Today in History

Today is Monday, June 18, the 169th day of 2018. There are 196 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On June 18, 1983, astronaut Sally K. Ride became America's first woman in space as she and four colleagues blasted off aboard the space shuttle Challenger on a six-day mission.

On this date:

In 1778, American forces entered Philadelphia as the British withdrew during the Revolutionary War.

In 1812, the War of 1812 began as the United States Congress approved, and President James Madison signed, a declaration of war against Britain.

In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte met his Waterloo as British and Prussian troops defeated the French in Belgium.

In 1908, William Howard Taft was nominated for president by the Republican National Convention in Chicago.

In 1918, "The Ziegfeld Follies of 1918," featuring the Irving Berlin song "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning," opened on Broadway.

In 1940, during World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill urged his countrymen to conduct themselves in a manner that would prompt future generations to say, "This was their finest hour." Charles de Gaulle delivered a speech on the BBC in which he rallied his countrymen after the fall of France to Nazi Germany.

In 1948, Columbia Records publicly unveiled its new long-playing phonograph record in New York.

In 1953, a U.S. Air Force Douglas C-124 Globemaster II crashed near Tokyo, killing all 129 people on board. Egypt's 148-year-old Muhammad Ali Dynasty came to an end with the overthrow of the monarchy and the proclamation of a republic.

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson and Japanese Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda spoke to each other by telephone as they inaugurated the first trans-Pacific cable completed by AT&T between Japan and Hawaii.

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter and Soviet President Leonid I. Brezhnev signed the SALT II strategic arms limitation treaty in Vienna.

In 1986, 25 people were killed when a twin-engine plane and helicopter carrying sightseers collided over the Grand Canyon.

In 1996, Richard Allen Davis was convicted in San Jose, California, of the 1993 kidnap-murder of 12-year-old Polly Klaas of Petaluma. (Davis remains on death row.)

Ten years ago: Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said he would bring Osama bin Laden to justice in a way that wouldn't allow the terrorist mastermind to become a martyr, but that bin Laden might be killed if the U.S. government found him. (Bin Laden was tracked down and slain by U.S. forces in May 2011 during Obama's presidency.) French filmmaker Jean Delannoy died in in Guainville, France, at age 100.

Five years ago: The Taliban and the U.S. said they would hold talks on finding a political solution to ending nearly 12 years of war in Afghanistan, as the international coalition formally handed over control of the country's security to the Afghan army and police. Declaring "the days of Rambo are over," Maj. Gen. Bennet Sacolick, director of force management for U.S. Special Operations Command, said that cultural, social and behavioral concerns might be bigger hurdles than tough physical fitness requirements for women looking to join the military's special operations units.

One year ago: Charleena Lyles, a 30-year-old African-American mother of four, was shot and killed by two white Seattle police officers after she called 911 to report a burglary; authorities said Lyles had pulled a knife on the officers. Nabra Hassanen, a 17-year-old Muslim girl, was killed as she walked to her mosque in Sterling, Virginia; a suspect was arrested. Voters gave French President Emmanuel Macron's fledgling party a solid victory in parliamentary elections. Brooks Koepka closed with a 5-under 67 to win the U.S. Open for his first major championship.

Today's Birthdays: Former Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., is 81. Baseball Hall of Famer Lou Brock is 79. Sir Paul McCartney is 76. Actress Constance McCashin is 71. Actress Linda Thorson is 71. Rock musician John Evans is 70. Former Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., is 68. Actress Isabella Rossellini is 66. Actress Carol Kane is 66. Actor Brian Benben is 62. Actress Andrea Evans is 61. Rock singer Alison Moyet is 57. Rock musician Dizzy Reed (Guns N' Roses) is 55. Figure skater Kurt Browning is 52. Country singer-musician Tim Hunt is 51. Rock singer-musician Sice (The Boo Radleys) is 49. Rhythm and blues singer Nathan Morris (Boyz II Men) is 47. Actress Mara Hobel is 47. Singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne is 45. Rapper Silkk the Shocker is 43. Actress Alana de la Garza is 42. Country singer Blake Shelton is 42. Rock musician Steven Chen (Airborne Toxic Event) is 40. Actor David Giuntoli is 38. Drummer Josh Dun (Twenty One Pilots) is 30. Actress Renee Olstead is 29. Actor Jacob Anderson is 28. Actress Willa Holland is 27.

Thought for Today: "The way of a superior man is three-fold; virtuous, he is free from anxieties; wise, he is free from perplexities; bold, he is free from fear." -- Confucius, Chinese philosopher (551-479 B.C.).