1944 American soldiers and supplies arrive on the shore of the French coast of German-occupied Normandy during d-day, the largest air, land and sea invasion in military history. The World War II operation, led by Gen. Dwight d. Eisenhower, included 7,000 ships and landing craft manned by 195,000 personnel from eight allied countries. More than 9,000 allied soldiers were killed or wounded in the first 24 hours. The mission is largely considered the beginning of the end of the war.
1966 Civil rights activist James Meredith grimaces in pain as he pulls himself across Highway 51 after being shot in Hernando, Miss. Meredith, who defied segregation to enroll at the university of Mississippi in 1962, was wounded by a blast of birdshot from a shotgun during the second day of a solitary, 240-mile "March against Fear" to encourage Black voter registration. In response to the shooting, major civil rights activists and organizations resumed the march from Memphis, Tenn., to Jackson, Miss., later that month, with Meredith able to rejoin the route. On June 26, the march ended in Jackson with about 15,000 participants.
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1940 A new bicycle taxi, which can accommodate two passengers, makes its way through streets in Copenhagen, Denmark. Wartime rationing of gasoline led to the exploration of alternate forms of transportation.
1912 Novarupta, a volcano on the Alaska peninsula, began a three-day eruption, sending ash as high as 100,000 feet. It was the most powerful volcanic eruption of the 20th century and ranks among the largest in recorded history. Here, volcanic ash drifts bury houses in Katmai village after the eruption.
1957 Elvis Presley, right, reads the script for the movie "Jailhouse Rock" with co-star and then-girlfriend Anne Neyland at MGM studios in Los Angeles. Presley's third film, which hit theaters in November, is a movie musical about a prisoner who discovers his talent as a musician while behind bars and, after his release, becomes a star.
1990 Luther Campbell, leader of Miami-based hip hop group 2 Live Crew, right, holds a copy of a federal judge's ruling that his best-selling album "as nasty as They Wanna Be" is obscene, outside of the courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Bruce Rogow, Campbell's attorney, is at left. Four days later, three members of 2 Live Crew were arrested on misdemeanor obscenity charges after performing at a nightclub in Hollywood, Fla. at the end of a two-week trial in October, where they faced up to a year in prison and $1,000 fines if convicted, a jury acquitted them.
1933 President Franklin d. Roosevelt signs the Wagner-Peyser act at the White House. The law established a national employment service system that would offer employment resources and help connect job seekers with potential employers. standing, left to right: Rep. Theodore a. Peyser of new York, secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, and Sen. Robert Wagner of new York. The new deal law was amended in 1998 and 2014 but is still in effect.
