TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

June 19, 1867

Maximilian I, emperor of Mexico since 1864, was executed by firing squad a month after being taken prisoner by the forces of President Benito Juarez. The inaugural running of the Belmont Stakes took place; the winner was a filly named Ruthless. ALSO ON THIS DATE

1865

Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War was over, and that all remaining slaves in Texas were free — an event celebrated to this day as “Juneteenth.”

1953

Julius Rosenberg, 35, and his wife, Ethel, 37, convicted of conspiring to pass U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, were executed at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York.

1972 TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Pop singer Tommy DeVito (The Four Seasons) is 89. Actress Gena (JEH’nuh) Rowlands is 87. Hall of Fame race car driver Shirley Muldowney is 77. Singer Spanky McFarlane (Spanky and Our Gang) is 75. Nobel peace laureate