Today in History

Today is Tuesday, June 16, the 168th day of 2020. There are 198 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On June 16, 1996, Russian voters went to the polls in their first independent presidential election; the result was a runoff between President Boris Yeltsin (the eventual winner) and Communist challenger Gennady Zyuganov (geh-NAH’dee zyoo-GAH’-nawf).
On this date:
In 1567, Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle in Scotland. (She escaped almost a year later but ended up imprisoned again.)
In 1858, accepting the Illinois Republican Party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate, Abraham Lincoln said the slavery issue had to be resolved, declaring, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
In 1883, baseball’s first “Ladies’ Day” took place as the New York Gothams offered women free admission to a game against the Cleveland Spiders. (New York won, 5-2.)
In 1903, Ford Motor Co. was incorporated.
In 1911, IBM had its beginnings as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. which was incorporated in New York State.
In 1932, President Herbert Hoover and Vice President Charles Curtis were renominated at the Republican National Convention in Chicago.
In 1933, the National Industrial Recovery Act became law with President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signature. (The Act was later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.) The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was founded as President Roosevelt signed the Banking Act of 1933.
In 1963, the world’s first female space traveler, Valentina Tereshkova (teh-ruhsh-KOH’-vuh), 26, was launched into orbit by the Soviet Union aboard Vostok 6; Tereshkova spent 71 hours in flight, circling the Earth 48 times before returning safely.
On June 16, 1967, the three-day Monterey International Pop Music Festival, a major event of the “Summer of Love,” opened in northern California; among the featured acts were Jefferson Airplane, The Who, the Grateful Dead, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Janis Joplin, Otis Redding and Ravi Shankar.
In 1970, Kenneth A. Gibson of Newark, N.J., became the first black politician elected mayor of a major Northeast city. Chicago Bears running back Brian Piccolo, 26, died at a New York hospital after battling cancer.
In 1978, President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos (toh-REE’-ohs) signed the instruments of ratification for the Panama Canal treaties during a ceremony in Panama City.
In 1987, a jury in New York acquitted Bernhard Goetz (bur-NAHRD’ gehts) of attempted murder in the subway shooting of four youths he said were going to rob him; however, Goetz was convicted of illegal weapons possession. (In 1996, a civil jury ordered Goetz to pay $43 million to one of the persons he had shot.)
Ten years ago: After meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House, BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg announced the oil giant was establishing a $20 billion claim fund and suspending dividends as he insisted, “We care about the small people.” Movie director Ronald Neame (“The Poseidon Adventure”) died in Los Angeles at age 99.
Five years ago: Real estate mogul Donald Trump launched his successful campaign to become president of the United States with a speech at Trump Tower in Manhattan.
One year ago: Gary Woodland captured the U.S. Open golf tournament in Pebble Beach, California, holding off two-time defending champion Brooks Koepka for a three-shot victory. A massive blackout left tens of millions of people without electricity in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay in what Argentina’s president called an “unprecedented” failure in the countries’ power grid; most people had their power back on by evening.
Today’s Birthdays: Actress Eileen Atkins is 86. Actor Bill Cobbs is 86. Author Joyce Carol Oates is 82. Country singer Billy “Crash” Craddock is 82. Songwriter Lamont Dozier is 79. Rhythm and blues singer Eddie Levert is 78. Actress Joan Van Ark is 77. Actor Geoff Pierson is 71. Rhythm and blues singer James Smith (formerly w/The Stylistics) is 70. Boxing Hall of Famer Roberto Duran is 69. Pop singer Gino Vannelli is 68. Actress Laurie Metcalf is 65. Actor Arnold Vosloo is 58. Actor Danny Burstein is 56. Model-actress Jenny Shimizu is 53. Actor James Patrick Stuart is 52. Rapper MC Ren is 51. Actor Clifton Collins Jr. is 50. Golfer Phil Mickelson is 50. Actor John Cho is 48. Actor Eddie Cibrian is 47. Actor Fred Koehler is 45. Actress China (chee-nah) Shavers is 43. Actor Daniel Bruhl is 42. Bluegrass musician Caleb Smith (Balsam Range) is 42. Actress Sibel Kekilli is 40. Actress Missy Peregrym (PEH’-rih-grihm) is 38. Actress Olivia Hack is 37. Singer Diana DeGarmo (TV: “American Idol”) is 33. Pop-rock musician Ian Keaggy (Hot Chelle (SHEL) Rae) is 33. Actress Ali Stoker is 33. Tennis player Bianca Andreescu is 20.
Thought for Today: “Our memories are card indexes consulted and then returned in disorder by authorities whom we do not control.” — Cyril Connolly, British critic (1903-1974).
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