TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

June 21, 1788

The United States Constitution went into effect as New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it. ALSO ON THIS DATE

1377

King Edward III died after ruling England for 50 years; he was succeeded by his grandson, Richard II.

1834

Cyrus Hall McCormick received a patent for his reaping machine.

1932

Heavyweight Max Schmeling lost a title fight rematch in New York by decision to Jack Sharkey, prompting Schmeling’s manager, Joe Jacobs, to exclaim: “We was robbed!”

1942

German forces led by Generaloberst Erwin Rommel captured the Libyan city of Tobruk during World War II. An Imperial Japanese submarine fired shells at Fort Stevens on the Oregon coast, causing little damage.

1943

Army nurse Lt. Edith Greenwood became the first woman to receive the Soldier’s Medal for showing heroism during a fire at a military hospital in Yuma, Arizona.

1963

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini was chosen during a conclave of his fellow cardinals to succeed the late Pope John XXIII; the new pope took the name Paul VI.

1964

Civil rights workers Michael H. Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James E. Chaney were slain in Philadelphia, Mississippi; their bodies were found buried in an earthen dam six weeks later.