Today in History Today is Wednesday, June 15, the 166th day of 2022. There are 199 days left in the…
Today in History
Today is Wednesday, June 15, the 166th day of 2022. There are 199 days left in the year.
Today’s highlight in the story:
On June 15, 1775, the Second Continental Congress voted unanimously to appoint George Washington to command the Continental Army.
To this date :
In 1215, King John of England affixed his seal to the Magna Carta (“the Magna Carta”) at Runnymede.
In 1864, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton signed an order establishing a military cemetery that became Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
In 1904, more than 1,000 people died when a fire broke out aboard the steamer General Slocum in New York’s East River.
In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed legislation making the National Guard part of the United States Army in times of war or national emergency.
In 1938, Johnny Vander Meer threw his second straight no-hitter, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-0 win over the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 1 of the night at Ebbets Field, four days after leaving the Boston Bees without a hit. by a score of 3-0.
In 1944, American forces began their successful invasion of Saipan (sy-PAN’) during World War II. B-29 Superfortresses make their first raids on Japan.
In 1960, Billy Wilder’s film “The Apartment”, starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, premiered in New York.
In 1985, Shia Muslim hijackers in a TWA Boeing 727 beat and shot dead one of their hostages, 23-year-old US Navy diver Robert Stethem (STEE’-them), throwing him off the plane to die on the tarmac at Beirut airport.
In 1991, Mount Pinatubo in the northern Philippines erupted in one of the largest volcanic eruptions of the 20th century, killing around 800 people.
In 1996, Ella Fitzgerald, the “first lady of song,” died in Beverly Hills, California at the age of 79.
In 2002, an asteroid between 50 and 120 meters in diameter narrowly missed Earth by 75,000 miles, less than a third of the distance to the Moon.
In 2020, the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, ruled that a landmark civil rights law protects gay, lesbian, and transgender people from discrimination in employment. U.S. regulators have revoked emergency authorization for antimalarial drugs promoted by President Donald Trump for the treatment of COVID-19 in light of evidence they don’t work and can cause serious side effects. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said death rates for chronically ill coronavirus patients were 12 times higher than for other infected people.
Ten years ago: President Barack Obama eased enforcement of immigration laws by announcing a new policy, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. An armored car heist at the University of Alberta in Canada left three armed guards dead; fellow guard Travis Baumgartner later pleaded guilty to murder charges and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 40 years.
Five years ago: Two escaped inmates wanted in the murder of two guards on a Georgia prison bus were captured after being held at gunpoint by a rural Tennessee landlord whose property they were trying to steal vehicle.
A year ago: Fresh from a trio of European summits, President Joe Biden arrived in Geneva for a much-anticipated face-to-face with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. California, which had been the first state in the country to order a coronavirus lockdown in March 2020, has become one of the last to fully reopen; the state has lifted most of its pandemic restrictions. A New York judge has approved the extradition of former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein to California, where Weinstein – already serving a 23-year sentence for a rape conviction – faced additional sexual assault charges . Major League Baseball said pitchers would be ejected and suspended for 10 games for using illegal foreign substances to cure baseballs; umpires would begin regular checks of all pitchers.
Today’s birthday: R&B singer Ruby Nash Garnett (Ruby and the Romantics) turns 88. Funk musician Leo Nocentelli (The Meters) is 76 years old. Actor Simon Callow is 73 years old. Singer Russell Hitchcock (Air Supply) is 73. Rock singer Steve Walsh is 71 years old. Chinese President Xi Jinping (shee jihn-peeng) is 69 years old. Actor-comedian Jim Belushi is 68 years old. Country singer Terri Gibbs is 68 years old. Actress Julie Hagerty is 67 years old. Actress Polly Draper is 67. 65. Baseball Hall of Famer Wade Boggs is 64 years old. Actress Eileen Davidson is 63 years old. Actress Helen Hunt is 59 years old. Rock musician Scott Rockenfield (Queensryche) is 59 years old. Actor Courteney Cox is 58 years old. Country musician Tony Ardoin is 58 years old. Country musician Michael Britt (Lonestar) is 56. Actor-rapper Ice Cube is 53 years old. Actor Leah Remini is 52 years old. Actor Jake Busey is 51 years old. Actor Neil Patrick Harris is 49 years old. Actor Greg Vaughan is 49 years old. Actor Elizabeth Reaser is 47 years old. Rock singer Dryden Mitchell (Alien Ant Farm) is 46 years old. Former child actor Christopher Castile is 42. Rock musician Billy Ma rtin (Good Charlotte) is 41 years old. Actor Jordi Vilasuso is 41 years old. Rock musician Wayne Sermon (Imagine Dragons) is 38 years old. Actor Denzel Whitaker is 32 years old. Olympic gold medalist gymnast Madison Kocian is 25 years old. Actor Sterling Jerins is 18 years old.
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