World War II - Battle of Midway June 4, 1942 The Battle of Midway begins. It would be Japan's first major defeat of the war. The United States scored a major defeat against the attacking Japanese fleet near Midway Atoll, inflicting severe damage to the Japanese. All four of Japan's large aircraft carriers and a heavy c...

First American to Walk in Space June 3, 1965 American astronaut Ed White goes for a walk outside of Gemini 4. His walk lasted for 23 minutes. White died in the 1967 Apollo 1 disaster, making him and the crew the first American astronauts to die in a spacecraft.

First Successful U.S. Soft Landing of a Manmade Object on the Moon June 2, 1966 Surveyor I lands on the Moon. It had been launched by NASA on May 30th. Part of its mission was to study the lunar soil in preparation for the Apollo missions. The Soviets had landed Luna 9 four months earlier.

Bing Crosby Records White Christmas May 29, 1942 Bing Crosby records the song White Christmas. This recording of White Christmas has sold over 50,000,000 copies and is the world's best-selling single of all time. It took only 18 minutes to record and was recorded for Decca Records and featured the John Scott Trotter Or...

Phil Hartman Killed in Murder-Suicide May 28, 1998 Comedian Phil Hartman is murdered by his wife. During a heated argument earlier that evening, he had threatened to leave her if she began using drugs again. After he went to bed, she shot him while he slept at about 3 am, killing herself later that morning as police we...