This day in history         

[June 14, 2007]  (AP) Today is Thursday, June 14, the 165th day of 2007. There are 200 days left in the year. This is Flag Day.

Today's highlight in history:

On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress in Philadelphia adopted the Stars and Stripes as the national flag.

On this date:

In 1775, the Continental Army, forerunner of the United States Army, was created.

In 1846, a group of U.S. settlers in Sonoma proclaimed the Republic of California.

In 1928, the Republican National Convention nominated Herbert Hoover for president on the first ballot.

In 1940, in German-occupied Poland, the Nazis opened their concentration camp at Auschwitz; the same day, German troops entered Paris.

In 1943, the Supreme Court, in West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette, ruled that schoolchildren could not be compelled to salute the flag of the United States.

In 1954, the words "under God" were added to the Pledge of Allegiance.

In 1967, the space probe Mariner 5 was launched from Cape Kennedy on a flight that took it past Venus.

In 1967, the movie "To Sir, with Love," starring Sidney Poitier, was first released.

In 1982, Argentine forces surrendered to British troops on the disputed Falkland Islands.

In 1985, the 17-day hijack ordeal of TWA Flight 847 began as a pair of Lebanese Shiite Muslim extremists seized the jetliner shortly after takeoff from Athens, Greece.

Ten years ago: President Clinton opened a yearlong campaign against racism with a commencement address at the University of California, San Diego, in which he defended affirmative action and pleaded with Americans to confront and erase their most deeply held prejudices. A 1939 comic book featuring the first appearance by Batman was auctioned off for $68,500 at Sotheby's in New York.

Five years ago: American Roman Catholic bishops meeting in Dallas adopted a policy to bar sexually abusive clergy from face-to-face contact with parishioners but keep them in the priesthood. A suicide bomber blew up a truck at the U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 14 Pakistanis.

One year ago: President Bush, just back from a surprise visit to Iraq, dismissed calls for a U.S. withdrawal as election-year politics and refused to give a timetable or benchmark for success that would allow troops to come home. Islamic militants in Somalia captured the last strategic town held by their warlord rivals, consolidating their hold over a large swath of the country.

Today's birthdays: Actor Gene Barry is 88. Actress Marla Gibbs is 76. Writer Peter Mayle is 68. Actor Jack Bannon is 67. Rock singer Rod Argent (The Zombies; Argent) is 62. Real estate developer and TV personality Donald Trump is 61. Singer Janet Lennon (The Lennon Sisters) is 61. Rock musician Alan White (Yes) is 58. Actor Eddie Mekka is 55. Actor Will Patton is 53. Olympic gold-medal speed skater Eric Heiden is 49. Singer Boy George is 46. Rock musician Chris DeGarmo is 44. Actress Yasmine Bleeth is 39. Tennis player Steffi Graf is 38. Actress Traylor Howard is 36. Actor Daryl Sabara is 15.

Thought for today: "When a man is wrong and won't admit it, he always gets angry." -- Thomas Chandler Haliburton, Canadian jurist and humorist (1796-1865).

[Associated Press]