Today in History

Today is Monday, June 23, the 174th day of 2014. There are 191 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On June 23, 1314, during the First War of Scottish Independence, the two-day Battle of Bannockburn, resulting in victory for the forces of Robert the Bruce over the army of King Edward II, began near Stirling.

On this date:

In 1757, forces of the East India Company led by Robert Clive won the Battle of Plassey, which effectively marked the beginning of British colonial rule in India.

In 1812, Britain, unaware that America had declared war against it five days earlier, rescinded its policy on neutral shipping, a major issue of contention between the two countries.

In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt was nominated for a second term of office at the Republican national convention in Chicago.

In 1931, aviators Wiley Post and Harold Gatty took off from New York on a round-the-world flight that lasted eight days and 15 hours.

In 1938, the Civil Aeronautics Authority was established.

In 1947, the Senate joined the House in overriding President Harry S. Truman's veto of the Taft-Hartley Act, designed to limit the power of organized labor.

In 1956, Gamal Abdel Nasser was elected president of Egypt.

In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin held the first of two meetings at Glassboro State College in New Jersey.

In 1969, Warren E. Burger was sworn in as chief justice of the United States by the man he was succeeding, Earl Warren.

In 1972, President Richard Nixon and White House chief of staff H.R. Haldeman discussed a plan to use the CIA to obstruct the FBI's Watergate investigation. (Revelation of the tape recording of this conversation sparked Nixon's resignation.) President Nixon signed Title IX, which barred discrimination on the basis of sex for "any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."

In 1989, the Supreme Court refused to shut down the "dial-a-porn" industry, ruling Congress had gone too far in passing a law banning all sexually oriented phone message services.

In 1994, the movie "Forrest Gump," starring Tom Hanks as a simple yet kindhearted soul and his serendipitous brushes with greatness, was released by Paramount Pictures.

Ten years ago: In a major retreat, the United States abandoned an attempt to win a new exemption for American troops from international prosecution for war crimes -- an effort that had faced strong opposition because of the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal.

Five years ago: Hardening the U.S. reaction to Iran's disputed elections and bloody aftermath, President Barack Obama condemned the violence against protesters and lent his strongest support yet to their accusations the hardline victory was a fraud. "Tonight Show" sidekick Ed McMahon died in Los Angeles at 86. Dr. Jerri Nielsen FitzGerald, who'd diagnosed and treated her own breast cancer before a dramatic rescue from a South Pole station, died in Southwick, Massachusetts, at 57. Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille and Brian Leetch were elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

One year ago: Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency contractor behind the disclosures of the U.S. government's sweeping surveillance programs, left Hong Kong for Moscow with the stated intention of seeking asylum in Ecuador; however, Snowden ended up remaining in Moscow. Aerialist Nik Wallenda completed a tightrope walk that took him a quarter mile over the Little Colorado River Gorge in northeastern Arizona. Sci-fi and fantasy writer Richard Matheson, 87, died in Los Angeles.

Today's Birthdays: Singer Diana Trask is 74. Musical conductor James Levine is 71. Rhythm-and-blues singer Rosetta Hightower (The Orlons) is 70. Actor Ted Shackelford is 68. Actor Bryan Brown is 67. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is 66. Actor Jim Metzler is 63. "American Idol" ex-judge Randy Jackson is 58. Actress Frances McDormand is 57. Rock musician Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth) is 52. Actor Paul La Greca is 52. Writer-director Joss Whedon is 50. Rhythm-and-blues singer Chico DeBarge is 44. Actress Selma Blair is 42. Rock singer KT Tunstall is 39. Rhythm-and-blues singer Virgo Williams (Ghostowns DJs) is 39. Singer-songwriter Jason Mraz is 37. Actress Melissa Rauch is 34. Rock singer Duffy is 30. Country singer Katie Armiger is 23.

Thought for Today: "To have felt too much is to end in feeling nothing." -- Dorothy Thompson, American journalist (1894-1961).

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