TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS FRIDAY, JUNE 21, the 172nd day of 2019. There are 193 days left in the year. Summer begins at 11:54 a.m. Eastern time. TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY:
On this date in 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. (Fortyone years later on this date in 2005, Edgar Ray Killen was found guilty of manslaughter; he was sentenced to 60 years in prison, where he died in January 2018.)
In 1788, the United States Constitution went into effect as New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it.
In 1834, Cyrus Hall McCormick received a patent for his reaping machine.
In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Miller v. California, ruled that states may ban materials found to be obscene according to local standards.
In 1977, Menachem Begin of the Likud bloc became Israel’s sixth prime minister.
In 1982, a jury found John Hinckley Jr. not guilty by reason of insanity in the shootings of President Ronald Reagan and three other men.
In 1988, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” a comedy fantasy starring Bob Hoskins that combined live action and legendary animated cartoon characters, premiered in New York.
In 1989, a sharply divided Supreme Court ruled that burning the American flag as a form of political protest was protected by the First Amendment.
In 2002, one of the worst wildfires in Arizona history grew to 128,000 acres.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Composer Lalo Schifrin is 87. Actor Bernie Kopell is 86. Actor Monte Markham is 84. Songwriter Don Black is 81. Actress Mariette Hartley is 79. Comedian Joe Flaherty is 78. Rock singer-musician Ray Davies (The Kinks) is 75. Rock musician Joey Kramer (Aerosmith) is 69. Rock musician Nils Lofgren is 68. Cartoonist Berke Breathed is 62. Actor Josh Pais is 61. Country singer Kathy Mattea is 60. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown is 59. Actress Carrie Preston is 52. Country singer Allison Moorer is 47. Actress Juliette Lewis is 46. Actress Maggie Siff is 45. Musician Justin Cary is 44. Actor Chris Pratt is 40. Rock singer Brandon Flowers is 38. Actor Michael Malarkey is 36. Actor Jascha Washington is 30. Country musician Chandler Baldwin (LANCO) is 27.