TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Monday, June 26, the 177th day of 2017. There are 188 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On June 26, 1917, the first troops of the American Expeditionary Force deployed to France during World War I landed in St. Nazaire.
On this date:
In 1483, Richard III began his reign as King of England (he was crowned the following month at Westminster Abbey).
In 1870, the first section of Atlantic City, New Jersey’s Boardwalk was opened to the public.
In 1925, Charles Chaplin’s classic comedy “The Gold Rush” premiered at Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.
In 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was nominated for a second term of office by delegates to the Democratic national convention in Philadelphia.
In 1945, the charter of the United Nations was signed by 50 countries in San Francisco.
In 1950, President Harry S. Truman authorized the U.S. Air Force and Navy to enter the Korean War.
In 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower joined Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in ceremonies officially opening the St. Lawrence Seaway. Swedish boxer Ingemar Johansson knocked out Floyd Patterson in the third round of their match at New York’s Yankee Stadium to win the heavyweight title.
In 1963, President John F. Kennedy visited West Berlin, where he delivered his famous speech expressing solidarity with the city’s residents, declaring: “Ich bin ein Berliner” (I am a Berliner).
In 1967, French actress Francoise Dorleac, the 25-yearold sister of Catherine Deneuve, was killed in a car crash in Nice, France.
In 1977, 42 people were killed when a fire sent toxic smoke pouring through the Maury County Jail in Columbia, Tennessee. Elvis Presley performed his last concert at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.
In 1987, Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. announced his retirement, leaving a vacancy that was filled by Anthony M. Kennedy.
In 1997, the first Harry Potter novel, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling, was published in the United Kingdom (it was later released in the United States under the title “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”).
Ten years ago: Conservative commentator Ann Coulter, appearing on MSNBC’s “Hardball,” got into a verbal fracas with Elizabeth Edwards, who called into the program to ask Coulter to stop making personal attacks on her husband, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards. Paris Hilton left the Los Angeles County jail after a three-week stay for a probation violation. Fashion designer Liz Claiborne died in New York at age 78.
Five years ago: Sen. Orrin Hatch won the GOP primary in Utah, handily turning back a challenge from tea party-backed Dan Liljenquist. In Oklahoma, fiveterm Rep. John Sullivan fell to a tea party-supported candidate, Jim Bridenstine, who went on to win election to Congress. Twelvetime All-Star Joe Sakic was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, joining Mats Sundin, Pavel Bure and Adam Oates as the newest class of inductees. Essayist, author and filmmaker Nora Ephron, 71, died in New York. Actress Doris Singleton, 92, died in Los Angeles.
One year ago: Fourteen people suffered stab wounds, cuts and bruises when fighting erupted outside the California state Capitol in Sacramento between more than 300 counter-protesters and about 30 members of the Traditionalist Worker Party, a white nationalist group. Fireworks exploded as a huge Chineseowned container ship made the inaugural passage through the newly expanded Panama Canal.
Today’s Birthdays: Jazz musician-composer Dave Grusin is 83. Actor Josef Sommer is 83. Singer Billy Davis Jr. is 79. Rock singer Georgie Fame is 74. Actor Clive Francis is 71. Rhythm-andblues singer Brenda Holloway is 71. Actor Michael Paul Chan is 67. Actor Robert Davi is 66. Singermusician Mick Jones is 62. Actor Gedde Watanabe is 62. Rock singer Chris Isaak is 61. Rock singer Patty Smyth is 60. Singer Terri Nunn (Berlin) is 58. U.S. Bicycling Hall of Famer Greg LeMond is 56. Rock singer Harriet Wheeler (The Sundays) is 54. Country musician Eddie Perez (The Mavericks) is 49. Rock musician Colin Greenwood (Radiohead) is 48. Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson is 47. Actor Sean Hayes is 47. Actor Matt Letscher is 47. Actor Chris O’Donnell is 47. Actor Nick Offerman is 47. Actress Rebecca Budig is 44. Retired MLB All-Star Derek Jeter is 43. Contemporary Christian musician Jeff Frankenstein (Newsboys) is 43. Country singer Gretchen Wilson is 43. Rock musician Nathan Followill (Kings of Leon) is 38. Pop-rock singer-musician Ryan Tedder (OneRepublic) is 38. Actor-musician Jason Schwartzman is 37. Actress Aubrey Plaza is 33. Actress-singer Jennette McCurdy is 25. Actresssinger Ariana Grande is 24.
Thought for Today: “I am continually fascinated at the difficulty intelligent people have in distinguishing what is controversial from what is merely offensive.”— Nora Ephron (1941-2012).