Today In History

Today is Thursday, June 29, the 180th day of 2017. There are 185 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

› 1613: London’s original Globe Theatre, where many of Shakespeare’s plays were performed, was destroyed by a fire sparked by a cannon shot during a performance of “Henry VIII.”

ON THIS DATE

› 1880: France annexed Tahiti, which became a French colony on December 30, 1880.

› 1927: The first trans-Pacific airplane flight was completed as Lt. Lester J. Maitland and Lt. Albert F. Hegenberger arrived at Wheeler Field in Hawaii aboard the Bird of Paradise, an Atlantic-Fokker C-2, after flying 2,400 miles from Oakland, California, in 25 hours, 50 minutes.

› 1936: Entertainer and songwriter George M. Cohan was presented with the Congressional Gold Medal by President Franklin D. Roosevelt for his contributions to building American morale during World War I.

› 1967: Jerusalem was reunified as Israel removed barricades separating the Old City from the Israeli sector.

› 1992: The remains of Polish statesman Ignacy Jan Paderewski, interred for five decades in the United States, were returned to his homeland in keeping with his wish to be buried only in a free Poland.

› 1995: The space shuttle Atlantis and the Russian Mir space station linked in orbit, beginning a historic five-day voyage as a single ship.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Movie producer Robert Evans is 87. Songwriter L. Russell Brown is 77. Singer-songwriter Garland Jeffreys is 74. Actor Gary Busey is 73. Comedian Richard Lewis is 70. Rock musician Ian Paice (Deep Purple) is 69. Singer Don Dokken (Dokken) is 64. Rock singer Colin Hay (Men At Work) is 64. Actress Maria Conchita Alonso is 62. Actress Sharon Lawrence is 56. Actress Amanda Donohoe is 55. Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter is 54. Rhythm and blues singer Stedman Pearson (Five Star) is 53. Actress Kathleen Wilhoite is 53. Actor Brian D’Arcy James is 49. Rap DJ Shadow is 45. Actor-dancer Will Kemp is 40. Actress Zuleikha Robinson is 40. Country musician Todd Sansom (Marshall Dyllon) is 39. Singer Nicole Scherzinger is 39. Actress Lily Rabe is 35. Rhythm and blues singer Aundrea Fimbres is 34.