Today in History

Today in History

Today is Wednesday, June 16, the 167th day of 2021. There are 198 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On June 16, 1858, accepting the Illinois Republican Party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate, Abraham Lincoln said the slavery issue had to be resolved, declaring, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

On this date:

In 1897, the government signed a treaty of annexation with Hawaii.

In 1903, Ford Motor Co. was incorporated.

In 1911, IBM had its beginnings as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. which was incorporated in New York State.

In 1933, the National Industrial Recovery Act became law with President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signature. (The Act was later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.) The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was founded as President Roosevelt signed the Banking Act of 1933.

In 1955, members of Argentina’s military bombarded the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires in a failed attempt to assassinate President Juan Domingo Peron and his Cabinet, causing hundreds of civilian deaths, the same day Peron was excommunicated by Pope Pius XII for expelling two bishops from his country (however, the ban was effectively lifted in 1963).

In 1959, actor George Reeves, TV’s “Superman,” was found dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound in the bedroom of his Beverly Hills, California, home; he was 45.

In 1963, the world’s first female space traveler, Valentina Tereshkova (teh-ruhsh-KOH’-vuh), 26, was launched into orbit by the Soviet Union aboard Vostok 6; Tereshkova spent 71 hours in flight, circling the Earth 48 times before returning safely.

In 1970, Kenneth A. Gibson of Newark, N.J., became the first Black politician elected mayor of a major Northeast city. Chicago Bears running back Brian Piccolo, 26, died at a New York hospital after battling cancer.

In 1976, riots broke out in the Black South African township of Soweto.

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos (toh-REE’-ohs) signed the instruments of ratification for the Panama Canal treaties during a ceremony in Panama City.

In 1999, Kathleen Ann Soliah (SOH’-lee-ah), a fugitive member of the Symbionese Liberation Army, was captured in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she had made a new life under the name Sara Jane Olson. Thabo Mbeki (TAH’-boh um-BEH’-kee) took the oath as president of South Africa, succeeding Nelson Mandela.

In 2015, real estate mogul Donald Trump launched his successful campaign to become president of the United States with a speech at Trump Tower in Manhattan.

Ten years ago: U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., announced his resignation from Congress, bowing to the furor caused by his sexually charged online dalliances with a former porn performer and other women. Osama bin Laden’s longtime second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri (AY’-muhn ahl-ZWAH’-ree), took control of al-Qaida.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama traveled to Orlando, Florida, the scene of a deadly nightclub shooting that claimed 49 victims; the president embraced grieving families and cheered on Democrats’ push for new gun control measures. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, in a livestream to his supporters from Vermont, said he would work with Hillary Clinton to transform the Democratic Party, adding that his “political revolution” had to continue and ensure the defeat of Republican Donald Trump. Walt Disney Co. opened Shanghai Disneyland, its first theme park in mainland China.

One year ago: Federal authorities announced murder and attempted murder charges against an Air Force sergeant, Steven Carrillo, in the fatal shooting of a federal security officer outside a U.S. courthouse in Oakland. (Carrillo also faces charges in the ambush killing of a California sheriff’s deputy and has pleaded not guilty in both cases. Authorities said Carrillo had ties to the far-right, anti-government “boogaloo” movement.) President Donald Trump signed an executive order that he said would encourage better police practices; it would establish a database to track police officers with excessive use-of-force complaints in their records. A statue of Christopher Columbus that stood in a St. Louis park for 134 years was removed; park officials said it had symbolized a “historical disregard for indigenous peoples.” British researchers reported the first evidence that a drug could improve survival from COVID-19; the drug was a cheap and widely available steroid (dexamethasone.) New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave the go-ahead for the U.S. Open tennis tournament to take place without spectators.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Eileen Atkins is 87. Actor Bill Cobbs is 87. Author Joyce Carol Oates is 83. Country singer Billy “Crash” Craddock is 83. Songwriter Lamont Dozier is 80. R&B singer Eddie Levert is 79. Actor Joan Van Ark is 78. Actor Geoff Pierson is 72. Boxing Hall of Famer Roberto Duran is 70. Pop singer Gino Vannelli is 69. Actor Laurie Metcalf is 66. Actor Arnold Vosloo is 59. Actor Danny Burstein is 57. Model-actor Jenny Shimizu is 54. Actor James Patrick Stuart is 53. Rapper MC Ren is 52. Actor Clifton Collins Jr. is 51. Golfer Phil Mickelson is 51. Actor John Cho is 49. Actor Eddie Cibrian is 48. Actor Fred Koehler is 46. Actor China (chee-nah) Shavers is 44. Actor Daniel Bruhl is 43. Bluegrass musician Caleb Smith (Balsam Range) is 43. Actor Sibel Kekilli is 41. Actor Missy Peregrym (PEH’-rih-grihm) is 39. Actor Olivia Hack is 38. Singer Diana DeGarmo (TV: “American Idol”) is 34. Actor Ali Stroker is 34. Tennis player Bianca Andreescu is 21.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.