Today in history
Today’s Highlight in History
Today is Monday, June 26, the 177th day of 2017. There are 188 days left in the year.
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 (frahnSWAHZ’ DOHR’-lee-ahk), the 25-year-old sister of Catherine Deneuve, was killed in a car crash in Nice (nees).
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 (ROHL’-ing), 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 threeweek 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 (lihl-IHN’-kwihst). In Oklahoma, five-term Rep. John Sullivan fell to a tea party-supported candidate, Jim Bridenstine, who went on to win election to Congress. Twelve-time All-Star Joe Sakic (SAK’-ihk) 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.