On This Day, June 28: Washington's troops defeat British in Battle of Monmouth
On this date in history:
In 1778, the Continental Army under command of Gen. George Washington defeated the British at Monmouth, N.J. A pair of saddle pistols used by the Marquis de Lafayette during the battle fetched nearly $2 million at a 2002 auction.
In 1838, Victoria was crowned queen of England. She would rule for 63 years, 7 months.
In 1914, Archduke Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia, an act considered to have ignited World War I.
In 1919, World War I officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.
In 1969, the clientele of a New York City gay bar, the Stonewall Inn, rioted after it was raided by police. The event is considered the start of the gay liberation movement.
In 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the use of public funds for parochial schools was unconstitutional.
In 1972, President Richard Nixon announced that no more draftees would be sent to Vietnam unless they volunteered for service in the Asian nation.
In 1980, Biscayne National Park, previously a national monument, was established by an act of Congress. The park preserves Biscayne Bay and offshore barrier reefs in South Florida.
In 1997, Mike Tyson bit off a piece of one of heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield's ears during a title fight in Las Vegas.
In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Boy Scouts of America had a constitutional right to exclude gay members. The ban was lifted in January 2014.
In 2007, the American bald eagle was removed from the endangered species list. Officials of the Interior Department said the eagle, which had been declared endangered in 1967, was flourishing and no longer imperiled.
In 2009, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, rousted out of bed in the middle of the night by soldiers, was forced from office and into exile in Costa Rica in the culmination of a bitter power struggle over proposed constitutional changes. He was in exile for more than a year.
In 2011, the International Monetary Fund's executive board named Christine Lagarde chairwoman, the first woman to lead the organization.
In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the new healthcare law known as the Affordable Care Act.
In 2016, militants opened fire and set off explosions at Turkey's Ataturk Airport, killing 45 people and leaving more than 230 injured. Turkish officials blamed the Islamic State.
In 2018, five people -- four journalists and a sales assistant -- died after a gunman opened fire at the Annapolis, Md., office of the Capital Gazette newspaper.
In 2022, Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison for her role in Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking scheme.
In 2023, South Korea scrapped its traditional age-counting system, instantly reducing the age of citizens by one or two years in a move to align with international standards and reduce clerical headaches.
