TODAY IN HISTORY
On June 22, 1940, during World War II, Adolf Hitler gained a stunning victory as France was forced to sign an armistice eight days after German forces overran Paris.
Also on this date
In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated for a second time as Emperor of the French.
In 1870, the United States Department of Justice was created.
In 1937, Joe Louis began his reign as world heavyweight boxing champion by knocking out Jim Braddock in the eighth round of their fight in Chicago. (A year later on this date, Louis knocked out Max Schmeling in the first round of their rematch at Yankee Stadium.)
In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, more popularly known as the “GI Bill of Rights.”
In 1945, the World War II battle for Okinawa ended with an Allied victory.
In 1970, President Richard Nixon signed an extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that lowered the minimum voting age to 18.
In 1977, John N. Mitchell became the first former U.S. attorney general to go to prison as he began serving a sentence for his role in the Watergate cover-up. (He was released 19 months later.)
In 1981, Mark David Chapman pleaded guilty to killing rock star John Lennon.
In 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court, in R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul, ruled that “hate crime” laws that banned cross burning and similar expressions of racial bias violated free-speech rights.
Ten years ago: Former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was convicted by a jury in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, on 45 counts of sexually assaulting 10 boys over 15 years. (Sandusky is serving a 30- to 60-year state prison sentence.)
Five years ago: An online conspiracy theory dubbed “pizzagate” ended with real-world consequences as a North Carolina man was sentenced to four years in prison for firing an assault rifle inside Comet Ping Pong, a Washington, D.C. pizza restaurant.
One year ago: A government watchdog reported that deaths among Medicare patients in nursing homes had soared by 32% in 2020; it was the most comprehensive look yet at the ravages of COVID-19 among its most vulnerable victims.