Today in History: June 6

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, Arizona, at age 59.

In 2018, President Donald Trump commuted the life sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, who had spent more than two decades behind bars for drug offenses; her cause had been championed by reality TV star Kim Kardashian West.

In 2020, tens of thousands rallied in cities from Australia to Europe to honor George Floyd and voice support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Massive, peaceful protests took place nationwide to demand police reform.

In 2023, Astrud Gilberto, the Brazilian singer, songwriter and entertainer whose English-language lines on “The Girl from Ipanema” made her a worldwide voice of bossa nova, died at age 83.

Today’s Birthdays: Singer-songwriter Gary “U.S.” Bonds is 85. Country singer Joe Stampley is 81. Jazz musician Monty Alexander is 80. Actor Robert Englund is 77. Folk singer Holly Near is 75. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is 72. Playwright-actor Harvey Fierstein is 72. Comedian Sandra Bernhard is 69. International Tennis Hall of Famer Bjorn Borg is 68. Actor Amanda Pays is 65. Comedian Colin Quinn is 65. Record producer Jimmy Jam is 65. Rock musician Steve Vai is 64. Rock singer-musician Tom Araya (Slayer) is 63. Actor Jason Isaacs is 61. Actor Anthony Starke is 61. Rock musician Sean Yseult (White Zombie) is 58. Actor Max Casella is 57. Actor Paul Giamatti is 57. R&B singer Damion Hall (Guy) is 56. Rock musician James “Munky” Shaffer (Korn) is 54. TV correspondent Natalie Morales is 52. Country singer Lisa Brokop is 51. Rapper-rocker Uncle Kracker is 50. Actor Sonya Walger is 50. Former actor Staci Keanan is 49. Jazz singer Somi is 48. Actor Amber Borycki is 41. Actor Aubrey Anderson-Emmons is 17.