Today in History

Today is Sunday, June 12, the 164th day of 2016. There are 202 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On June 12, 1776, Virginia's colonial legislature adopted a Declaration of Rights.

On this date:

In 1920, the Republican national convention, meeting in Chicago, nominated Warren G. Harding for president on the tenth ballot; Calvin Coolidge was nominated for vice president.

In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge was nominated for a term of office in his own right at the Republican national convention in Cleveland. (Coolidge had become president in 1923 upon the sudden death of Warren G. Harding.)

In 1939, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum was dedicated in Cooperstown, New York.

In 1942, Anne Frank, a German-born Jewish girl living in Amsterdam, received a diary for her 13th birthday, less than a month before she and her family went into hiding from the Nazis.

In 1956, the Flag of the United States Army was officially adopted under an executive order signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

In 1963, civil rights leader Medgar Evers, 37, was shot and killed outside his home in Jackson, Mississippi. (In 1994, Byron De La Beckwith was convicted of murdering Evers and sentenced to life in prison; he died in 2001.)

In 1965, the British government announced that The Beatles would each be made an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace later in the year.

In 1967, the Supreme Court, in Loving v. Virginia, struck down state laws prohibiting interracial marriages.

In 1975, an Indian court found Prime Minister Indira Gandhi guilty of electoral corruption and barred her from holding office for six years; Gandhi rejected calls for her to resign.

In 1987, President Ronald Reagan, during a visit to the divided German city of Berlin, publicly challenged Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev to "tear down this wall."

In 1991, Russians went to the polls to elect Boris N. Yeltsin president of their republic.

In 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were slashed to death outside her Los Angeles home. (O.J. Simpson was later acquitted of the killings in a criminal trial, but was eventually held liable in a civil action.) Boeing's new 777 jetliner went on its first test flight.

Ten years ago: Al-Qaida in Iraq named a successor to slain leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, who was killed in a U.S.-Iraqi air strike in April 2010. FBI statistics showed violent crime across the U.S. had surged in 2005 by the largest margin in 15 years. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger broke his jaw and nose in a motorcycle crash. Composer Gyorgy Ligeti died in Vienna, Austria, at age 83.

Five years ago: The Dallas Mavericks won their first NBA title by winning Game 6 of the finals against the Miami Heat, 105-95. "The Book of Mormon" took home nine Tony Awards, including the prize for best musical; "War Horse" won five Tonys, including the best play award.

One year ago: Joyce Mitchell, a worker at the maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, was arrested on charges of helping two convicted killers escape; Mitchell later pleaded guilty to promoting prison contraband and was sentenced to 2-1/3 to seven years in prison. Monica Lewis, 93, an actress, singer and voice of the Chiquita Banana cartoon character, died in Woodland Hills, California. Actor-comedian Rick Ducommun, 62, died in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Today's Birthdays: Banker/philanthropist David Rockefeller is 101. Former President George H.W. Bush is 92. Singer Vic Damone is 88. Songwriter Richard M. Sherman is 88. Actor-singer Jim Nabors is 86. Jazz musician Chick Corea is 75. Sportscaster Marv Albert is 75. Singer Roy Harper is 75. Pop singer Len Barry is 74. Actor Roger Aaron Brown is 67. Rock singer-musician John Wetton (Asia, King Crimson) is 67. Rock musician Bun E. Carlos (Cheap Trick) is 65. Country singer-musician Junior Brown is 64. Singer-songwriter Rocky Burnette is 63. Actor Timothy Busfield is 59. Singer Meredith Brooks is 58. Actress Jenilee Harrison is 58. Rock musician John Linnell (They Might Be Giants) is 57. Rapper Grandmaster Dee (Whodini) is 54. Actor Paul Schulze is 54. Actor Eamonn Walker is 54. Actress Paula Marshall is 52. Actress Frances O'Connor is 49. Actor Rick Hoffman is 46. Actor Mel Rodriguez is 43. Actor Jason Mewes is 42. Actor Michael Muhney is 41. Blues musician Kenny Wayne Shepherd is 39. Actor Wil Horneff is 37. Singer Robyn is 37. Actor Dave Franco is 31. Country singer Chris Young is 31. Actor Luke Youngblood is 30. Rap group MC Jay Are is 27. Actor Ryan Malgarini is 24.

Thought for Today: "It is easier to love humanity as a whole than to love one's neighbor." -- Eric Hoffer, American philosopher (1902-1983).