Today in History

Today is Saturday, June 3, the 154th day of 2023. There are 211 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On June 3, 1989, Chinese army troops began their sweep of Beijing to crush student-led pro-democracy demonstrations.

On this date:

In 1621, the Dutch West India Co. received its charter for a trade monopoly in parts of the Americas and Africa.

In 1888, the poem “Casey at the Bat” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer was first published in the San Francisco Daily Examiner.

In 1935, the French liner Normandie set a record on its maiden voyage, arriving in New York after crossing the Atlantic in just four days.

In 1937, Edward, The Duke of Windsor, who had abdicated the British throne, married Wallis Simpson in a private ceremony in Monts, France.

In 1962, Air France Flight 007, a U.S.-bound Boeing 707, crashed while attempting to take off from Orly Airport near Paris; all but two of the 132 people aboard were killed.

In 1965, astronaut Edward H. White became the first American to “walk” in space during the flight of Gemini 4.

In 1977, the United States and Cuba agreed to set up diplomatic interests sections in each other’s countries; Cuba also announced the immediate release of 10 Americans jailed on drug charges.

In 1989, Iran’s spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, died.

In 2008, Barack Obama claimed the Democratic presidential nomination, speaking in the same St. Paul, Minnesota, arena where Republicans would be holding their national convention in September 2008.

In 2011, physician-assisted suicide advocate Dr. Jack Kevorkian died at a Michigan hospital at 83. Actor James Arness (TV: “Gunsmoke”), 88, died in Brentwood, California.

In 2016, heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali died at a hospital in Scottsdale, Arizona, at age 74.

In 2020, prosecutors charged three more police officers in the death of George Floyd and filed a new, tougher charge of second-degree murder against Derek Chauvin, the officer who was caught on video pressing his knee to Floyd’s neck. (Chauvin would be convicted on all charges.) Defense Secretary Mark Esper took issue with President Donald Trump’s threats to use the full force of the military to quell street protests.

Ten years ago: The prosecution and defense presented opening statements in the court-martial of U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley (now Chelsea) Manning over the biggest leak of classified material in American history. (Manning was found guilty at Fort Meade, Maryland, of espionage and theft and was sentenced to up to 35 years in prison; her sentence was commuted after seven years by President Barack Obama.) A sharply divided Supreme Court cleared the way for police to take a DNA swab from anyone they arrested for a serious crime. A suicide bomber targeting U.S. troops outside an Afghanistan government office killed 9 children and two of the Americans. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., died at a New York hospital at age 89. Football Hall of Fame defensive end Deacon Jones died in Anaheim Hills, California, at age 74.

Five years ago: President Donald Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, stressed that Trump’s legal team would fight any effort to force Trump to testify in front of a grand jury during the special counsel’s Russia probe; Giuliani also downplayed the idea that Trump could pardon himself. Graduating seniors at the Florida high school where a gunman killed 17 people in February received diplomas and heard from a surprise commencement speaker, “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon, who urged them to move forward and “don’t let anything stop you;” four families received diplomas on behalf of loved ones slain in the attack.