Today in History

Today is Friday, June 22, the 174th day of 2012. There are 192 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On June 22, 1912, the Republican National Convention in Chicago nominated President William Howard Taft and Vice President James Sherman for second terms of office (however, Sherman died just days before the election, which Taft lost to Woodrow Wilson).

On this date:

In 1611, English explorer Henry Hudson, his son and several other people were set adrift in present-day Hudson Bay by mutineers aboard the Discovery; their fate remains unknown.

In 1870, the United States Department of Justice was created.

In 1911, Britain's King George V was crowned at Westminster Abbey.

In 1937, Joe Louis began his reign as world heavyweight boxing champion by knocking out Jim Braddock in the eighth round of their fight in Chicago.

In 1938, Joe Louis knocked out Max Schmeling in the first round of their rematch at Yankee Stadium.

In 1940, during World War II, Adolf Hitler gained a stunning victory as France was forced to sign an armistice eight days after German forces overran Paris.

In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, more popularly known as the "GI Bill of Rights."

In 1962, Air France Flight 117, a Boeing 707, crashed while on approach to Guadeloupe, killing all 113 people on board.

In 1969, singer-actress Judy Garland died in London at age 47.

In 1977, John N. Mitchell became the first former U.S. attorney general to go to prison as he began serving a sentence for his role in the Watergate cover-up. (He was released 19 months later.)

In 1987, actor-dancer Fred Astaire died in Los Angeles at age 88.

In 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court, in R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul, unanimously ruled that "hate crime" laws that ban cross burning and similar expressions of racial bias violated free-speech rights.

Ten years ago: An earthquake in northwestern Iran killed roughly 250 people. St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile was found dead in the team's Chicago hotel; he was 33. Syndicated advice columnist Eppie Lederer, better known as "Ann Landers," died in Chicago at age 83.

Five years ago: Atlantis and its seven astronauts returned to Earth safely, ending a two-week mission to deliver an addition to the international space station and bringing home crew member Sunita "Suni" Williams, who'd set an endurance record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman at 195 days. Guy Vander Jagt, a 13-term Republican congressman from Michigan, died in Washington at age 75.

One year ago: President Barack Obama announced he would pull home 33,000 troops from Afghanistan by the following summer. James "Whitey" Bulger, the longtime fugitive Boston crime boss and fixture on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list, was arrested in Santa Monica, Calif.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Ralph Waite is 84. Singer-actor Kris Kristofferson is 76. Movie director John Korty is 76. Actor Michael Lerner is 71. Broadcast journalist Brit Hume is 69. Singer Peter Asher (Peter and Gordon) is 68. Actor Andrew Rubin is 66. Actor David L. Lander is 65. Singer Howard "Eddie" Kaylan is 65. Singer-musician Todd Rundgren is 64. Actress Meryl Streep is 63. Actress Lindsay Wagner is 63. Singer Alan Osmond is 63. Actor Murphy Cross is 62. Actor Graham Greene is 60. Pop singer Cyndi Lauper is 59. Actor Chris Lemmon is 58. Rock musician Derek Forbes is 56. Actor Tim Russ is 56. Rock musician Garry Beers (INXS) is 55. Actor-producer-writer Bruce Campbell is 54. Rock musician Alan Anton (Cowboy Junkies) is 53. Actress Tracy Pollan is 52. Environmental activist Erin Brockovich is 52. Rock singer-musician Jimmy Somerville is 51. Author Dan Brown ("The Da Vinci Code") is 48. Rock singer-musician Mike Edwards (Jesus Jones) is 48. Rock singer Steven Page is 42. Actor Michael Trucco is 42. Actress Mary Lynn Rajskub is 41. TV personality Carson Daly is 39. Rock musician Chris Traynor is 39. Country musician Jimmy Wallace is 39. Actor Donald Faison is 38. Actress Alicia Goranson is 38. TV personality/actor Jai Rodriguez is 33. Actress Lindsay Ridgeway is 27.

Thought for Today: "There is only one reason for an individual to side-step to the useless side: the fear of a defeat on the useful side." -- Alfred Adler, Austraian psychotherapist (1870-1937).

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.