Today In History

Today is Tuesday, June 19, the 170th day of 2018. There are 195 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

› 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.”

ON THIS DATE

› 1775: George Washington was commissioned by the Continental Congress as commander in chief of the Continental Army.

› 1867: The inaugural running of the Belmont Stakes took place; the winner was a filly named Ruthless.

› 1952: The U.S. Army Special Forces, the elite unit of fighters known as the Green Berets, was established at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The celebrity-panel game show “I’ve Got A Secret” debuted on CBS-TV.

› 1964: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was approved by the U.S. Senate, 73-27, after surviving a lengthy filibuster.

› 1978: The comic strip “Garfield,” created by Jim Davis, was first published in 41 newspapers. The Alicia Bridges single “I Love the Nightlife (Disco Round)” was released by Polydor Records.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Pop singer Tommy DeVito (The Four Seasons) is 90. Actress Gena Rowlands is 88. Hall of Fame race car driver Shirley Muldowney is 78. Singer Spanky McFarlane (Spanky and Our Gang) is 76. Author Sir Salman Rushdie is 71. Actress Phylicia Rashad is 70. Rock singer Ann Wilson (Heart) is 68. Country singer Doug Stone is 62. Singer Mark DeBarge is

59. Singer-dancer-choreographer Paula Abdul is

56. Actor Andy Lauer is

55. Rock singer-musician Brian Vander Ark (Verve Pipe) is 54. Actor Samuel West is 52. Actress Mia Sara is 51. TV personality Lara Spencer is 49. Rock musician Brian “Head” Welch is 48. Actor Jean Dujardin is 46. Actress Robin Tunney is 46. Actor Bumper Robinson is 44. Actress Poppy Montgomery is 43. Alt-country singer-musician Scott Avett (The Avett Brothers) is

42. Actor Ryan Hurst is

42. Actress Zoe Saldana is 40. Actress Lauren Lee Smith is 38. Rapper Macklemore (Macklemore and Ryan Lewis) is 35. Actor Paul Dano is 34. Actor Giacomo Gianniotti is 29. Actor Chuku Modu (TV: “The Good Doctor”) is

28. Actor Atticus Shaffer is 20.