This day in history

[June 04, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Thursday, June 4, the 155th day of 2009. There are 210 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On June 4, 1942, the Pacific Battle of Midway began during World War II; three days later, American naval forces claimed a decisive victory over the Japanese.

On this date:

In 1783, the Montgolfier brothers first publicly demonstrated their hot-air balloon, which did not carry any passengers, over Annonay, France.

In 1784, opera singer Elizabeth Thible became the first woman to fly aboard a Montgolfier hot-air balloon, over Lyon, France.

In 1892, the Sierra Club was incorporated in San Francisco.

In 1896, Henry Ford made a successful pre-dawn test run of his horseless carriage, called a "quadricycle," through the streets of Detroit.

In 1919, Congress approved the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing citizens the right to vote regardless of their gender, and sent it to the states for ratification.

In 1939, the German ocean liner St. Louis, carrying more than 900 Jewish refugees from Germany, was turned away from the Florida coast by U.S. officials.

In 1940, the Allied military evacuation from Dunkirk, France, ended.

In 1954, French Premier Joseph Laniel and Vietnamese Premier Buu Loc signed treaties in Paris according "complete independence" to Vietnam.

In 1979, Joe Clark of the Progressive Conservatives became the 16th prime minister of Canada.

In 1989, Chinese army troops stormed Beijing to crush a pro-democracy movement, killing hundreds, possibly thousands, of people. "Jerome Robbins' Broadway" won best musical at the 43rd annual Tony Awards; "The Heidi Chronicles" by Wendy Wasserstein won best play.

Ten years ago: Using a provision of the Constitution allowing him to bypass the Senate, President Bill Clinton appointed openly gay San Francisco businessman James C. Hormel ambassador to Luxembourg while Congress was in recess. On the 10th anniversary of China's crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests, tens of thousands of people in Hong Kong held a candlelight vigil.

Five years ago: A powerful bomb blast ripped through a crowded outdoor market in central Russia, killing at least 11 people. President George W. Bush nominated former Missouri Sen. John Danforth to be America's U.N. ambassador.

One year ago: Barack Obama, having clinched the Democratic presidential nomination, picked Caroline Kennedy to help him choose a running mate. Police in Hartford, Conn., released a surveillance video showing a 78-year-old man being struck by a hit-and-run driver on a busy city street and being ignored by most passers-by. (The victim, Angel Acre Torres, was removed from life support on May 11, 2009.) The Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup for the fourth time in 11 seasons with a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6 of the finals.

Today's birthdays: Actor Bruce Dern is 73. Musician Roger Ball is 65. Actress-singer Michelle Phillips is 65. Jazz musician Anthony Braxton is 64. Singer Gordon Waller (Peter and Gordon) is 64. Rock musician Danny Brown (The Fixx) is 58. Actor Parker Stevenson is 57. Actor Keith David is 53. Actress Julie Gholson is 51. Actor Eddie Velez is 51. Singer-musician El DeBarge is 48. Actress Julie White is 48. Tennis player Andrea Jaeger is 44. Actor Scott Wolf is 41. Comedian Horatio Sanz is 40. Actor Noah Wyle is 38. Rock musician Stefan Lessard (The Dave Matthews Band) is 35. Actor-comedian Russell Brand is 34. Actress Angelina Jolie is 34. Rock musician JoJo Garza (Los Lonely Boys) is 29. Model Bar Refaeli is 24. Rock musician Zac Farro is 19.

Thought for today: "Reputation is a bubble which a man bursts when he tries to blow it for himself." -- Emma Carleton, American journalist (1850-1925)

[Associated Press]

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