Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Today is Tuesday, June 16, the 168th day of 2020. There are 198 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On June 16, 1996, Russian voters went to the polls in their first independent presidential election; the result was a runoff between President Boris Yeltsin (the eventual winner) and Communist challenger Gennady Zyuganov (geh-nah’dee zyoo-gah’-nawf).

On this date:

In 1567, Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle in Scotland. (She escaped almost a year later but ended up imprisoned again.)

In 1858, accepting the Illinois Republican Party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate, Abraham Lincoln said the slavery issue had to be resolved, declaring, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

In 1883, baseball’s first “Ladies’ Day” took place as the New York Gothams offered women free admission to a game against the Cleveland Spiders. (New York won, 5-2.)

In 1903, Ford Motor Co. was incorporated.

In 1911, IBM had its beginnings as the Computing-tabulating-recording Co. which was incorporated in New York State.

In 1932, President Herbert Hoover and Vice President Charles Curtis were renominated at the Republican National Convention in Chicago.

In 1933, the National Industrial Recovery Act became law with President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signature. (The Act was later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.) The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was founded as President Roosevelt signed the Banking Act of 1933.

In 1963, the world’s first female space traveler, Valentina Tereshkova (teh-ruhsh-koh’-vuh), 26, was launched into orbit by the Soviet Union aboard Vostok 6; Tereshkova spent 71 hours in flight, circling the Earth 48 times before returning safely.

On June 16, 1967, the three-day Monterey International Pop Music Festival, a major event of the “Summer of Love,” opened in northern California; among the featured acts were Jefferson Airplane, The Who, the Grateful Dead, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Janis Joplin, Otis Redding and Ravi Shankar.

In 1970, Kenneth A. Gibson of Newark, N.J., became the first black politician elected mayor of a major Northeast city. Chicago Bears running back Brian Piccolo, 26, died at a New York hospital after battling cancer.

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos (toh-ree’-ohs) signed the instruments of ratification for the Panama Canal treaties during a ceremony in Panama City.

In 1987, a jury in New York acquitted Bernhard Goetz (BURNAHRD’ gehts) of attempted murder in the subway shooting of four youths he said were going to rob him; however, Goetz was convicted of illegal weapons possession. (In 1996, a civil jury ordered Goetz to pay $43 million to one of the persons he had shot.)

Ten years ago: After meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House, BP Chairman Carl-henric Svanberg announced the oil giant was establishing a $20 billion claim fund and suspending dividends as he insisted, “We care about the small people.” Movie director Ronald Neame (“The Poseidon Adventure”) died in Los Angeles at age 99.

Today is Wednesday, June 17, the 169th day of 2020. There are 197 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On June 17, 1972, President Richard Nixon’s eventual downfall began with the arrest of five burglars inside the Democratic headquarters in Washington, D.C.’S Watergate complex.

On this date:

In 1579, Sir Francis Drake arrived in present-day northern California, naming it New Albion and claiming English sovereignty.

In 1775, the Revolutionary War Battle of Bunker Hill resulted in a costly victory for the British, who suffered heavy losses.

In 1928, Amelia Earhart embarked on a trans-atlantic flight from Newfoundland to Wales with pilots Wilmer Stultz and Louis Gordon, becoming the first woman to make the trip as a passenger.

In 1930, President Herbert Hoover signed the Smoot-hawley Tariff Act, which boosted U.S. tariffs to historically high levels, prompting foreign retaliation.

In 1933, the “Kansas City Massacre” took place outside Union Station in Kansas City, Mo., as a group of gunmen attacked law enforcement officers escorting federal prisoner Frank Nash; four of the officers were killed, along with Nash.

In 1944, the Republic of Iceland was established.

In 1953, U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas stayed the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, originally set for the next day, the couple’s 14th wedding anniversary. (They were put to death June 19.)

In 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Abington (Pa.) School District v. Schempp, struck down, 8-1, rules requiring the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer or reading of Biblical verses in public schools.

In 1967, China successfully tested its first thermonuclear (hydrogen) bomb.

In 1986, President Ronald Reagan announced the retirement of Chief Justice Warren Burger, who was succeeded by William Rehnquist.

In 1994, after leading police on a slow-speed chase on Southern California freeways, O.J. Simpson was arrested and charged with murder in the slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. (Simpson was later acquitted in a criminal trial but held liable in a civil trial.)

In 2009, President Barack Obama extended some benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. Nevada Sen. John Ensign resigned from the GOP leadership a day after admitting an affair with a former campaign staffer.

Ten years ago: BP chief executive Tony Hayward told a congressional hearing he was “deeply sorry” for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, but infuriated lawmakers as he disclaimed knowledge of any of the myriad problems leading up to the disaster. Israel agreed to ease its three-year-old land blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. The Los Angeles Lakers rallied in Game 7 of the NBA finals, defeating the Boston Celtics 83-79 to repeat as champions.

Five years ago: Nine people were shot to death in a historic Africanamerican church in Charleston, South Carolina; suspect Dylann Roof was arrested the following morning. (Roof was convicted of federal hate crimes and sentenced to death; he later pleaded guilty to state murder charges and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.)