The assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, a United States Senator and brother of assassinated President John F. Kennedy, took place shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968 in Los Angeles, California. Robert F. Kennedy was killed during celebrations of his successful campaign in the Californian primary elections while seeking the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. The perpetrator was a twenty-four year old Palestinian immigrant named Sirhan Sirhan, who remains incarcerated for this crime as of 2009. The shooting was recorded on audio tape by a freelance newspaper reporter, while the aftermath was captured on film. Kennedy's body lay in repose at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York for two days before a funeral mass was held on June 8. His body was interred near his brother John at Arlington National Cemetery. His death prompted the protection of presidential candidates by the United States Secret Service. Hubert Humphrey went on to win the Democratic nomination for the presidency, but ultimately lost the election to Richard Nixon. As with his brother's death, Robert Kennedy's assassination and the circumstances surrounding it have spawned a variety of conspiracy theories, particularly in relation to the existence of a supposed second gunman.
Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Robert_F._Kennedy
_________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
27 BC:
Gaius Octavianus was given the title Augustus by the Roman Senate. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus)
929:
Emir Abd-ar-Rahman III of Cordoba declared himself caliph, thereby establishing the Caliphate of Córdoba. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caliphate_of_C%C3%B3rdoba)
1129:
The Council of Nablus was held, establishing the earliest surviving written laws of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Nablus)
1809:
Peninsular War: French forces under Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult attacked the amphibious evacuation of the British under Sir John Moore at the Battle of Corunna in Corunna, Galicia, Spain. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Corunna)
1909:
The Nimrod Expedition led by Anglo-Irish explorer Ernest Shackleton reached the approximate location of the South Magnetic Pole. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Shackleton)
_______________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
contumacious (adj) Contemptuous of authority; willfully disobedient; rebellious. (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/contumacious)
______________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
I don't want to express alienation. It isn't what I feel. I'm interested in various kinds of passionate engagement. All my work says be serious, be passionate, wake up. --Susan Sontag (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Susan_Sontag)