Today in History

Today in History

Today is Tuesday, June 21, the 173rd day of 2016. There are 193 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On June 21, 1964, civil rights workers Michael H. Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James E. Chaney were slain in Philadelphia, Mississippi; their bodies were found buried in an earthen dam six weeks later. (Forty-one years on this date in 2005, Edgar Ray Killen, an 80-year-old former Ku Klux Klansman, was found guilty of manslaughter; he was sentenced to 60 years in prison.)

On this date:

In 1788, the United States Constitution went into effect as New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it.

In 1834, Cyrus Hall McCormick received a patent for his reaping machine.

In 1913, Georgia "Tiny" Broadwick became the first woman to parachute from an airplane as she jumped over Los Angeles.

In 1932, heavyweight Max Schmeling lost a title fight rematch in New York by decision to Jack Sharkey, prompting Schmeling's manager, Joe Jacobs, to exclaim: "We was robbed!"

In 1942, German forces led by Generaloberst (Colonel General) Erwin Rommel captured the Libyan city of Tobruk during World War II. (Following his victory, Rommel was promoted to Field Marshal; Tobruk was retaken by the Allies in November 1942.)

In 1955, the David Lean movie "Summertime" starring Katharine Hepburn and Rossano Brazzi opened in New York.

In 1963, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini was chosen during a conclave of his fellow cardinals to succeed the late Pope John XXIII; the new pope took the name Paul VI.

In 1966, "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," Mike Nichols' film version of the Edward Albee play starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, had its world premiere in Hollywood.

In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Miller v. California, ruled that states may ban materials found to be obscene according to local standards.

In 1982, a jury in Washington, D.C. found John Hinckley Jr. not guilty by reason of insanity in the shootings of President Ronald Reagan and three other men.

In 1985, scientists announced that skeletal remains exhumed in Brazil were those of Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele.

In 1989, a sharply divided Supreme Court ruled that burning the American flag as a form of political protest was protected by the First Amendment.

Ten years ago: The Marine Corps announced that seven Marines and a sailor had been charged with murder for pulling an unarmed Iraqi civilian from his home and shooting him to death the previous April without provocation. (The group's leader, Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being convicted of unpremeditated murder; five cut deals with prosecutors in which they pleaded guilty to lesser charges.) President George W. Bush, addressing the annual U.S.-European Union summit in Vienna, accused Iran of dragging its feet on a Western incentive package aimed at getting Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment activity.

Five years ago: The Food and Drug Administration announced that cigarette packs in the U.S. would have to carry macabre images that included rotting teeth and gums, diseased lungs and a sewn-up corpse of a smoker as part of a graphic campaign aimed at discouraging Americans from lighting up. Amid street protests, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou survived a confidence vote.

One year ago: Four days after it welcomed a young stranger who sat for prayer and then allegedly opened fire, killing nine people, the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church held its first worship service with themes of love and healing, plus a note of defiance. (Suspect Dylann Roof faces murder charges.) Jordan Spieth became the sixth player to win the Masters and the U.S. Open after Dustin Johnson three-putted from 12 feet on the final hole at Chambers Bay with a chance to win the championship himself.

Today's Birthdays: Composer Lalo Schifrin is 84. Actor Bernie Kopell is 83. Actor Monte Markham is 81. Songwriter Don Black is 78. Actress Mariette Hartley is 76. Comedian Joe Flaherty is 75. Rock singer-musician Ray Davies (The Kinks) is 72. Actress Meredith Baxter is 69. Actor Michael Gross is 69. Rock musician Joe Molland (Badfinger) is 69. Rock musician Don Airey (Deep Purple) is 68. Country singer Leon Everette is 68. Rock musician Joey Kramer (Aerosmith) is 66. Rock musician Nils Lofgren is 65. Actress Robyn Douglass is 63. Actor Leigh McCloskey is 61. Cartoonist Berke Breathed is 59. Country singer Kathy Mattea is 57. Actor Marc Copage is 54. Actress Sammi Davis is 52. Actor Doug Savant is 52. Country musician Porter Howell is 52. Actor Michael Dolan is 51. Writer-director Lana Wachowski is 51. Actress Carrie Preston is 49. Actress Paula Irvine is 48. Rapper/producer Pete Rock is 46. Country singer Allison Moorer is 44. Actress Juliette Lewis is 43. Actress Maggie Siff is 42. Musician Justin Cary is 41. Rock musician Mike Einziger (Incubus) is 40. Actor Chris Pratt is 37. Rock singer Brandon Flowers is 35. Britain's Prince William is 34. Actor Jussie Smollett is 34. Actor Benjamin Walker is 34. Actor Michael Malarkey is 33. Pop singer Kris Allen (TV: "American Idol") is 31. Actor Jascha Washington is 27. Pop singer Rebecca Black is 19.

Thought for Today: "He, who will not reason, is a bigot; he, who cannot, is a fool; and he, who dares not, is a slave." -- William Drummond, Scottish writer (1585-1649).