TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Sunday, June 25, the 176th day of 2017. There are 189 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On June 25, 1967, the Beatles performed their new song “All You Need Is Love” during the closing segment of “Our World,” the first-ever live international telecast which was carried by satellite from 14 countries.
On this date:
In 1788, Virginia ratified the U.S. Constitution.
In 1867, barbed wire was patented by Lucien B. Smith of Kent, Ohio.
In 1876, Lt. Col. Colonel George A. Custer and his 7th Cavalry were wiped out by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana.
In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was enacted.
In 1947, “The Diary of a Young Girl,” the personal journal of Anne Frank, a German-born Jewish girl hiding with her family from the Nazis in Amsterdam during World War II, was first published.
In 1950, war broke out in Korea as forces from the communist North invaded the South.
In 1973, former White House Counsel John W. Dean began testifying before the Senate Watergate Committee, implicating top administration officials, including President Richard Nixon as well as himself, in the Watergate scandal and cover-up.
In 1981, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that male-only draft registration was constitutional.
In 1997, oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau died in Paris at age 87.
In 2009, death claimed Michael Jackson, the “King of Pop,” in Los Angeles at age 50 and actress Farrah Fawcett in Santa Monica, California, at age 62.
Ten years ago: A suicide bomber blew himself up in the midst of a gathering of U.S.-allied tribal sheiks at a Baghdad hotel, killing 13 people. World Wrestling Entertainment star Chris Benoit (ben-WAH’), his wife and 7-yearold son were found dead in their Fayetteville, Georgia, home (authorities concluded that Benoit strangled his family, then killed himself). A judge in Washington, D.C. ruled in favor of a dry cleaner sued by a dissatisfied customer who was demanding $54 million for his misplaced pants.
Five years ago: A divided U.S. Supreme Court threw out major parts of Arizona’s tough crackdown on people living in the U.S. without legal permission, while unanimously upholding the law’s most-discussed provision: requiring police to check the immigration status of those they stop for other reasons, but limiting the legal consequences. With BeBe Winans singing “God Bless America,” a final steel beam was lifted atop the new 4 World Trade Center in New York City.
One year ago: President Barack Obama called West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin to extend his condolences for the lives lost in heavy flooding, and directed White House staff to coordinate closely with Tomblin’s team to make sure FEMA was providing all appropriate assistance. Pope Francis visited Armenia, where he recognized the Ottoman-era slaughter of Armenians as a genocide, prompting a harsh rebuttal from Turkey.
Today’s Birthdays: Actress June Lockhart is 92. Civil rights activist James Meredith is 84. Author-activist Larry Kramer is 82. Rhythm-and-blues singer Eddie Floyd is 80. Basketball Hall of Famer Willis Reed is 75. Singer Carly Simon is 72. Rock musician Ian McDonald (Foreigner; King Crimson) is 71. TV personality Phyllis George is 68. Rock singer Tim Finn is 65. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is 63. Rock musician David Paich (Toto) is 63. Actor Michael Sabatino is 62. Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain is 61. Actor-writer-director Ricky Gervais (jer-VAYZ’) is 56. Actor John Benjamin Hickey is 54. Actress Erica Gimpel is 53. Basketball Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo (dihKEHM’-bay moo-TAHM’-boh) is 51. Rapper-producer Richie Rich is 50. Rapper Candyman is 49. Contemporary Christian musician Sean Kelly (Sixpence None the Richer) is 46. Actress Angela Kinsey is 46. Rock musician Mike Kroeger (KROO’-gur) (Nickelback) is 45. Rock musician Mario Calire is 43. Actress Linda Cardellini is 42. Actress Busy Philipps is 38. Jazz musician Joey Alexander is 14.
Thought for Today: “Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets.”— Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821).