Today in History

Today in History

Today is Saturday, June 25, the 177th day of 2016. There are 189 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On June 25, 1906, architect Stanford White was shot to death atop New York's (second) Madison Square Garden, which he had designed, by millionaire Harry K. Thaw, who was apparently enraged over what he viewed as White's defilement of his wife, Evelyn Nesbit, when Nesbit was a teenager. (Thaw was acquitted of murder by reason of insanity.)

On this date:

In 1788, Virginia ratified the U.S. Constitution.

In 1876, Lt. Col. Colonel George A. Custer and his 7th Cavalry were wiped out by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana.

In 1910, President William Howard Taft signed the White-Slave Traffic Act, more popularly known as the Mann Act, which made it illegal to transport women across state lines for "immoral" purposes.

In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was enacted.

In 1950, war broke out in Korea as forces from the communist North invaded the South.

In 1959, spree killer Charles Starkweather, 20, was put to death in Nebraska's electric chair. Eamon de Valera was inaugurated as president of Ireland.

In 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that recitation of a state-sponsored prayer in New York State public schools was unconstitutional.

In 1975, the government of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency aimed at cracking down on political opponents. (The state of emergency was lifted in March 1977.)

In 1981, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that male-only draft registration was constitutional.

In 1995, Warren Burger, the 15th chief justice of the United States, died in Washington at age 87.

In 1996, a truck bomb killed 19 Americans and injured hundreds at a U.S. military housing complex in Saudi Arabia. The science-fiction thriller "Independence Day," about an alien attack on Earth, had its world premiere in Los Angeles.

In 2009, death claimed Michael Jackson, the "King of Pop," in Los Angeles at age 50 and actress Farrah Fawcett in Santa Monica, California, at age 62.

Ten years ago: Palestinian militants kidnapped an Israeli soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, after tunneling under the border and attacking a military post, killing two other soldiers. (Shalit was eventually freed in a prisoner exchange.) An al-Qaida-linked group posted a Web video showing the killings of three Russian Embassy workers who'd been abducted in Iraq; a statement from the group said a fourth worker had also been slain. Actress Nicole Kidman married country singer Keith Urban in Sydney, Australia.

Five years ago: A suicide car bomber blasted a small clinic in eastern Afghanistan, causing the building to collapse and killing some three dozen people. What's believed to be the only surviving authenticated portrait of Billy the Kid sold at auction in Denver for $2.3 million.

One year ago: The U.S. Supreme Court upheld nationwide tax subsidies under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul in a 6-3 ruling that preserved health insurance for millions of Americans. Univision's UniMas network announced it was dropping its Spanish-language coverage of the Miss USA pageant in a spiraling controversy over comments made by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, a part owner of the Miss Universe pageant, about Mexican immigrants. Actor Patrick Macnee, 93, died in Rancho Mirage, California.

Today's Birthdays: Actress June Lockhart is 91. Civil rights activist James Meredith is 83. Rhythm-and-blues singer Eddie Floyd is 79. Actress Barbara Montgomery is 77. Actress Mary Beth Peil (peel) is 76. Basketball Hall-of-Famer Willis Reed is 74. Singer Carly Simon is 71. Rock musician Ian McDonald (Foreigner; King Crimson) is 70. Actor-comedian Jimmie Walker is 69. Actor-director Michael Lembeck is 68. TV personality Phyllis George is 67. Rock singer Tim Finn is 64. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is 62. Rock musician David Paich (Toto) is 62. Actor Michael Sabatino is 61. Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain is 60. Actor-writer-director Ricky Gervais is 55. Actor John Benjamin Hickey is 53. Rock singer George Michael is 53. Actress Erica Gimpel is 52. Retired NBA All-Star Dikembe Mutombo is 50. Rapper-producer Richie Rich is 49. Rapper Candyman is 48. Contemporary Christian musician Sean Kelly (Sixpence None the Richer) is 45. Actress Angela Kinsey is 45. Rock musician Mike Kroeger (Nickelback) is 44. Rock musician Mario Calire is 42. Actress Linda Cardellini is 41. Actress Busy Philipps is 37.

Thought for Today: "Jealousy is the grave of affection." -- Mary Baker Eddy, American religious leader (1821-1910).