Today in History

Today in History

Today is Saturday, June 16, the 167th day of 2018. There are 198 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On June 16, 1963, the world’s first female space traveller, Valentina Tereshkova (teh-ruhsh-KOH’-vuh), 26, was launched into orbit by the Soviet Union aboard Vostok 6; Tereshkova spent 71 hours in flight, circling the Earth 48 times before returning safely.

On this date:

In 1567, Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle in Scotland. (She escaped almost a year later but ended up imprisoned again.)

In 1779, the nearly four-year Great Siege of Gibraltar began as Spain declared war on Britain.

In 1858, accepting the Illinois Republican Party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate, Abraham Lincoln said the slavery issue had to be resolved, declaring, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

In 1903, Ford Motor Co. was incorporated.

In 1933, the National Industrial Recovery Act became law with President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signature. (The Act was later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.) The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was founded as President Roosevelt signed the Banking Act of 1933.

In 1943, comedian Charles Chaplin, 54, married his fourth wife, Oona O’Neill, the 18-year-old daughter of playwright Eugene O’Neill, in Carpinteria, California.

In 1944, George Stinney, a 14-year-old black youth, was electrocuted by the state of South Carolina for the murders of two white girls, Betty June Binnicker, 11, and Mary Emma Thames, 7.

In 1958, the Supreme Court, in Kent v. Dulles, ruled that artist Rockwell Kent could not be denied a passport because of his communist affiliations. Imre Nagy (IM’-ray nahj), premier of Hungary during the 1956 rebellion, was executed in Budapest for treason.

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos (toh-REE’-ohs) signed the instruments of ratification for the Panama Canal treaties during a ceremony in Panama City.

In 1988, impeached and ousted Arizona Governor Evan Mecham (MEE’-kum) and his brother, Willard, were acquitted by a Phoenix jury of concealing a $350,000 campaign loan.

In 1996, Russian voters went to the polls in their first independent presidential election; the result was a runoff between President Boris Yeltsin (the eventual winner) and Communist challenger Gennady Zyuganov (geh-NAH’dee zyoo-GAH’-nawf). Sportscaster Mel Allen died in Greenwich, Connecticut, at age 83.

In 2015, real estate mogul Donald Trump launched his successful campaign to become President of the United States with a speech at Trump Tower in Manhattan.

Ten years ago: Former Vice-President Al Gore announced his endorsement of fellow Democrat Barack Obama for president. A California Supreme Court ruling that overturned the state’s bans on same-sex marriage became final at 5:01 p.m. Pacific time, prompting dozens of gay couples to tie the knot. Tiger Woods, playing on a throbbing injured knee, won an epic U.S. Open after a 19-hole playoff at Torrey Pines with Rocco Mediate (MEE’-dee-ayt).

Five years ago: Riot police firing tear gas and water cannons repelled thousands of anti-government protesters attempting to converge on Istanbul’s central Taksim Square while Prime Minister Recep Tayipp Erdogan (REH’-jehp TY’-ihp UR’-doh-wahn) defended the crackdown at a rally of his supporters. Justin Rose captured his first major championship and became the first Englishman in 43 years to win the U.S. Open, shooting a closing 70 at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, for a 1-over 281 total. Connecticut accountant Erin Brady won the Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas.

One year ago: President Donald Trump acknowledged for the first time that he was under federal investigation as part of the expanding probe into Russia’s election meddling as he lashed out at a top Justice Department official overseeing the inquiry. A St. Anthony, Minnesota, police officer was acquitted of manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Philando Castile, a black motorist who had just informed the officer that he was carrying a gun. A woman who sent her boyfriend a barrage of text messages urging him to kill himself when they were both teenagers was convicted in Taunton, Massachusetts, of involuntary manslaughter in a trial that raised questions about whether words can kill. Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl died at his home in Ludwigshafen; he was 87. Actor Stephen Furst, who played naive fraternity pledge Flounder in the hit movie “Animal House,” died in Moorpark, California, at age 63.

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Eileen Atkins is 84. Actor Bill Cobbs is 84. Author Joyce Carol Oates is 80. Country singer Billy “Crash” Craddock is 80. Songwriter Lamont Dozier is 77. Rhythm and blues singer Eddie Levert is 76. Actress Joan Van Ark is 75. Actor Geoff Pierson is 69. Rhythm and blues singer James Smith (The Stylistics) is 68. Boxing Hall of Famer Roberto Duran is 67. Pop singer Gino Vannelli is 66. Actress Laurie Metcalf is 63. Actor Arnold Vosloo is 56. Actor Danny Burstein is 54. Model-actress Jenny Shimizu is 51. Actor James Patrick Stuart is 50. Rapper MC Ren is 49. Actor Clifton Collins Jr. is 48. Golfer Phil Mickelson is 48. Actor John Cho is 46. Actor Eddie Cibrian is 45. Actor Fred Koehler is 43. Actress China (chee-nah) Shavers is 41. Actor Daniel Bruhl is 40. Bluegrass musician Caleb Smith (Balsam Range) is 40. Actress Sibel Kekilli is 38. Actress Missy Peregrym (PEH’-rih-grihm) is 36. Actress Olivia Hack is 35. Singer Diana DeGarmo (TV: “American Idol”) is 31. Pop-rock musician Ian Keaggy (Hot Chelle (SHEL)) is 31.

Thought for Today: “We seldom stop to think how many people’s lives are entwined with our own. It is a form of selfishness to imagine that every individual can operate on his own or can pull out of the general stream and not be missed.” — Ivy Baker Priest, former U.S. Treasurer (1905-1975).