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On June 18, 1940, during World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill urged his countrymen to conduct themselves in a manner that would prompt future generations to say, “This was their finest hour.” 

On this date: 

In 1778, American forces entered Philadelphia as the British withdrew during the Revolutionary War. 

In 1812, the United States declared war against Britain. 

In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte met his Waterloo as British and Prussian troops defeated the French in Belgium. 

In 1873, suffragist Susan B. Anthony was fined $100 for attempting to vote in the 1872 presidential election. The fine was never paid. 

In 1928, aviator Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean as she completed a flight from Newfoundland to Wales in about 21 hours. 

In 1948, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights adopted its International Declaration of Human Rights. 

In 1979, President Carter and Soviet President Leonid I. Brezhnev signed the SALT II strategic arms limitation treaty in Vienna. 

In 1981, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart announced his retirement; his departure paved the way for Sandra Day O’Connor to become the first female associate justice. 

In 1983, astronaut Sally K. Ride became America’s first woman in space as she and four colleagues blasted off aboard the space shuttle Challenger. 

Ten years ago: Russian President Boris Yeltsin met with Democrat Bill Clinton in Washington before flying on to Kansas and then Canada. The Supreme Court ruled criminal defendants may not use race as a basis for excluding potential jurors from their trials. Entertainer Peter Allen died of AIDS at age 48. 

Five years ago: The Southern Baptist Convention called for a boycott of the Walt Disney Co., protesting what the convention called its “gay-friendly” policies. Sirhan Sirhan failed in his 10th bid for parole in the assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. Irineo Montoya, a Mexican laborer, was executed by the state of Texas for a 1985 killing despite protests by the Mexican government. 

One year ago: A judge in Golden, Colo., sentenced two therapists to 16 years in prison each in the death of a 10-year-old girl who had suffocated while wrapped in blankets during a “rebirthing” session. Connell Watkins and Julie Ponder were convicted of reckless child abuse in the death of Candace Newmaker. Retief Goosen won the U.S. Open in an 18-hole playoff with Mark Brooks. 

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Ian Carmichael is 82. Columnist Tom Wicker is 76. Rock singer-composer-musician Paul McCartney is 60. Movie critic Roger Ebert is 60. Actress Constance McCashin is 55. Actress Linda Thorson is 55. Actress Isabella Rossellini is 50. Actress Carol Kane is 50. Singer Tom Bailey (The Thompson Twins) is 45. Rock singer Alison Moyet is 41. Country singer-musician Tim Hunt is 35. Rock singer-musician Sice (The Boo Radleys) is 33. Rhythm-and-blues singer Nathan Morris (Boyz II Men) is 31. Actress Mara Hobel is 31. Country singer Blake Shelton is 26.