@rh24bold:Today in History

Today is Thursday, June 11, the 162nd day of 2009. There are 203 days left in the year.

On this date:

In 1770, Capt. James Cook, commander of the British ship Endeavour, discovered the Great Barrier Reef off Australia by running onto it.

In 1776, the Continental Congress formed a committee to draft a Declaration of Independence calling for freedom from Britain.

In 1919, Sir Barton won the Belmont Stakes, becoming horse racing's first Triple Crown winner.

In 1959, the Saunders-Roe Nautical 1, the first operational hovercraft, was publicly demonstrated off the southern coast of England.

In 1979, actor John Wayne died in Los Angeles at age 72.

Thought for Today:

"It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument." — William Gibbs McAdoo, American government official (1863-1941).