Today in 1752, (as legend has it) Benjamin Franklin flew a kite in a storm to show that lightning is a form of electricity.
Today in 1917, 10-million men in the United States began registering for the draft in WW I.
Today in 1927, Johnny Weissmuller set a pair of world records in swimming events. Weissmuller, who would soon become Tarzan in the movies, set marks in the 100-yard, and 200-yard, free-style swimming competition.
Today in 1933, President Roosevelt signed the bill that would take the United States off the gold standard.
Today in 1944, after receiving favorable weather reports, General Eisenhower decided to proceed with the D-Day invasion on June 6th.
Today in 1956, the Federal Court ruled racial segregation on Montgomery Buses anti-constitutional as part of the Browder v Gayle case citing 14th Amendment protections for equal treatment.
Today in 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy was shot and mortally wounded as he gave a speech in California during his run for president.
Today in 1981, the first case of AIDS was reported as the Centers for Disease Control reported on a certain pneumonia affecting five homosexual men in Los Angeles. In the 10 years following, more than 174,000 U.S. AIDS cases were reported.
Today in 1987, Ted Koppel and guests discussed the topic of AIDS during a four-hour edition on ABC-TV’s "Nightline." It is believed that this was a record for the longest live-TV broadcast, other than of space coverage and political conventions.
Today in 1991, Elizabeth Carl became the first lesbian priest ordained in Episcopal Church, Washington, D.C.
Today in 1998, C-SPAN erroneously erred Rep. Bob Stump’s statement that Bob Hope had died. Apparently, Stump’s information came from an inaccurate obituary posted on the Associated Press Web site…and then Stump’s remarks were picked up by news organizations – but they were all wrong. Mr. Hope lived on until July 2003.
Today in 2013, the first articles based on NSA leaked documents by Edward Snowden were published by the “Guardian” newspaper in the UK.
Today in 2017, Bill Cosby officially went on trial in Norristown, Pennsylvania, on charges he drugged and sexually assaulted Andrea Constand, a former employee of Temple University’s basketball program, at his suburban Philadelphia mansion in 2004. (The jury deadlocked, resulting in a mistrial, but Cosby was convicted in a second trial.)
Today in 2018, Harvey Weinstein plead not guilty to rape and sexual assault charges in court in New York.
Today in 2018, Miss America pageant announced an end to its swimsuit competition.
Today in 2018, the United Nations human rights office said President Trump administration's policy of separating immigrant children from their families violated international law.
Today in 2018, for the first time in 80 years, a judge was voted out in California. Why do we care? It was Judge Aaron Persky, who had been roundly criticized for his leniency towards rapist Brock Turner.