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Today in History

SATURDAY

June 20 is the 172nd day of 2020. There are 194 days left in the year. Summer begins at 5:44 p.m., Eastern time.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On June 20, 1837, Queen Victoria acceded to the British throne following the death of her uncle, King William IV.

On this date:

In 1782, Congress approved the Great Seal of the United States, featuring the emblem of the bald eagle.

In 1893, a jury in New Bedford, Mass., found Lizzie Borden not guilty of the ax murders of her father and stepmother.

In 1921, U.S. Rep. Alice Mary Robertson, R-Okla., became the first woman to preside over a session of the House of Representatives.

In 1943, race-related rioting erupted in Detroit; federal troops were sent in two days later to quell the violence that resulted in more than 30 deaths.

In 1967, boxer Muhammad Ali was convicted in Houston of violating Selective Service laws by refusing to be drafted and was sentenced to five years in prison. (Ali’s conviction ultimately was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court).

In 1972, three days after the arrest of the Watergate burglars, President Richard Nixon met at the White House with his chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman; the secretly made tape recording of this meeting ended up with the notorious 18¢-minute gap.

In 1974, the film noir “Chinatown,” starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway, was released by Paramount Pictures.

In 1979, ABC News correspondent Bill Stewart was shot to death in Managua, Nicaragua, by a member of President Anastasio Somoza’s national guard.

In 1990, South African black nationalist Nelson Mandela and his wife, Winnie, arrived in New York City for a ticker-tape parade in their honor as they began an eight-city U.S. tour.

In 1994, O.J. Simpson pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles to the killings of his ex-wife, Nicole, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. Former airman Dean Allen Mellberg went on a shooting rampage at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane, Wash., killing four people and wounding 22 others before being killed by a military police sharpshooter.

In 2001, Houston resident Andrea Yates drowned her five children in the family bathtub, then called police. (Yates was later convicted of murder, but had her conviction overturned; she was acquitted by reason of insanity in a retrial.)

In 2014, the Obama administration granted an array of new benefits to same-sex couples, including those living in states where gay marriage was against the law; the new measures ranged from Social Security and veterans benefits to work leave for caring for sick spouses.

Ten years ago: Juan Manuel Santos, a former defense minister from a political powerful clan who oversaw a major weakening of leftist rebels, won Colombia’s presidency. Edith Shain, who claimed to be the nurse smooched by a sailor in Times Square in a famous Life magazine photograph marking the end of World War II, died in Los Angeles at 91. Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland won the U.S. Open.

Five years ago: Max Scherzer pitched a no-hitter, losing his perfect game with two outs in the ninth inning when he hit a batter in the Washington Nationals’ 6-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. More than 60 pizza-makers working for 18 hours completed a pie that was 1.59545 kilometers, or nearly a mile long, for Milan’s world fair, Expo 2015; a Guinness World Records judge proclaimed it the world’s longest pizza, topping a 1.1415-kilometer-long pie made in Spain.

One year ago: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard shot down a U.S. surveillance drone in the Strait of Hormuz; it was the first time the Islamic Republic had directly attacked the U.S. military amid tensions over the unraveling nuclear deal. A U.S. official said preparations had been made for a military strike against Iran in retaliation for the downing of the drone, but that the operation was called off with just hours to go. To the surprise of no one, the New Orleans Pelicans made Zion Williamson the top pick in the NBA draft; the Duke star was considered one of the most exciting prospects in years. The Supreme Court ruled that a 40-foot-tall, World War I memorial cross could continue to stand on public land in Maryland.

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Bonnie Bartlett is 91. Actress Olympia Dukakis is 89. Actor James Tolkan is 89. Movie director Stephen Frears is 79. Singer-songwriter Brian Wilson is 78. Actor John McCook is 76. Singer Anne Murray is 75. TV personality Bob Vila is 74. Musician Andre Watts is 74. Actress Candy Clark is 73. Producer Tina Sinatra is 72. Rhythm and blues singer Lionel Richie is 71. Actor John Goodman is 68. Rock musician Michael Anthony is 66. Pop musician John Taylor is 60. Rock musician Mark degli Antoni is 58. Christian rock musician Jerome Fontamillas (Switchfoot) is 53. Rock musician Murphy Karges (Sugar Ray) is 53. Actress Nicole Kidman is 53. Country/bluegrass singer-musician Dan Tyminski is 53. Movie director Robert Rodriguez is 52. Actor Peter Paige is 51. Actor Josh Lucas is 49. Rock musician Jeordie White (AKA Twiggy Ramirez) is 49. Rock singer Chino Moreno (Deftones) is 47. Country-folk singer-songwriter Amos Lee is 43. Country singer Chuck Wicks is 41. Actress Tika Sumpter is 40. Country musician Chris Thompson (The Eli Young Band) is 40. Actress-singer Alisan Porter is 39. Christian rock musician Chris Dudley (Underoath) is 37. Rock singer Grace Potter (Grace Potter & the Nocturnals) is 37. Actor Mark Saul is 35. Actress Dreama Walker is 34. Actor Chris Mintz-Plasse is 31. Actress Maria Lark is 23.

Thought for Today: “Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.” — Franz Kafka, Austrian author and poet (1883-1924).

SUNDAY

June 21 is the 173rd day of 2020. There are 193 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On June 21, 1989, a sharply divided Supreme Court ruled that burning the American flag as a form of political protest was protected by the First Amendment.

On this date:

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 1913, Georgia “Tiny” Broadwick became the first woman to parachute from an airplane as she jumped over Los Angeles.

In 1942, an Imperial Japanese submarine fired shells at Fort Stevens on the Oregon coast, causing little damage.

In 1954, the American Cancer Society presented a study to the American Medical Association meeting in San Francisco which found that men who regularly smoked cigarettes died at a considerably higher rate than non-smokers.

In 1964, civil rights workers Michael H. Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James E. Chaney were slain in Philadelphia, Miss.,; their bodies were found buried in an earthen dam six weeks later. (Forty-one years later on this date in 2005, Edgar Ray Killen, an 80-year-old former Ku Klux Klansman, was found guilty of manslaughter; he was sentenced to 60 years in prison, where he died in January 2018.)

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 1982, a jury in Washington, D.C., found John Hinckley Jr. not guilty by reason of insanity in the shootings of President Ronald Reagan and three other men.

In 1997, the WNBA made its debut as the New York Liberty defeated the host Los Angeles Sparks 67-57.

In 2001, a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., indicted 13 Saudis and a Lebanese in absentia for the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 American servicemen. Death claimed actor Carroll O’Connor at age 76 and blues musician John Lee Hooker at age 80.

In 2002, one of the worst wildfires in Arizona history grew to 128,000 acres, forcing thousands of homeowners near the community of Show Low to flee.

In 2013, President Barack Obama nominated James Comey, a Bush-era Justice official, to head the FBI, succeeding Robert Mueller. The Food Network said it was dropping Paula Deen, barely an hour after the celebrity cook posted the first of two videotaped apologies begging forgiveness from fans and critics troubled by her admission to having used racial slurs in the past.

Ten years ago: Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistan-born U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty to charges of plotting a failed car bombing in New York’s Times Square. (Shahzad was later sentenced to life in prison.)

Five years ago: Four days after it welcomed a young stranger (Dylann Roof) who sat for prayer and then opened fire, killing nine people, the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Carolina held its first worship service with themes of love and healing, plus a note of defiance. (Roof is on federal death row, the first person to be ordered executed for a federal hate crime; he received nine life sentences in exchange for a guilty plea in state court.) Jordan Spieth became the sixth player to win the Masters and the U.S. Open after Dustin Johnson three-putted from 12 feet on the final hole at Chambers Bay with a chance to win the championship himself.

One year ago: A skydiving plane became inverted and crashed shortly after takeoff from the Hawaiian island of Oahu, killing all 11 people on board; it was the deadliest civil aviation accident since 2011. Seven motorcyclists were killed when a pickup truck hauling a trailer collided with 10 motorcycles on a rural highway in New Hampshire. (The truck driver, Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, is awaiting trial; he was indicted on 23 charges, including charges that he was under the influence of one or more drugs at the time.) The Rolling Stones launched their delayed North American tour at Chicago’s Soldier Field; 75-year-old Mick Jagger showed no sign of ill health three months after doctors said he needed medical treatment.

Today’s Birthdays: Composer Lalo Schifrin is 88. Actor Bernie Kopell is 87. Actor Monte Markham is 85. Songwriter Don Black is 82. Actress Mariette Hartley is 80. Comedian Joe Flaherty is 79. Rock singer-musician Ray Davies (The Kinks) is 76. Actress Meredith Baxter is 73. Actor Michael Gross is 73. Rock musician Joe Molland (Badfinger) is 73. Rock musician Don Airey (Deep Purple) is 72. Rock musician Joey Kramer (Aerosmith) is 70. Rock musician Nils Lofgren is 69. Actress Robyn Douglass is 68. Actor Leigh McCloskey is 65. Cartoonist Berke Breathed is 63. Actor Josh Pais is 62.Country singer Kathy Mattea is 61. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown is 60. Actor Marc Copage is 58. Actress Sammi Davis is 56. Actor Doug Savant is 56. Country musician Porter Howell is 56. Actor Michael Dolan is 55. Writer-director Lana Wachowski is 55. Actress Carrie Preston is 53. Actress Paula Irvine is 52. Rapper/producer Pete Rock is 50. Country singer Allison Moorer is 48. Actress Juliette Lewis is 47. Actress Maggie Siff is 46. Musician Justin Cary is 45. Rock musician Mike Einziger (Incubus) is 44. Actor Chris Pratt is 41. Rock singer Brandon Flowers is 39. Britain’s Prince William is 38. Actor Jussie Smollett is 38. Actor Benjamin Walker is 38. Actor Michael Malarkey is 37. Pop singer Kris Allen (TV: “American Idol”) is 35. Pop/rock singer Lana Del Rey is 35. Actor Jascha Washington is 31. Country musician Chandler Baldwin (LANCO) is 28. Pop singer Rebecca Black is 23.

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