TODAY IN HISTORY June 5 | Curious cases the first sign of epidemic that claimed 40 million lives
The AIDS health crisis began on June 5, 1981, when a curious report published by US government health experts described five cases of a rare lung infection in young otherwise healthy gay men in Los Angeles.
Over the ensuing decades, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) – the devastating advanced-stage of HIV infection would go on to claim the lives of more than 40 million people globally.
As politicians and government entities proved slow to act, activists took matters into their own hands, holding protests, known as "die-ins" to combat homophobia and stigma.
Gradually, AIDS therapies advanced and social attitudes shifted, but the condition remained a major health problem.
Figures from the United Nations show 34 million people across the world are today living with AIDS.
A sex scandal engulfed British politics on June 5, 1963, when the country's War Minister, John Profumo, resigned, admitting he'd lied to Parliament over his relationship with a model and showgirl.
Christine Keeler had been having an affair with the married Profumo while also sharing her favours with Commander Eugene Ivanov, a Russian intelligence officer based in London.
The security risks of her sleeping both with the war minister and a Soviet spy were enormous.
Rock legend Alice Cooper was forced to find a new snake for his reptile-clad live concerts when his pet boa constrictor died on June 5, 1977.
With tour dates fast approaching, Cooper held auditions to find a new snake. He sent a panel of judges to choose a new one, and they decided on another boa constrictor named Ange.
US presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy on June 5, 1968, was fatally shot minutes after giving a speech in a Los Angeles hotel.
Kennedy, the brother of assassinated US president John Kennedy, had been celebrating his victory in California's Democratic presidential primary when he was gunned down by assassin Sirhan Sirhan.
The Teton Dam in the north-western US collapsed on June 5, 1976, killing 11 people and flooding hundreds of thousands of hectares of land.
The dam on the Snake River in Idaho had taken four years to build, but disaster struck in just one afternoon when huge cracks gave way to a torrent water. Officials estimated it cost $US2 billion in damage to the local area.
On June 5, 1972, the funeral of the Duke of Windsor, the former King Edward VIII, was held at WIndsor Castle in the UK.
He triggered the Abdication Crisis in 1936 when he insisted on marrying American divorcee Wallis Simpson. After just a year on the throne, Edward abdicated and later lived in Paris and the Bahamas with his wife.
On June 5, 2013, media reports in the UK and US outlined how American intelligence services were spying on their own citizens through wide-ranging surveillance networks.
The sensational details were provided by whistleblower and National Security Agency systems analyst Edward Snowden who three days later unmasked himself. He was later charged by US authorities and fled the country.
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