TODAY IN HISTORY

On June 15, 1215, England’s King John put his seal to Magna Carta (”the Great Charter”) at Runnymede.

In 1520, Pope Leo X issued a papal bull in which he threatened to excommunicate Martin Luther if he did not recant his religious beliefs, a threat that was carried out the following January.

In 1775, the Second Continental Congress voted unanimously to appoint George Washington head of the Continental Army. In 1836, Arkansas became the 25th state.

In 1864, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton signed an order establishing a military burial ground which became Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

In 1904, more than 1,000 people died when fire erupted aboard the steamboat General Slocum in New York’s East River.

In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an act making the National Guard part of the U.S. Army in the event of war or national emergency.

In 1938, Johnny Vander Meer pitched his second consecutive no-hitter, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-0 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers in the first night game at Ebbets Field, four days after leaving the Boston Bees hitless by a score of 3-0.]

In 1955, the United States and Britain signed a cooperation agreement concerning atomic information for “mutual defence purposes.”

In 1969, the variety show “Hee Haw,” a fast-paced mixture of country music and comedy skits, debuted on CBS-TV.

In 1992, Vice President Dan Quayle, relying on a faulty flash card, erroneously instructed Trenton, N.J., sixth-grade student William Figueroa to spell “potato” as “potatoe” during a spelling bee.

In 1993, former Texas Gov. John Connally, who was wounded in the gunfire that killed President John F. Kennedy, died in Houston at age 76.

In 2009, President Barack Obama, pushing health care reform before the annual meeting of the American Medical Association in Chicago, bluntly told the doctors he was against their highest legislative priority — limiting malpractice awards.