June 5  This Day in History  General Interest  Jun 5, 1963:
Profumo resigns in sex scandal  On June 5, 1963, British
Secretary of War John Profumo resigns his post following
revelations that he had lied to the House of Commons about his
sexual affair with Christine Keeler, an alleged prostitute. At
the time of the affair, Keeler was also involved with Yevgeny
"Eugene" Ivanov, a Soviet naval attache who some suspected was a
spy. Although Profumo assured the government that he had not
compromised national security in any way, the scandal threatened
to topple Prime Minister Harold Macmillan's government.  Age 48
in 1963, John Dennis Profumo was appointed secretary of war by
Macmillan in 1960. As war minister, he was in charge of
overseeing the British army. The post was a junior cabinet
position, but Profumo looked a good candidate for future
promotion. He was married to Valerie Hobson, a retired movie
actress, and the Profumos were very much at the center of
"swinging '60s" society in the early 1960s. One nigh