TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS FRIDAY, JUNE 17, the 169th day of 2016. There are 197 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 1775, the Revolutionary War Battle of Bunker Hill resulted in a costly victory for the British, who suffered heavy losses.
In 1789, during the French Revolution, the Third Estate declared itself a national assembly and undertook to frame a constitution. (This gathering gave rise to the political terms “left wing” and “right wing,” with deputies representing commoners sitting to the left of the assembly president and nobles sitting to the right.)
In 1885, the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor aboard the French ship Isere.
In 1928, Amelia Earhart embarked on a transAtlantic flight from Newfoundland to Wales with pilots Wilmer Stultz and Louis Gordon, becoming the first woman to make the trip as a passenger.
In 1930, President Herbert Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which boosted U.S. tariffs to historically high levels, prompting foreign retaliation.
In 1940, France asked Germany for terms of surrender in World War II.
In 1944, the Republic of Iceland was established.
In 1953, U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas stayed the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, originally set for the next day, the couple’s 14th wedding anniversary. (They were put to death June 19.)
In 1961, Soviet ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev defected to the West while his troupe was in Paris.
In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon’s eventual downfall began with the arrest of five burglars inside Democratic national headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C.
In 1986, President Ronald Reagan announced the retirement of Chief Justice Warren Burger, who was succeeded by William Rehnquist. Singer Kate Smith died in Raleigh, N.C., at age 79.
In 1992, President George H.W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed a breakthrough arms reduction agreement.
In 1994, after leading police on a slow-speed chase on Southern California freeways, O.J. Simpson was arrested and charged with murder in the slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole, and her friend, Ronald Goldman.
Five years ago, the United Nations endorsed the rights of gay, lesbian and transgender people for the first time, passing a resolution hailed as historic by the U.S. and other backers, and decried by some African and Muslim countries.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actor Peter Lupus is 84. Actor William Lucking is 75. Singer Barry Manilow and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich are 73. Comedian Joe Piscopo is 65. Actor Mark LinnBaker is 62. Actor Jon Gries is 59. Rock singer Jello Biafra and movie producer-director-writer Bobby Farrelly are 58. Actor Thomas Haden Church is 55. Actor Greg Kinnear is 53. Actress Kami Cotler and Olympic gold-medal speed skater Dan Jansen are 51. Actor Jason Patric is 50. Rhythm-and-blues singer Kevin Thornton is 47. Actor-comedian Will Forte is 46. Latin pop singer Paulina Rubio is 45. Tennis player Venus Williams is 36. Country singer Mickey Guyton and actor-rapper Herculeez (AKA Jamal Mixon) are 33. Rapper Kendrick Lamar is 29. Actor Damani Roberts is 20.