Today is Monday, June 8, the 159th day of 2009. There are 206 days left in the year. On this date in

Today is Monday, June 8, the 159th day of 2009. There are 206 days left in the year. On this date in 632, the prophet Muhammad dies in Medina.

In 1864, Abraham Lincoln is nominated for another term as president during the National Union (Republican) Party’s convention in Baltimore. In 1915, Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan resigns in a disagreement with President Woodrow Wilson over U.S. handling of the sinking of the Lusitania. In 1948, the “Texaco Star Theater” makes its debut on NBC-TV with Milton Berle guest-hosting the first program. In 1966, a merger is announced between the National and American Football Leagues, to take effect in 1970. In 1967, 34 U.S. servicemen are killed when Israeli forces raid the Liberty, a Navy ship stationed in the Mediterranean. (Israel calls the attack a tragic mistake.) In 1998, the National Rifle Association elects Charlton Heston its president.

June 8, 1984: Violence erupts at the opening of the annual Lutheran Church of American Western Pennsylvania Synod Conference on the Thiel College campus when a group of labor protestors attempt to stop delegates from attending.

U.S. Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio, attacks the Washington Times on the Senate floor for running a column by Reed Irvine implying that Sen. Howard Metzenbaum of Ohio is “unrepentant Stalinist.” Irvine runs a conservative organization called Accuracy in Media.

June 8, 1969: An estimated 3,000 to 4,000 temporary workers are marching into area employment offices, alleviating one of the Youngstown district’s tightest labor shortages in recent years.

Vice President Spiro T. Agnew urges the Ohio State University graduates to treat the wrongs of America as a challenge rather than an indictment. Agnew and comedian Bob Hope both spoke at the graduation and both received honorary doctorates.

June 8, 1959: The Rev. Hunsdon Cary Jr., rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church, is awarded an honorary doctor of divinity degree by Kenyon College. The principal speaker was Chauncey DePew Leake, assistant dean of the Ohio State University School of Medicine.

Trumbull County rackets czar Mike Farah is accused of pistol whipping Jean Blair, chairman of the Republican Party and a member of the county board of elections. Farah attack Blair after he refused to rescind the firing of an elections employee who has Farah’s support.

June 8, 1934: Mayor Mark E. Moore says employees who fail to turn in a mileage record for operating their own autos on city business will not receive compensation.

Although maintaining a favorable ratio of 3-to-2 in the nation, President Roosevelt and the New Deal are losing popularity in the Midwest agricultural regions.