Today in History — June 9

updated 6:48 p.m. ET June 8, 2007

Today is Saturday, June 9, the 160th day of 2007. There are 205 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On June 9, A.D. 68, the Roman Emperor Nero committed suicide.

On this date:

In 1870, author Charles Dickens died in Gad’s Hill, England.

In 1940, during World War II, Norway decided to surrender to the Nazis, effective at midnight.

In 1953, 94 people died when a tornado struck Worcester, Mass.

In 1954, during the Senate-Army Hearings, Army special counsel Joseph N. Welch berated Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, asking: “Have you no sense of decency, sir?”

In 1969, the U.S. Senate confirmed Warren Burger to be the new chief justice of the Supreme Court, succeeding Earl Warren.

In 1973, Secretariat became horse racing’s first Triple Crown winner in 25 years by winning the Belmont Stakes.

In 1978, leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints struck down a 148-year-old policy of excluding black men from the Mormon priesthood.

In 1980, comedian Richard Pryor suffered almost fatal burns at his San Fernando Valley, Calif., home when a mixture of “free-base” cocaine exploded.

In 1985, American educator Thomas Sutherland was kidnapped in Lebanon; he was released in November 1991 with fellow hostage Terry Waite.

In 1986, the Rogers Commission released its report on the Challenger disaster, criticizing NASA and rocket-builder Morton Thiokol for management problems leading to the explosion that claimed the lives of seven astronauts.

Ten years ago: Air Force Gen. Joseph Ralston gave up his fight to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, his candidacy doomed by the clamor over his admission that he’d had an adulterous affair years earlier.

Five years ago: President Jacques Chirac’s mainstream right prevailed in a first round of elections for France’s 577-seat National Assembly. Thousands of Russian soccer fans rioted in Moscow during their country’s loss to Japan in the World Cup. Albert Costa won the French Open over fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-1, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3. Se Ri Pak won the LPGA Championship to become the youngest woman to claim four major championships.

One year ago: President Bush said the elimination of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi two days earlier “helps a lot” with security problems in Iraq but wouldn’t bring an end to the war. Former Majority Leader Tom DeLay, bowing to legal and ethical troubles, left the House of Representatives.

Today’s Birthdays: Guitarist Les Paul is 92. Former World Bank president and former defense secretary Robert S. McNamara is 91. Actress Mona Freeman is 81. Media analyst Marvin Kalb is 77. Sports commentator Dick Vitale is 68. Author Letty Cottin Pogrebin is 68. Rock musician Jon Lord is 66. Mystery author Patricia Cornwell is

51. Actor Michael J. Fox is 46. Writer-producer Aaron Sorkin is 46. Actor Johnny Depp is 44. Jazz musician Wayman Tisdale is 43. Actress Gloria Reuben is 43. Rock musician Dean Felber (Hootie & the Blowfish) is 40. Rock musician Dean Dinning is 40. Musician Ed Simons is 37. Actress Natalie Portman is 26. Actress Mae Whitman is 19.

Thought for Today: “Be the inferior of no man, nor of any be the superior. Remember that every man is a variation of yourself. No man’s guilt is not yours, nor is any man’s innocence a thing apart.” — William Saroyan, American playwright (1908-1981).

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