TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Wednesday, June 22.
Today’s highlight:
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.
On this date:
In 1815, Napoleon Bona- parte abdicated for a sec- ond 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 Brad- dock 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 1941, Nazi Germany launched Operation Bar- barossa, a massive inva- sion of the Soviet Union.
In 1944, President Frank- lin 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 1965, movie producer David O. Selznick (“Gone with the Wind”) died in Los Angeles at age 63.
In 1970, President Rich- ard Nixon signed an exten- sion 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. Abolhassan Bani-sadr was deposed as president of Iran.
In 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court, in R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul, unanimously ruled that “hate crime” laws that banned cross burning and similar expressions of racial bias violated free-speech rights.
In 1999, in a major upset at Wimbledon, top-ranked Martina Hingis lost 6-2, 6-0 in the opening round to Jelena Dokic, a 16-year-old qualifier ranked 129th.
Ten years ago: Ex-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 realworld 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. California officials denied parole for convicted killer Patricia Krenwinkel, a follower of cult leader Charles Manson, for the 1969 slayings of pregnant actor Sharon Tate and four other people.
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. Kobe Bryant’s widow agreed to settle a lawsuit against the pilot and owners of the helicopter that crashed in January 2020, killing the NBA star, their daughter, Gianna, and seven others; terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed.