Today in History

Today is Saturday, June 30, the 182nd day of 2012. There are 184 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On June 30, 1912, Canada's deadliest tornado on record occurred as a late-afternoon cyclone struck Regina, the provincial capital of Saskatchewan, killing 28 people and destroying or damaging 500 buildings.

On this date:

In 1859, French acrobat Charles Blondin walked back and forth on a tightrope above the gorge of Niagara Falls as thousands of spectators watched.

In 1860, the famous Oxford University Museum debate on Darwin's theory of evolution took place as Anglican Bishop Samuel Wilberforce led his side in denouncing the concept, while biologist T.H. Huxley defended it.

In 1908, the Tunguska Event took place in Russia as an asteroid exploded above Siberia, leaving 800 square miles of scorched or blown-down trees.

In 1921, President Warren G. Harding nominated former President William Howard Taft to be chief justice of the United States, succeeding the late Edward Douglass White.

In 1934, Adolf Hitler carried out his "blood purge" of political and military rivals in Germany in what came to be known as "The Night of the Long Knives."

In 1936, the epic Civil War novel "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell was first published by The Macmillan Co. in New York.

In 1952, "The Guiding Light," a popular radio program, began a 57-year television run on CBS.

In 1958, the U.S. Senate passed the Alaska statehood bill by a vote of 64-20.

In 1963, Pope Paul VI was crowned the 262nd head of the Roman Catholic Church.

In 1972, for the first time, a leap-second was added to Coordinated Universal Time to account for the slowing rotation of the Earth.

In 1982, the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution expired, having failed to receive the required number of ratifications for its adoption, despite having its seven-year deadline extended by three years.

In 1985, 39 American hostages from a hijacked TWA jetliner were freed in Beirut after being held 17 days.

Ten years ago: Leonard Gregg, a part-time firefighter, was charged with starting one of the two wildfires that merged into a monstrous blaze in eastern Arizona. (Gregg later pleaded guilty and was sentenced in 2004 to 10 years in federal prison; he was released in June 2011.) Brazil defeated Germany, 2-0, for the team's record fifth World Cup title.

Five years ago: Two men rammed a jeep loaded with gasoline canisters into the main terminal at Glasgow Airport in Scotland, failing to set off an explosion, but seriously burning one of the suspects; the attack came a day after two cars rigged as bombs were found in London.

One year ago: The U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon issued an indictment naming four suspects in the assassination of Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, including a high-ranking Hezbollah militant linked to the 1983 truck bombings at the U.S. and French embassies in Kuwait. (Hezbollah is refusing to extradite the suspects.) Conservative TV commentator Glenn Beck said goodbye to Fox News Channel, airing his final show before going into business for himself.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Tony Musante is 76. Actress Nancy Dussault is 76. Singer Glenn Shorrock is 68. Jazz musician Stanley Clarke is 61. Actor David Garrison is 60. Rock musician Hal Lindes (Dire Straits) is 59. Actor-comedian David Alan Grier is 56. Actor Vincent D'Onofrio is 53. Actress Deirdre Lovejoy is 50. Actor Rupert Graves is 49. Boxer Mike Tyson is 46. Rock musician Tom Drummond (Better Than Ezra) is 43. Actor Brian Bloom is 42. Actor Brian Vincent is 42. Actress Monica Potter is 41. Actor Rick Gonzalez is 33. Actress Lizzy Caplan is 30. Rhythm-and-blues singer Fantasia ("American Idol") is 28. Olympic gold medal swimmer Michael Phelps is 27.

Thought for Today: "The man who has done his level best is a success, even though the world may write him down a failure." -- B.C. Forbes, Scottish journalist (1880-1954).

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.