Today in history

Today is Saturday, June 24, the 175th day of 2017 and the fifth day of summer.

On this date in the SCV: In 1948, The Signal reported that President Ed Adkins of the Castaic School Board announced the opening of a supervised summer recreation program at Castaic Union School Monday through Friday. Mr. Adkins and other board members stressed the fact that the program was being geared to fill the needs and interests of the entire community, young and old. Featuring the program would be a free community dance every Friday night with square dancing. Other activities available were dramatics, story-telling, arts and crafts and a wide variety of games and sports including ping pong, tennis, volleyball, softball, croquet, horseshoes, badminton, etc. Movies were being scheduled and would be run one night per week. Norman Miller of U.C.L.A. had been selected by the board to direct the summer program.

Today’s Highlights in History:

In 1901, the first major exhibition of

Pablo Picasso’s work opened in Paris. In 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed the Selective Service Act, requiring all men between the ages of 18 and 25 to register for military service. In 1957, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Roth v. United States that the First Amendment does not protect obscenity. In 2011, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill into law that legalized same-sex marriage.

Today’s fact: Pablo Picasso was honored on his 90th birthday with an exhibition at the Louvre in Paris in 1971. It was the first time the Louvre had exhibited the work of a living artist.

Today’s sports: In 1995, the South Africa Springboks defeated the New Zealand All Blacks in the finals of the Rugby World Cup as Nelson Mandela looked on. The event was dramatized in the 2009 film “Invictus.”

Today’s number: 9 – age of British explorer John Ross when he joined the Royal Navy as an apprentice in 1786.

Today’s moon: Last quarter moon

(June 17).