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History
Today is Tuesday, June 11, the 162nd day of 2002. There are 203 days left in the year.
Today’s highlight in history:
On June 11, 1776, the Continental Congress formed a committee to draft a Declaration of Independence from Britain.
On this date:
In 1509, England’s King Henry VIII married Catherine of Aragon.
In 1919, Sir Barton won the Belmont Stakes, becoming horse racing’s first Triple Crown winner.
In 1942, the United States and the Soviet Union signed a lend-lease agreement to aid the Soviet war effort in World War II.
In 1963, Buddhist monk Quang Duc immolated himself on a Saigon street to protest the government of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem.
In 1970, the United States presence in Libya came to an end as the last detachment left Wheelus Air Base.
In 1977, a 20-day hostage drama in the Netherlands ended as Dutch marines stormed a train and a school held by South Moluccan extremists. Six gunmen and two hostages on the train were killed.
In 1977, Seattle Slew won the Belmont Stakes, capturing the Triple Crown.
In 1978, Joseph Freeman Jr. became the first black priest ordained in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In 1979, actor John Wayne died at age 72.
In 1985, Karen Ann Quinlan, the comatose patient whose case prompted a historic right-to-die court decision, died in Morris Plains, N.J., at age 31.
Ten years ago: President George H.W. Bush’s stopover in Panama en route to the Earth Summit in Brazil was disrupted when riot police fired tear gas at protesters, preventing Bush from speaking at a rally praising the revival of democracy in Panama.
Five years ago: The parents of Timothy McVeigh pleaded for their son’s life during the penalty phase of the Oklahoma City bombing trial.
One year ago: Timothy McVeigh was executed by injection at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind., for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people.
Today’s Birthdays: Opera singer Rise Stevens is 89. Actor-producer Richard Todd is 83. Author William Styron is 77. Actor Gene Wilder is 67. Actor Chad Everett is 65. Comedian Johnny Brown is 65. Former auto racer Sir Jackie Stewart is 63. Country singer Wilma Burgess is 63. Singer Joey Dee is 62. Actress Adrienne Barbeau is 57. Rock musician Frank Beard (ZZ Top) is 53. Rock singer Donnie Van Zant (.38 Special) is 50. Actor Peter Bergman is 49. Football Hall of Famer Joe Montana is 46. Actor Hugh Laurie is 43. Country singer-songwriter Bruce Robison is 36. Country musician Smilin’ Jay McDowell (BR5-49) is 33. Rock musician Dan Lavery (Tonic) is 33. Actor Joshua Jackson is 24.
Thought for Today: “Neither in the life of the individual nor in that of mankind is it desirable to know the future.” — Jakob Burckhardt, Swiss historian (1818-1897).
