TODAY IN HISTORY

FROM THE PAGES OF THE ONEIDA DISPATCH

June 19, 1881: Rev. M. S. Wells of Canastota preached at the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Oneida.

June 19, 1912: Fire destroyed the Five Corners Hotel at Lenox Avenue and the Seneca Turnpike, causing a loss of $ 4,000.

June 19, 1952: The new playground at Wampsville officially opened with a softball game.

Today is Tuesday, June 19, the 171st day of 2012. There are 195 days left in the year. Today in History: On June 19, 1862, Congress passed, and President Abraham Lincoln signed, a measure abolishing slavery in U. S. territories. On this date: In 1865, Union troops commanded by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War was over, and that all remaining slaves in Texas were free.

In 1910, the first- ever Father’s Day was celebrated in Spokane, Wash.

In 1934, the Federal Communications Commission was created.

In 1961, the Supreme Court ruled that illegally obtained evidence was inadmissible in court and struck down a provision in Maryland’s constitution requiring state officeholders to profess a belief in God.

In 1987, the U. S. Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law requiring any public school teaching the theory of evolution to teach creation science as well.

Ten years ago: A suicide bomber killed seven Israelis at a Jerusalem bus stop in the second deadly attack in the city in two days.

Five years ago: A truck bomb struck a Shiite mosque in central Baghdad, killing at least 87 people.

One year ago: Libya’s government said NATO warplanes had struck a residential neighborhood in the capital and killed nine civilians, including two children.

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Gena Rowlands is 82. Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is 67. Actress Kathleen Turner is 58. Country singer Doug Stone is 56. Singer- dancer Paula Abdul is 50. Actor Andy Lauer is 49. Actor Jean Dujardin is 40. Actor Ryan Hurst is 36. Actress Zoe Saldana is 34.

Thought for Today: “One has two duties — to be worried and not to be worried.” — E. M. Forster, British author ( 1879- 1970).