Today in History

Today is Thursday, June 10, the 161st day of 2021. There are 204 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On June 10, 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed into law the Equal Pay Act of 1963, aimed at eliminating wage disparities based on gender.

On this date:

In 1692, the first execution resulting from the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts took place as Bridget Bishop was hanged.

In 1922, singer-actor Judy Garland was born Frances Ethel Gumm in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

In 1935, Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in Akron, Ohio, by Dr. Robert Holbrook Smith and William Griffith Wilson.

In 1942, during World War II, German forces massacred 173 male residents of Lidice, Czechoslovakia, in retaliation for the killing of Nazi official Reinhard Heydrich.

In 1944, German forces massacred 642 residents of the French village of Oradour-sur-Glane.

In 1967, six days of war in the Mideast involving Israel, Syria, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq ended as Israel and Syria accepted a United Nations-mediated cease-fire.

In 1971, President Richard M. Nixon lifted a two-decades-old trade embargo on China.

In 1977, James Earl Ray, the convicted assassin of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., escaped from Brushy Mountain State Prison in Tennessee with six others; he was recaptured June 13.

In 1978, Affirmed, ridden by Steve Cauthen, won the 110th Belmont Stakes to claim horse racing's 11th Triple Crown.

In 1991, 11-year-old Jaycee Dugard of South Lake Tahoe, California, was abducted by Phillip and Nancy Garrido; Jaycee was held by the couple for 18 years before she was found by authorities.

In 2004, singer-musician Ray Charles died in Beverly Hills, California, at age 73.

In 2013, jury selection began in Sanford, Florida, in the trial of neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. (Zimmerman was acquitted.)

Ten years ago: In a stern rebuke, Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned in Brussels that the future of the historic NATO military alliance was at risk because of European penny pinching and a distaste for front-line combat. Tony La Russa managed his 5,000th game as his St. Louis Cardinals lost to the Milwaukee Brewers 8-0.

Five years ago: Muhammad Ali was laid to rest in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, after an all-day send-off. "Mr. Hockey" Gordie Howe, who set scoring records that stood for decades, died in Sylvania, Ohio, at 88. Singer Christina Grimmie, 22, a finalist on NBC's "The Voice," was shot to death during a meet-and-greet after giving a concert in Orlando, Florida, by an apparently obsessed fan who then killed himself. Actor Michael Jace was sentenced in Los Angeles to 40 years to life in prison for fatally shooting his wife, April.

One year ago: Protesters pulled down a century-old statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Richmond, Virginia, the former capital of the Confederacy. President Donald Trump said his administration would "not even consider" changing the name of any of the 10 Army bases that were named for Confederate Army officers. NASCAR announced that it was banning the Confederate flag at all of its races and venues; the flag had been a common sight at those events for more than 70 years. The Mall of America reopened, nearly three months after the Minnesota tourist attraction shut down because of the coronavirus. An international economic report said the virus crisis had triggered the worst global recession in nearly a century, with hundreds of millions of people losing jobs.

Today's Birthdays: Attorney F. Lee Bailey is 88. Actor Alexandra Stewart is 82. Singer Shirley Alston Reeves (The Shirelles) is 80. Actor Jurgen Prochnow is 80. Media commentator Jeff Greenfield is 78. Actor Frankie Faison is 72. Football Hall of Famer Dan Fouts is 70. Country singer-songwriter Thom Schuyler is 69. Former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., is 68. Actor Andrew Stevens is 66. Singer Barrington Henderson is 65. Rock musician Kim Deal is 60. Singer Maxi Priest is 60. Actor Gina Gershon is 59. Actor Jeanne Tripplehorn is 58. Rock musician Jimmy Chamberlin is 57. Actor Ben Daniels is 57. Actor Kate Flannery is 57. Model-actor Elizabeth Hurley is 56. Rock musician Joey Santiago is 56. Actor Doug McKeon is 55. Rock musician Emma Anderson is 54. Country musician Brian Hofeldt (The Derailers) is 54. Rapper The D.O.C. is 53. Rock singer Mike Doughty is 51. R&B singer Faith Evans is 48. Actor Hugh Dancy is 46. R&B singer Lemisha Grinstead (702) is 43. Actor DJ Qualls is 43. Actor Shane West is 43. Country singer Lee Brice is 42. Singer Hoku is 40. Actor Leelee Sobieski is 39. Olympic gold medal figure skater Tara Lipinski is 39. Americana musician Bridget Kearney (Lake Street Drive) is 36. Actor Titus Makin is 32. Actor Tristin Mays is 31. Sasha Obama is 20. Actor Eden McCoy is 18.