Today is Monday, June 3, the 155th day of 2024. There are 211 days left this year.
Today’s History Highlights:
On June 3, 2016, Muhammad Ali, the heavyweight boxing champion whose athleticism and activism made him one of the most revered athletes of all time, died at age 74 in a hospital in Scottsdale, Arizona.
In 1621, the Dutch West India Company was granted a trading monopoly in the Americas and parts of Africa.
In 1888, Ernest Lawrence Thayer’s poem “Casey at the Bat” was first published in the San Francisco Daily Examiner.
In 1935, the French liner Normandie set a record by crossing the Atlantic Ocean and arriving in New York in just four days on its maiden voyage.
In 1937, after abdicating the British throne, Edward, Duke of Windsor, married Wallis Simpson in a private wedding ceremony in Monts, France.
In 1962, Air France Flight 007, a Boeing 707 bound for the United States, crashed upon takeoff from Orly Airport near Paris, killing all but two of the 132 passengers on board.
In 1965, astronaut Edward H. White became the first American to “walk” in space during the Gemini 4 flight.
In 1977, the United States and Cuba agreed to establish diplomatic missions in each other’s countries, and Cuba announced the immediate release of 10 Americans imprisoned on drug charges.
In 1989, Chinese troops began seizing control of Beijing to crush student-led pro-democracy protests, and Iran’s spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, was killed.
In 2011, Dr. Jack Kevorkian, an advocate of physician-assisted suicide, died in a Michigan hospital at age 83. And actor James Arness, who starred in the TV show “Gunsmoke,” also died at age 88.
In 2012, a Dana Airlines plane crashed outside Lagos, Nigeria, killing all 153 passengers and crew.
In 2018, a Guatemalan volcano, one of the most active in Central America, erupted, spewing violent ash and lava, leaving more than 100 people dead and dozens missing.
In 2020, prosecutors charged three more officers in connection with George Floyd’s death and added a new, more severe charge of second-degree murder to Derek Chauvin, the officer who was captured on video pressing his knee against Floyd’s neck. (Chauvin faces conviction on all charges.) Defense Secretary Mark Esper has disputed President Donald Trump’s threats to use the full force of the military to quell street protests.
Today’s birthdays: Former Cuban President Raul Castro is 94. Actor Irma P. Hall is 90. Rock singer Ian Hunter (Mott the Hoople) is 86. World Golf Hall of Famer Hale Irwin is 79. Actor Penelope Wilton is 78. Singer Eddie Holman is 78. Actor Tristan Rogers is 78. Musician Too Slim (Riders in the Sky) is 76. Singer Suzi Quatro is 74. Singer Deniece Williams is 74. Singer Dan Hill is 70. Actor Suzi Plakson is 66. Actor Scott Valentine is 66. Rock musician Kerry King (Slayer) is 60. Actor James Purefoy is 60. Rock singer and musician Mike Gordon is 59. Television host Anderson Cooper is 57. Country singer Jamie O’Neal is 56. Writer and director Tate Taylor is 45. Singers Gabriel and Ariel Hernandez (No Mercy) are 54. Actor Vik Sahai is 53. R&B singer Life Jennings is 51. Actor Arianne Zucker is 50. Actor Nikki M. James is 43. Tennis player Rafael Nadal is 38. Actor Josh Segarra is 38. Actor and singer Laraine is 37. Actor Shawn Berdy is 31. Actor Anne Winters is 30.
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