Today in History

Today in History

Today is Tuesday, June 13, the 164th day of 2017. There are 201 days left in the year.

Today's Highlights in History:

On June 13, 1942, a four-man Nazi sabotage team arrived on Long Island, New York, during World War II, three days before a second four-man team landed in Florida. (All eight were arrested after two members of the first group decided to defect and cooperate with U.S. authorities; they were ultimately spared while the other six were executed.) President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Office of Strategic Services, a wartime intelligence agency, and the Office of War Information, headed by radio news commentator Elmer Davis.

On this date:

In 1842, Queen Victoria became the first British monarch to ride on a train, traveling from Slough Railway Station to Paddington in 25 minutes.

In 1886, King Ludwig II of Bavaria drowned in Lake Starnberg.

In 1917, during World War I, a group of German Gotha bombers attacked London, killing 162 people. The Phillips Petroleum Co. was incorporated in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. (Phillips merged with Conoco in 2002.)

In 1927, aviation hero Charles Lindbergh was honored with a ticker-tape parade in New York City.

In 1935, James Braddock claimed the title of world heavyweight boxing champion from Max Baer in a 15-round fight in Queens, New York. "Becky Sharp," the first movie photographed in "three-strip" Technicolor, opened in New York.

In 1957, the Mayflower II, a replica of the ship that brought the Pilgrims to America in 1620, arrived at Plymouth, Massachusetts, after a nearly two-month journey from England.

In 1966, the Supreme Court ruled in Miranda v. Arizona that criminal suspects had to be informed of their constitutional right to consult with an attorney and to remain silent.

In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Solicitor-General Thurgood Marshall to become the first black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1977, James Earl Ray, the convicted assassin of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., was recaptured following his escape three days earlier from a Tennessee prison.

In 1981, a scare occurred during a parade in London when a teenager fired six blank shots at Queen Elizabeth II.

In 1992, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton stirred controversy during an appearance before the Rainbow Coalition by criticizing rap singer Sister Souljah for making remarks that he said were "filled with hatred" toward whites.

In 1997, a jury voted unanimously to give Timothy McVeigh the death penalty for the Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people. The Chicago Bulls captured their fifth professional basketball championship in seven years with a 90-86 victory over the Utah Jazz in Game 6.

Ten years ago: In Beirut, Lebanon, a powerful car bombing killed Walid Eido, a prominent anti-Syrian legislator. Insurgents blew up the two minarets of a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra, Iraq, a year after the shrine's golden dome was destroyed in a bombing.

Five years ago: Federal prosecutors dropped all charges against former Democratic vice-presidential candidate John Edwards after his corruption trial ended the previous month in a deadlocked jury. A Houston jury convicted a man of shooting to death his neighbor during a confrontation outside the neighbor's home two years earlier, rejecting his claim that he was within his rights under Texas' version of a stand-your-ground law. (Raul Rodriguez was later sentenced to 40 years in prison for killing Kelly Danaher.) Matt Cain pitched the 22nd perfect game in major league history and the first for the San Francisco Giants, beating the Houston Astros 10-0.

One year ago: A day after the Orlando, Florida, nightclub shooting rampage that claimed 49 victims, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton offered drastically different proposals for stemming the threat of terrorism and gun violence; Trump focused heavily on the nation's immigration system (even though the shooter was U.S. born) and redoubled his call for temporarily banning Muslims from the United States, while Clinton said she would prioritize stopping "lone wolf" attackers as president and reiterated her call for banning assault weapons. In a surprise move, Microsoft said it was buying LinkedIn for about $26.2 billion.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Bob McGrath is 85. Artist Christo is 82. Magician Siegfried (Siegfried & Roy) is 78. Actor Malcolm McDowell is 74. Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is 73. Singer Dennis Locorriere is 68. Actor Richard Thomas is 66. Actor Jonathan Hogan is 66. Actor Stellan Skarsgard is 66. Comedian Tim Allen is 64. Actress Ally Sheedy is 55. TV anchor Hannah Storm is 55. Rock musician Paul deLisle (Smash Mouth) is 54. Actress Lisa Vidal is 52. Singer David Gray is 49. Rhythm-and-blues singer Deniece Pearson (Five Star) is 49. Rock musician Soren Rasted (Aqua) is 48. Actor Jamie Walters is 48. Singer-musician Rivers Cuomo (Weezer) is 47. Country singer Susan Haynes is 45. Actor Steve-O is 43. Country singer Jason Michael Carroll is 39. Actor Ethan Embry is 39. Actor Chris Evans is 36. Actress Sarah Schaub is 34. Singer Raz B is 32. Actress Kat Dennings is 31. Actress Mary-Kate Olsen is 31. Actress Ashley Olsen is 31. DJ/producer Gesaffelstein is 30. Actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson is 27.

Thought for Today: "The penalty of success is to be bored by people who used to snub you." -- Viscountess (VY'-kown-tihs) Astor, American-born English politician (1879-1964).