June 4 (A Double)

1940 - The Allied evacuation of Dunkirk ended with the rescue of 340,000 troops:  WWII.

Operation Dynamo was a British miracle, but also a failure of epic proportions by Hitler and his general staff.

There is no way the Brits should have made if off the Continent, but thankfully they did...Had they not, it is very likely Operation Sealion (Hitler’s plan to invade England) would have occurred, with at least a 50/50 chance of succeeding.
 
1942 - The Battle of Midway began (ended June 7):  WWII.

Midway was the turning-point in the Pacific Theatre of WWII:  A four day battle, which was planned by both the Japanese and Americans to set the other up for destruction.

Fortunately the U.S. intercepted the Japanese plans, and were prepared for the assault...The Americans also had another stroke of luck on their side - catching the Japanese between flights, refueling their planes.

The end result: The U.S. lost one carrier, one destroyer and 307 troops - the Japanese lost four carriers, one cruiser, and 2,500 troops...The carrier loss was one the Japanese couldn’t recover from, and set the stage for the next three years of American victories throughout the Pacific.

781 BC - The first recorded solar eclipse was noted in China.

Solar eclipses have happened throughout all of human history, but this is the first time anyone felt the impulse to make note of it...The process of taking note is what makes it historical.

1717 - The Freemasons were founded in London.

Regretfully, I admit to knowing next to nothing about the Freemasons...Anyone who can give me a good link will be thanked for doing so.

1911 - Gold was discovered in Alaska's Indian Creek.

'Seward’s Folly' keeps proving to be anything but a folly...Plus, try to imagine the havoc the Soviets would have caused if they owned Alaska.

1954 - France granted full independence to Vietnam.

WWII pretty much destroyed the European colonial system, and the French could no longer rule a region anywhere near as far away as Indochina.

1956 - A speech by Nikita Khrushchev blasting Joseph Stalin was made public.

This would have been much more impressive had Nikki done it while Uncle Joe was alive...But then again, Nikki would have never lived to see 1956 if he had done this.

1985 - The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court's ruling striking down an Alabama law providing for a daily minute of silence in public schools.

What a wonderful event for the nation. We are so much better off as a society...Hardly. Just look outside, read and watch the news.

1989 - The Tienanmen Square Massacre. At least hundreds of pro-democracy students were killed and thousands wounded when Chinese troops opened fire on crowds and sweeping demonstrators from the square in Beijing.

Democracy and human liberty are no closer to success in China than they were in 1989...The Communist overlords have opened the economy a little (mostly to an oligarchical few), but the shackles are still firmly on the people.

1999 - President Bill Clinton issued Executive Order #13124 "to give individuals with psychiatric disabilities the same hiring opportunities as persons with severe physical disabilities or mental retardation under the Civil Service Rules, and to permit individuals with psychiatric disabilities to obtain Civil Service competitive status."

I’m empathetic towards those with limited ability, but do we really need our government employees to be 'mentally retarded' or have 'psychiatric' troubles? Is this any way to effectively do 'the people’s business?'