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In Gonzales v. Raich, the United States Supreme Court upholds a federal law banning cannabis, including medical marijuana.
Tamil is established as a "classical language" by the President of India, Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, in a joint sitting of the two houses of the Indian Parliament.
Eastern Mediterranean event. A near-Earth asteroid estimated at ten meters in diameter explodes over the Mediterranean Sea between Greece and Libya. The resulting explosion is estimated to have a force of 26 kilotons, slightly more powerful than the Nagasaki atomic bomb.
The grave of "Wolfgang Gerhard" is opened in Embu, Brazil; the exhumed remains are later proven to be those of Josef Mengele, Auschwitz's "Angel of Death"; Mengele is thought to have drowned while swimming in February 1979.
The Lebanon War begins. Forces under Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon invade southern Lebanon during Operation Peace for the Galilee, eventually reaching as far north as the capital Beirut.
Bihar train disaster: A passenger train travelling between Mansi and Saharsa, India, jumps the tracks at a bridge crossing the Bagmati River. The government places the official death toll at 268 plus another 300 missing; however, it is generally believed that the death toll is closer to 1,000.
A new Instrument of Government is promulgated making Sweden a parliamentary monarchy.
Vietnam War: The Battle of Long Khanh between Australian and Vietnamese communist forces begins.
A midair collision between a Hughes Airwest Douglas DC-9 jetliner and a United States Marine Corps McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II jet fighter near Duarte, California, claims 50 lives.
Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy: Robert F. Kennedy, Democratic Party senator from New York and brother of 35th President John F. Kennedy, dies from gunshot wounds inflicted on June 5.
Under a temporary order, the rocket launches at Cuxhaven, Germany are terminated. They never resume.
The grand opening of the sculpture of Yuriy Dolgorukiy took place in Moscow. This statue is one of the main monuments of Moscow.
The Basketball Association of America is founded in New York City; the BAA was the precursor to the modern National Basketball Association
World War II: The Battle of Normandy begins. D-Day, code named Operation Overlord, commences with the landing of 155,000 Allied troops on the beaches of Normandy in France. The allied soldiers quickly break through the Atlantic Wall and push inland in the largest amphibious military operation in history.
World War II: Battle of Midway. U.S. Navy dive bombers sink the Japanese cruiser Mikuma and four Japanese carriers.
Judge Joseph Force Crater, known as the "Missingest Man in New York", is declared legally dead.
New Deal: The U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 into law, establishing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The first drive-in theater opens in Camden, New Jersey, United States.
The Revenue Act of 1932 is enacted, creating the first gas tax in the United States, at a rate of 1 cent per US gallon ( 1⁄4¢/L) sold.
Southwark Bridge in London is opened to traffic by King George V and Queen Mary.
World War I: Battle of Belleau Wood: The U.S. Marine Corps suffers its worst single day's casualties while attempting to recapture the wood at Château-Thierry.
The eruption of Novarupta in Alaska begins. It is the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century.
French troops capture Abéché (in modern-day Chad) and install a puppet sultan in the Ouaddai Empire.
Governor Davis H. Waite orders the Colorado state militia to protect and support the miners engaged in the Cripple Creek miners' strike.
The Shewan forces of Menelik II of Ethiopia defeat the Gojjame army in the Battle of Embabo. The Shewans capture Negus Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam, and their victory leads to a Shewan hegemony over the territories south of the Abay River.
More than 100,000 inhabitants of Bombay are killed when a cyclone in the Arabian Sea pushes huge waves into the harbour.
American Civil War: Battle of Memphis: Union forces capture Memphis, Tennessee, from the Confederates.
Australia: Queensland is established as a separate colony from New South Wales (Queensland Day).
Sophia of Nassau marries the future King Oscar II of Sweden-Norway.
Alexis St. Martin is accidentally shot in the stomach, leading to William Beaumont's studies on digestion.
War of 1812: Battle of Stoney Creek: A British force of 700 under John Vincent defeats an American force twice its size under William Winder and John Chandler.
Sweden promulgates a new Constitution, which restores political power to the Riksdag of the Estates after 20 years of enlightened absolutism. At the same time, Charles XIII is elected to succeed Gustav IV Adolf as King of Sweden.
Napoleon's brother, Joseph Bonaparte, is crowned King of Spain.
Seven Years' War: British forces begin a siege of Havana, Cuba, and temporarily capture the city in the Battle of Havana.
Queen Christina abdicates the Swedish throne and is succeeded by her cousin Charles X Gustav.
The Qing dynasty Manchu forces led by the Shunzhi Emperor capture Beijing during the collapse of the Ming dynasty.
Francis Drake's forces raid St. Augustine in Spanish Florida.
Gustav Vasa, the Swedish regent, is elected King of Sweden, marking a symbolic end to the Kalmar Union. This is the Swedish national day.
Italian Wars: Battle of Novara. Swiss troops defeat the French under Louis II de la Trémoille, forcing the French to abandon Milan. Duke Massimiliano Sforza is restored.
Emperor Alexander III dies of exhaustion while playing the game tzykanion (Byzantine name for polo). He is succeeded by his 8-year-old nephew Constantine VII.
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