This day in history

[June 05, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Saturday, June 5, the 156th day of 2010. There are 209 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On June 5, 1968, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles' Ambassador Hotel after claiming victory in California's Democratic presidential primary. Gunman Sirhan Bishara Sirhan was immediately arrested.

On this date:

In 1884, Civil War hero General William T. Sherman refused the Republican presidential nomination, saying, "I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected."

In 1910, author William Sydney Porter, who'd written short stories under the pen name "O. Henry," died in New York at 47.

In 1916, the Arab Revolt against Turkish Ottoman rule began during World War I.

In 1933, the United States went off the gold standard.

In 1940, during the World War II Battle of France, Germany attacked French forces along the Somme line.

In 1947, Secretary of State George C. Marshall gave a speech at Harvard University in which he outlined an aid program for Europe that came to be known as The Marshall Plan.

In 1950, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Henderson v. United States, struck down racially segregated railroad dining cars.

In 1967, war erupted in the Mideast as Israel raided military aircraft parked on the ground in Egypt; Syria, Jordan and Iraq entered the conflict.

In 1976, 14 people were killed when the Teton Dam in Idaho burst.

In 2004, Ronald Wilson Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, died in Los Angeles at age 93 after a long struggle with Alzheimer's disease.

Ten years ago: President Bill Clinton visited the former Soviet republic of Ukraine, the last stop in his weeklong European tour, where he dispensed $80 million in American aid to help entomb the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, scene of the world's worst nuclear accident. Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of obstruction of justice under an agreement that dropped murder charges in the stabbing deaths of two men outside a Super Bowl party in Atlanta. (Lewis, who testified at the trial of two former co-defendants, was sentenced to a year of probation; the defendants were acquitted of murder and assault.)

Five years ago: "Monty Python's Spamalot" won three Tony Awards, including best musical; the musical play "The Light in the Piazza" won six prizes, while "Doubt" was named best drama. Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal beat unseeded Mariano Puerta of Argentina 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-1, 7-5 to win the French Open men's singles title.

One year ago: President Barack Obama, while visiting Germany, became the first U.S. president to tour the Buchenwald concentration camp, where he honored the 56,000 who died at the hands of the Nazis. Ex-CIA operative and Watergate burglar Bernard Barker died in suburban Miami at age 92.

Today's birthdays: Actor-singer Bill Hayes is 85. Broadcast journalist Bill Moyers is 76. Author Margaret Drabble is 71. Country singer Don Reid (The Statler Brothers) is 65. Rock musician Fred Stone (Sly and the Family Stone) is 64. Rock singer Laurie Anderson is 63. Country singer Gail Davies is 62. Author Ken Follett is 61. Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, is 59. Rock musician Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden) is 58. Jazz musician Kenny G is 54. Rock singer Richard Butler (Psychedelic Furs) is 54. Actor Jeff Garlin is 48. Actress Karen Sillas is 47. Actor Ron Livingston is 43. Singer Brian McKnight is 41. Rock musician Claus Norreen (Aqua) is 40. Actor Mark Wahlberg is 39. Actor Chad Allen is 36. Rock musician P-Nut (311) is 36. Actress Navi Rawat (RO'-waht) is 33. Actress Liza Weil is 33. Rock musician Pete Wentz (Fall Out Boy) is 31. Rock musician Seb Lefebvre (Simple Plan) is 29. Actress Amanda Crew is 24.

Thought for today: "The only folks who give us pain are those we love the best." -- Ella Wheeler Wilcox, American poet (1850-1919)

[Associated Press]

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