This day in history

[June 28, 2013]  (AP)  Today is Friday, June 28, the 179th day of 2013. There are 186 days left in the year.

Today's highlights in history:

On June 28, 1863, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Maj. Gen. George G. Meade the new commander of the Army of the Potomac, following the resignation of Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker.

On this date:

In 1778, the Revolutionary War Battle of Monmouth took place in New Jersey; it was from this battle that the legend of "Molly Pitcher" arose.

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

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

In 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, were assassinated in Sarajevo (sah-ruh-YAY'-voh) by Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip -- the event which sparked World War I.

In 1919, the Treaty of Versailles (vehr-SY') was signed in France, ending the First World War. In Independence, Mo., future president Harry S. Truman married Elizabeth Virginia Wallace.

In 1922, the Irish Civil War began between rival nationalists over the Anglo-Irish Treaty establishing the Irish Free State. (The conflict lasted nearly a year, resulting in defeat for anti-treaty forces.)

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 1950, North Korean forces captured Seoul (sohl), the capital of South Korea.

In 1962, a jury in New York awarded $3.5 million to former radio-TV personality John Henry Faulk in his libel suit against the group AWARE Inc. and two individuals who'd accused him of Communist sympathies and gotten him blacklisted. (The judgment was reduced to $550,000 by an appeals court.)

In 1978, the Supreme Court ordered the University of California-Davis Medical School to admit Allan Bakke (BAHK'-ee), a white man who argued he'd been a victim of reverse racial discrimination.

In 2000, seven months after he was cast adrift in the Florida Straits, Elian Gonzalez was returned to his native Cuba.

Ten years ago: After days of intense searching by ground and air, U.S. forces found the bodies of two soldiers missing north of Baghdad, as the toll of American dead since the start of war topped the grim milestone of 200.

Five 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.)

One year ago: America's historic health care overhaul narrowly survived, 5-4, an election-year battle at the U.S. Supreme Court with the improbable help of conservative Chief Justice John Roberts. Attorney General Eric Holder became the first sitting Cabinet member held in contempt of Congress, a rebuke pushed by Republicans seeking to unearth the facts behind a bungled gun-tracking operation known as Fast and Furious. (The vote was 255-67, with more than 100 Democrats boycotting.) At Wimbledon, 2-time champion Rafael Nadal was overpowered in the second round by Lukas Rosol, a Czech ranked No. 100, 6-7 (9), 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. Katie Holmes filed for divorce from Tom Cruise after 5 years of marriage.

Today's birthdays: Comedian-movie director Mel Brooks is 87. Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., is 79. Comedian-impressionist John Byner is 76. Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is 75. Rock musician Dave Knights (Procul Harum) is 68. Actor Bruce Davison is 67. Actress Kathy Bates is 65. Actress Alice Krige is 59. College and Pro Football Hall of Famer John Elway is 53. Record company chief executive Tony Mercedes is 51. Actress Jessica Hecht is 48. Rock musician Saul Davies (James) is 48. Actress Mary Stuart Masterson is 47. Actor John Cusack is 47. Actor Gil Bellows is 46. Actress-singer Danielle Brisebois is 44. Jazz musician Jimmy Sommers is 44. Actress Tichina Arnold is 44. Actor Alessandro Nivola (nih-VOH'-luh) is 41. Actress Camille Guaty is 37. Rock musician Tim Nordwind (OK Go) is 37. Rock musician Mark Stoermer (The Killers) is 36. Country singer Big Vinny Hickerson (Trailer Choir) is 30. Country singer Kellie Pickler is 27.

Thought for today: "I am the inferior of any man whose rights I trample under foot." -- Robert G. Ingersoll, American lawyer and statesman (1833-1899)

[Associated Press]

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