Today in history
On June 19, 1586, English colonists sailed from Roanoke Island, N.C., after failing to establish England’s first permanent settlement in America.
In 1865 Union Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce the end of slavery — two year after the Emancipation Proclamation. (The day has since been celebrated as “Juneteenth.”)
In 1910 Father’s Day was celebrated for the first time, in Spokane, Wash.
In 1917 during World War I, King George V ordered the British royal family to dispense with German titles and surnames. (The family would adopt the name “Windsor” to replace “Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.”)
In 1934 Congress created the Federal Communications Commission.
In 1953 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, convicted of conspiring to pass U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, were executed at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, N.Y.
In 1961 the Supreme Court struck down a provision in Maryland’s constitution requiring state officeholders to profess a belief in God.
In 1964 the Civil Rights Act of 1964 survived an 83-day filibuster in the U.S. Senate and was approved 73-27.
In 1977 19th century Philadelphia Bishop John Neumann was proclaimed the first U.S. male saint at a Vatican ceremony.
In 1984 the Chicago Bulls chose Michael Jordan of the University of North Carolina third in the NBA draft, following Hakeem Olajuwon of the University of Houston and Sam Bowie of the University of Kentucky.
In 2000 the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling, barred officials from letting students lead stadium crowds in prayer before football games.
In 2001 strapped to the same padded gurney on which Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh died, drug kingpin Juan Raul Garza received a chemical injection and became the second inmate in eight days to be executed by the U.S. government.
In 200514 Formula 1 drivers refused to participate in the United States Grand Prix because of unresolved concerns over the safety of their Michelin tires.
In 2008 Democrat Barack Obama announced he would bypass public financing for the presidential election, even though Republican John McCain was accepting it.
In 2013 Emmy Award- winning actor James Gandolfini, who starred as mob boss Tony Soprano in “The Sopranos,” died in Italy; he was 51.