TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS FRIDAY, JUNE 1, the 152nd day of 2018. There are 213 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS IN HISTORY:
On this date in 1968, the cult British television series “The Prisoner,” starring Patrick McGoohan as an ex-secret agent who finds himself trapped in a sinister, Orwellian village, had its American premiere on CBS. Author-lecturer Helen Keller, who earned a college degree despite being blind and deaf almost her entire life, died in Westport, Conn., at age 87.
In 1533, Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, was crowned Queen Consort of England.
In 1792, Kentucky became the 15th state.
In 1796, Tennessee became the 16th state.
In 1813, the mortally wounded commander of the USS Chesapeake, Capt. James Lawrence, gave the order, “Don’t give up the ship” during a losing battle with the British frigate HMS Shannon in the War of 1812.
In 1868, James Buchanan, the 15th president of the United States, died near Lancaster, Pa., at age 77.
In 1927, Lizzie Borden, accused but acquitted of the 1892 ax murders of her father, Andrew, and her stepmother, Abby, died in Fall River, Mass., at age 66.
In 1943, a civilian flight from Portugal to England was shot down by Germany during World War II, killing all 17 people aboard, including actor Leslie Howard.
In 1958, Charles de Gaulle became premier of France, marking the beginning of the end of the Fourth Republic.
In 1977, the Soviet Union formally charged Jewish human rights activist Anatoly Shcharansky with treason. Shcharansky was imprisoned, then released in 1986; he’s now known as Natan Sharansky. In 1980, Cable News Network made its debut.
In 1997, Betty Shabazz, the widow of Malcolm X, was severely burned in a fire set by her 12-year-old grandson in her Yonkers, N.Y., apartment. She died three weeks later. The Chicago Tribune published a pretend commencement speech by columnist Mary Schmich that urged graduates to, among other things, “wear sunscreen. The essay was wrongly attributed online to author Kurt Vonnegut.
In 2009, Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330 carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean with the loss of everyone on board.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS:
Actor Richard Erdman is 93. Singer Pat Boone and actor-writer-director Peter Masterson are 84. Actor Morgan Freeman is 81. Actor Rene Auberjonois is 78. Opera singer Frederica von Stade is 73. Actor Brian Cox is 72. Rock musician Ronnie Wood and actor Jonathan Pryce are 71. Actress Gemma Craven and actor John M. Jackson (TV: “NCIS: Los Angeles”) are 68. Blues-rock musician Tom Principato is 66. Country singer Ronnie Dunn is 65. Actor Tom Irwin is 62. Singer-musician Alan Wilder is 59. Rock musician Simon Gallup (The Cure) is 58. Country musician Richard Comeaux (River Road) and actor-comedian Mark Curry are 57. Actor-singer Jason Donovan is 50. Actress Teri Polo and basketball player-turned-coach Tony Bennett are 49. Actor Rick Gomez is 46. Model-actress Heidi Klum is 45. Singer Alanis Morissette is 44. Actress Sarah Wayne Callies is 41. Comedian Link Neal (Rhett & Link) is 40. TV personality Damien Fahey is 38. Pop singersongwriter Brandi Carlile and actor Johnny Pemberton are 37. Tennis player Justine Henin is 36. Actor Taylor Handley is 34. Actress Willow Shields is 18.