TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Saturday, June 11, the 162nd day of 2022. There are 203 days left in the year.
Today’s highlight in history
On June 11, 1955, in motor racing’s worst disaster, more than 80 people were killed during the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France when two of the cars collided and crashed into spectators.
On this date
In 1509, England’s King Henry VIII married his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.
In 1770, Capt. James Cook, commander of the British ship Endeavour, “discovered” the Great Barrier Reef off Australia by running onto it.
In 1776, the Continental Congress formed a committee to draft a Declaration of Independence calling for freedom from Britain.
In 1919, Sir Barton won the Belmont Stakes, becoming horse racing’s first Triple Crown winner.
In 1938, Johnny Vander Meer pitched the first of two consecutive no-hitters as he led the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-0 victory over the Boston Bees. (Four days later, Vander Meer refused to give up a hit to the Brooklyn Dodgers, who lost, 6-0.)
In 1962, three prisoners at Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay staged an escape, leaving the island on a makeshift raft; they were never found or heard from again.
In 1985, Karen Ann Quinlan, the comatose patient whose case prompted a historic right-to-die court decision, died in Morris Plains, N.J., at age 31.
In 1987, Margaret Thatcher became the first British prime minister in 160 years to win a third consecutive term of office as her Conservatives held onto a reduced majority in Parliament.
In 1993, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that people who commit “hate crimes” motivated by bigotry may be sentenced to extra punishment.
In 2001, Timothy McVeigh, 33, was executed by injection at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind., for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people.
In 2009, with swine flu reported in more than 70 nations, the World Health Organization declared the first global flu pandemic in 41 years.
In 2020, Louisville, Ky., banned the use of “no-knock” warrants and named the new ordinance for Breonna Taylor, who’d been fatally shot by officers who burst into her home. San Francisco’s mayor said city police officers would stop responding to noncriminal activities such as disputes between neighbors and reports about homeless people; they would be replaced on those calls by trained, unarmed professionals.
Ten years ago: Testimony began in the trial of former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, accused of sexually abusing 10 boys over 15 years. (Sandusky was later convicted and sentenced to at least 30 years in prison.) Rafael Nadal won his record seventh French Open title, defeating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5. The Los Angeles Kings won their first NHL championship, beating the New Jersey Devils 6-1 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals.
Today’s birthdays
International Motorsports Hall of Famer Jackie Stewart is 83. Actor Roscoe Orman is 78. Actor Adrienne Barbeau is 77. Musician Frank Beard (ZZ Top) is 73. Animal rights activist Ingrid Newkirk is 73. Singer Graham Russell (Air Supply) is 72. Singer Donnie Van Zant is 70. Actor Peter Bergman is 69. Football Hall of Famer Joe Montana is 66. Actor Hugh Laurie is 63. TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz is 62. Actor Clare Carey is 55. Actor Peter Dinklage is 53. U.S. Olympic and WNBA basketball star Diana Taurasi is 40. Actor Shia LaBeouf is 36.