TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Wednesday, June 15.
Today’s highlight:
On June 15, 1775, the Second Continental Congress voted unanimously to appoint George Wash- ington head of the Conti- nental Army.
On this date:
In 1215, England’s King John put his seal to Magna Carta (“the Great Charter”) at Runnymede.
In 1864, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton signed an order establishing a military burial ground which became Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
In 1904, more t han 1,000 people died when fire erupted aboard the steamboat General Slocum in New York’s East River.
In 1934, President Frank- lin D. Roosevelt signed an act making the National Guard part of the U.S. Army in the event of war or national emergency.
In 1938, Johnny Vander Meer pitched his second consecutive no-hitter, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-0 victory over the Brooklyn Dodg- ers in the first night game at Ebbets Field, four days after leaving the Boston Bees hitless by a score of 3-0.
In 1944, American forces began their successful inva- sion of Saipan during World War II. B-29 Superfortresses carried out their first raids on Japan.
In 1985, the Shiite Muslim hijackers of a TWA Boeing 727 beat and shot one of their hostages, U.S. Navy diver Robert Stethem, 23, throw- ing him out of the plane to die on the tarmac at Beirut airport.
In 1991, Mount Pinatubo in the northern Philippines exploded in one of the big- gest volcanic eruptions of the 20th century, killing about 800 people.
In 1996, Ella Fitzgerald, the “first lady of song,” died in Beverly Hills, California, at age 79.
In 2002, an asteroid with a diameter of between 50 and 120 yards narrowly missed the Earth by 75,000 miles — less than a third of the distance to the moon.
In 2020, the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, ruled that a landmark civil rights law protects gay, lesbian and transgender people from discrimination in employment. U.S. regulators revoked emergency authorization for malaria drugs promoted by President Donald Trump for treating COVID-19 amid evidence that they didn’t work and could cause serious side effects. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said death rates for coronavirus patients with chronic illnesses were 12 times higher than for others who became infected.
Ten years ago: President Barack Obama eased enforcement of immigration laws as he announced a new policy, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. An armored car heist at the University of Alberta in Canada left three armed guards dead; fellow guard Travis Baumgartner later pleaded guilty to murder charges and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 40 years.
Five ye a rs ago: Two escaped inmates sought in the killings of two guards on a Georgia prison bus were captured after being held at gunpoint by a rural Tennessee homeowner whose vehicle they were trying to steal.
One year ago: A New York judge approved the extradition of former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein to California, where Weinstein — already serving a 23-year sentence for a rape conviction — faced additional sexual assault charges.