Today in History

Today is Sunday, June 19, the 170th day of 2022. There are 195 days left in the year. This is Juneteenth. (The federal holiday will be observed on Monday, June 20.) This is Father's Day.

Today's Highlight in History:

On June 19, 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was approved by the U.S. Senate, 73-27, after surviving a lengthy filibuster.

On this date:

In 1775, George Washington was commissioned by the Continental Congress as commander in chief of the Continental Army.

In 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War was over, and that all remaining slaves in Texas were free -- an event celebrated to this day as "Juneteenth."

In 1910, the first-ever Father's Day was celebrated in Spokane, Washington. (The idea for the observance is credited to Sonora Louise Smart Dodd.)

In 1911, Pennsylvania became the first state to establish a motion picture censorship board.

In 1917, during World War I, King George V ordered the British royal family to dispense with German titles and surnames; the family took the name "Windsor."

In 1934, the Federal Communications Commission was created; it replaced the Federal Radio Commission.

In 1944, during World War II, the two-day Battle of the Philippine Sea began, resulting in a decisive victory for the Americans over the Japanese.

In 1953, Julius Rosenberg, 35, and his wife, Ethel, 37, convicted of conspiring to pass U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, were executed at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York.

In 1975, former Chicago organized crime boss Sam Giancana was shot to death in the basement of his home in Oak Park, Illinois; the killing has never been solved.

In 1986, University of Maryland basketball star Len Bias, the first draft pick of the Boston Celtics, suffered a fatal cocaine-induced seizure.

In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law requiring any public school teaching the theory of evolution to teach creation science as well.

In 2014, Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California won election as House majority leader as Republicans shuffled their leadership in the wake of Rep. Eric Cantor's primary defeat in Virginia.

Ten years ago: WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange took refuge at Ecuador's Embassy in London, seeking to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faced questioning about alleged sex crimes. (Sweden dropped its inquiry in May 2017; Assange remains in custody in Britain, where a judge has approved a U.S. request to extradite him so he can stand trial on espionage charges.)

Five years ago: Otto Warmbier, a 22-year-old American college student released by North Korea in a coma after more than a year in captivity, died in a Cincinnati hospital.

One year ago: Eight children in a van from a youth home for abused or neglected children were killed in a multi-vehicle crash on a wet interstate in Alabama; they were among the 13 killed in the state as a tropical depression caused flash floods and tornadoes that destroyed dozens of homes.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Gena Rowlands is 92. Hall of Fame race car driver Shirley Muldowney is 82. Singer Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane (Spanky and Our Gang) is 80. Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is 77. Author Sir Salman Rushdie is 75. Actor Phylicia Rashad is 74. Rock singer Ann Wilson (Heart) is 72. Musician Larry Dunn is 69. Actor Kathleen Turner is 68. Country singer Doug Stone is 66. Singer Mark "Marty" DeBarge is 63. Singer-dancer-choreographer Paula Abdul is 60. Actor Andy Lauer is 59. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is 58. Rock singer-musician Brian Vander Ark (Verve Pipe) is 58. Actor Samuel West is 56. Actor Mia Sara is 55. TV personality Lara Spencer is 53. Rock musician Brian "Head" Welch is 52. Actor Jean Dujardin is 50. Actor Robin Tunney is 50. Actor Bumper Robinson is 48. Actor Poppy Montgomery is 47. Alt-country singer-musician Scott Avett (The Avett Brothers) is 46. Actor Ryan Hurst is 46. Actor Zoe Saldana is 44. Former NBA star Dirk Nowitzki is 44. Actor Neil Brown Jr. is 42. Actor Lauren Lee Smith is 42. Rapper Macklemore (Macklemore and Ryan Lewis) is 40. Actor Paul Dano is 38. New York Mets pitcher Jacob DeGrom is 34. Actor Giacomo Gianniotti is 33. Actor Chuku Modu (TV: "The Good Doctor") is 32. Actor Atticus Shaffer is 24.