47. Basketball player-turned-coach Tony Bennett is 47. Actor Rick Gomez is 44. Model-actress Heidi Klum is 43. Singer Alanis Morissette is 42. Actress Sarah Wayne Callies is 39. TV personality Damien Fahey is 36. Pop singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile is 35. Actor Johnny Pemberton is 35. Tennis player Justine Henin is 34. Actor Taylor Handley is 32. Actress Willow Shields is 16.

Thought for Today: "When a thing ceases to be a subject of controversy, it ceases to be a subject of interest." -- William Hazlitt, British essayist (1778-1830).