June 5th

The British newspaper the Guardian published the first of many stories based on leaks by Edward Snowden about the top-secret surveillance activities of the National Security Agency.

Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for lying and obstructing the CIA leak investigation. (President George W. Bush later commuted the prison sentence.).

Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, died in Los Angeles at age 93 after a long struggle with Alzheimer's disease.

Elizabeth Smart, 14, was kidnapped from her bedroom in her family's Salt Lake City home. (She was rescued in March 2003.).

Indira Gandhi orders attack on Sikh's holiest site, the Golden Temple.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that five homosexuals in Los Angeles had come down with a rare kind of pneumonia; they were the first recognized cases of what became known as AIDS.

Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was shot by an assassin and died the next day.

War erupted in the Middle East as Israel raided Egyptian military targets. Syria, Jordan and Iraq entered the conflict.

State of siege proclaimed in Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini arrested.

Elvis Presley first performs “Hound Dog” live on TV. Presley's suggestive hip movements during this performance earned him his nickname, “Elvis the Pelvis”. “Hound Dog” became his best-selling song with about 10 million sold copies.

Secretary of State George C. Marshall, speaking at Harvard University, outlined an aid program for Europe that came to be known as the Marshall Plan.

The United States went off the gold standard.

Civil War hero Gen. William T. Sherman refused the Republican nomination for president with the words, “I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected.”.

The first Orient Express leaves Paris. The legendary train journey from Paris to Istanbul featured in many works of popular culture, including Bram Stoker's “Dracula” and Agatha Christie's “Murder on the Orient Express“.

Sultan Bargash closes slave market of Zanzibar.

Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier gave the first successful balloon flight demonstration.

Economist Adam Smith was born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland.