Today in History

Today is Thursday, June 28, the 179th day of 2018. There are 186 days left in the year.

Today's Highlights in History:

On June 28, 1968, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Uniform Monday Holiday Bill, which moved commemorations for Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day and Veterans Day to Monday, creating three-day holiday weekends beginning in 1971.

On this date:

In 1778, the Revolutionary War Battle of Monmouth took place in New Jersey; from this battle arose the legend of "Molly Pitcher," a woman who was said to have carried water to colonial soldiers, then taken over firing her husband's cannon after he was disabled.

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

In 1838, Britain's Queen Victoria was crowned in Westminster Abbey.

In 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, were shot to death in Sarajevo by Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip -- an act which sparked World War I.

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

In 1928, New York Gov. Alfred E. Smith was nominated for president at the Democratic national convention in Houston.

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 1951, a TV version of the radio comedy program "Amos 'N' Andy" premiered on CBS. (It was the first network TV series to feature an all-black cast, but came under criticism for racial stereotyping.)

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 1989, about 1 million Serbs gathered to mark the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo in 1389.

In 1997, in a wild rematch, Evander Holyfield retained the WBA heavyweight boxing championship after his opponent, Mike Tyson, was disqualified for biting Holyfield's ear during the third round of their fight in Las Vegas.

Ten years ago: Presidential rivals John McCain and Barack Obama vied for the support of Hispanics in separate appearances before the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference in Washington, with each vowing to remake immigration policy. Jered Weaver and Jose Arredondo of the Angels combined to keep the Los Angeles Dodgers hitless, but the Dodgers won 1-0. (The Dodgers became the fifth team in modern major league history to win without getting a hit, but since they didn't have to bat in the ninth, the game did not qualify as a no-hitter.)

Five years ago: Tens of thousands of supporters and opponents of President Mohammed Morsi rallied in Cairo, and both sides fought each other in Egypt's second-largest city of Alexandria, where two people -- including an American -- were killed and scores injured. The four plaintiffs in the U.S. Supreme Court case that overturned California's same-sex marriage ban tied the knot, just hours after a federal appeals court freed gay couples to obtain marriage licenses in the state for the first time in 4 1/2 years.

One year ago: Republican donors paid $35,000 apiece to hear a familiar message from President Donald Trump: That the media, particularly CNN, kept trying to take him down, and yet Republicans just kept on winning elections. ABC and a South Dakota meat producer announced a settlement in a $1.9 billion lawsuit against the network over its reports on a beef product that critics dubbed "pink slime."

Today's Birthdays: Comedian-movie director Mel Brooks is 92. Former Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., is 84. Comedian-impressionist John Byner is 81. Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is 80. Rock musician Dave Knights (Procul Harum) is 73. Actor Bruce Davison is 72. Actress Kathy Bates is 70. Actress Alice Krige is 64. College and Pro Football Hall of Famer John Elway is 58. Record company chief executive Tony Mercedes is 56. Jazz singer Tierney Sutton is 55. Actress Jessica Hecht is 53. Rock musician Saul Davies (James) is 53. Actress Mary Stuart Masterson is 52. Actor John Cusack is 52. Actor Gil Bellows is 51. Actress-singer Danielle Brisebois is 49. Jazz musician Jimmy Sommers is 49. Actress Tichina Arnold is 49. Actor Steve Burton is 48. Entrepreneur Elon Musk is 47. Actor Alessandro Nivola is 46. Actress Camille Guaty is 42. Rock musician Tim Nordwind (OK Go) is 42. Rock musician Mark Stoermer (The Killers) is 41. Country singer Big Vinny Hickerson (Trailer Choir) is 35. Country singer Kellie Pickler is 32.

Thought for Today: "One of the sources of pride in being a human being is the ability to bear present frustrations in the interests of longer purposes." -- Helen Merrell Lynd, American sociologist and educator (1896-1982).