On June 9 in …

A.D. 68 –- The Roman emperor Nero commits suicide, after quoting Homer’s “Iliad.” His death ends the Julio-Claudian dynasty and starts the civil war known as “The Year of the Four Emperors.”

1732 –- James Edward Oglethorpe, a British general, Member of Parliament, and philanthropist, is granted an English Royal Charter for the colony of the future U.S. state of Georgia.

1934 –- The iconic cartoon character Donald Duck makes his debut in “The Wise Little Hen.”

1968 –- President Lyndon B. Johnson declares a national day of mourning following the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY) three days earlier in Los Angeles.

1973 –- In thoroughbred horse racing, Secretariat wins the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmwood, Queens, NY, the final race in the Triple Crown. Earlier, the horse had captured the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY, and the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, MD.

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