TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS TUESDAY, JUNE 26, the 177th day of 2018. There are 188 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 1948, the Berlin Airlift began in earnest after the Soviet Union cut off land and water routes to the isolated western sector of Berlin.
In 1483, Richard III began his reign as King of England (he was crowned the following month at Westminster Abbey).
In 1541, Francisco Pizarro, Spanish conqueror of Peru, was slain in Lima by rival conquistadors.
In 1870, the first section of Atlantic City, New Jersey’s Boardwalk was opened to the public.
In 1917, the first troops of the American Expeditionary Force deployed to France during World War I landed in St. Nazaire.
In 1925, Charles Chaplin’s classic comedy “The Gold Rush” premiered at Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.
In 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was nominated for a second term of office by delegates to the Democratic national convention in Philadelphia.
In 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower joined Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in ceremonies officially opening the St. Lawrence Seaway. Swedish boxer Ingemar Johansson knocked out Floyd Patterson in the third round of their match at New York’s Yankee Stadium to win the heavyweight title.
In 1963, President John F. Kennedy visited West Berlin, where he delivered his famous speech expressing solidarity with the city’s residents, declaring: “Ich bin ein Berliner” (I am a Berliner).
In 1977, 42 people were killed when a fire sent toxic smoke pouring through the Maury County Jail in Columbia, Tenn. Elvis Presley performed his last concert at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.
In 1988, three people were killed when a new Airbus A320 jetliner carrying more than 130 people crashed into a forest during a demonstration at an air show in Mulhouse, France.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Jazz musician film composer Dave Grusin and actor Josef Sommer are 84. Rock singer Georgie Fame is 75. Singer-musician Mick Jones and actor Gedde Watanabe are 63. Rock singer Chris Isaak is 62. Rock singer Patty Smyth is 61. U.S. Bicycling Hall-of-Famer Greg LeMond is 57. Rock musician Colin Greenwood (Radiohead) is 49. Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson, and actors Sean Hayes, Matt Letscher, Chris O’Donnell and Nick Offerman are 48. Actress Rebecca Budig is 45. Retired MLB AllStar Derek Jeter, contemporary Christian musician Jeff Frankenstein (Newsboys) and country singer Gretchen Wilson are 44. Actress Aubrey Plaza is 34. Actresssinger Ariana Grande is 25.