Today is the 179th day of 2012 and the eighth day of summer.
TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1829, British chemist James Smithson died, leaving an endowment for "the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men."
In 1950, President Harry S. Truman sent the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy to fight in the Korean War.
In 1969, police clashed with patrons of the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City's Greenwich Village, in an incident said to mark the beginning of the gay civil-rights movement.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Emma Goldman (1869-1940), labor leader; Helen Keller (1880-1968), activist/author; H. Ross Perot (1930- ), billionaire/politician; Vera Wang (1949- ), fashion designer; J.J. Abrams (1966- ), TV/film producer; Tobey Maguire (1975- ), actor; Ed Westwick (1987- ), actor.
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2001, the NBA's Washington Wizards drafted Kwame Brown, the first No. 1 overall pick of a high school student.
TODAY'S FACT: Boston Red Sox legend Ted Williams flew 39 combat missions during the Korean War. Williams sat out nearly five Major League Baseball seasons due to his military service in World War II and Korea.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "The heresy of one age becomes the orthodoxy of the next." -- Helen Keller
TODAY'S NUMBER: 28.6 million -- visitors to Smithsonian Institution museums in 2011.
TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (June 26) and full moon (July 3).