Today In History

Today is Friday, June 16, the 167th day of 2017. There are 198 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

› 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.”

ON THIS DATE

› 1903: Ford Motor Co. was incorporated.

› 1963: The world’s first female space traveler, Valentina Tereshkova, 26, was launched into orbit by the Soviet Union aboard Vostok 6; she spent 71 hours in flight, circling the Earth 48 times before returning safely.

› 1977: Soviet Communist Party General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev was named president, becoming the first person to hold both posts simultaneously. Business software maker Oracle Corp. had its beginnings as Larry Ellison, Bob Miner and Ed Oates founded Oracle’s precursor, Software Development Laboratories.

› 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.

› 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.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Actress Eileen Atkins (TV: “The Crown”; “Doc Martin”) is 83. Actor Bill Cobbs is 83. Author Joyce Carol Oates is 79. Country singer Billy “Crash” Craddock is 79. Songwriter Lamont Dozier is 76. Rhythm and blues singer Eddie Levert is 75. Actress Joan Van Ark is 74. Actor Geoff Pierson is 68. Rhythm and blues singer James Smith (The Stylistics) is 67. Actor Arnold Vosloo is 55. Actor Danny Burstein is 53. Model-actress Jenny Shimizu is

50. Actor James Patrick Stuart is 49. Rapper MC Ren is 48. Actor Clifton Collins Jr. is 47. Golfer Phil Mickelson is 47. Actor Daniel Bruhl is 39. Bluegrass musician Caleb Smith (Balsam Range) is

39. Actress Sibel Kekilli is 37. Actress Missy Peregrym is 35. Actress Olivia Hack is 34. Singer Diana DeGarmo (TV: “American Idol”) is 30. Pop-rock musician Ian Keaggy (Hot Chelle) is 30.