Today is Saturday, June 13, the 165th day of 2020. There are 201 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On June 13, 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Solicitor-General Thurgood Marshall to become the first black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
On this date:
In 1842, Queen Victoria became the first British monarch to ride on a train, traveling from Slough (slow as in cow) Railway Station to Paddington in 25 minutes.
In 1911, the ballet “Petrushka,” with music by Igor Stravinsky and choreography by Michel Fokine, was first performed in Paris by the Ballets Russes, with Vaslav Nijinsky in the title role.
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 1942, a four-man Nazi sabotage team arrived on Long Island, New York, three days before a second four-man team landed in Florida. (All eight men were arrested after two members of the first group defected.) President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Office of Strategic Services and the Office of War Information.
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 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 1983, the U.S. space probe Pioneer 10, launched in 1972, became the first spacecraft to leave the solar system as it crossed the orbit of Neptune.
In 1986, Benny Goodman, the clarinet-playing “King of Swing,” died in New York at age 77.
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 his role in the Oklahoma City bombing. The Chicago Bulls captured their fifth professional basketball championship in seven years with a 90-to-86 victory over the Utah Jazz in game six.
In 2005, a jury in Santa Maria, California, acquitted Michael Jackson of molesting a 13-year-old cancer survivor at his Neverland ranch. The Supreme Court warned prosecutors to use care in striking minorities from juries, siding with black murder defendants in Texas and California who contended their juries had been unfairly stacked with whites.
Ten years ago: Gary Faulkner, a Colorado construction worker, was detained in Pakistan while on a one-man mission to hunt down Osama bin Laden (Faulkner was released 10 days later). “Memphis,” the rhythm ‘n’ blues musical set in the American South in the 1950s, won four Tony Awards, including best musical; “Red,” about painter Mark Rothko, won best play and five other honors. Jimmy Dean, a country music legend and an entrepreneur known for his sausage brand, died in Richmond, Virginia, at age 81. The final “Annie” (formerly “Little Orphan Annie”) comic strip ran in fewer than 20 newspapers, ending with a cliffhanger.
Five years ago: Hillary Rodham Clinton formally kicked off her presidential campaign with an outdoor rally in New York where she asked supporters to join her in building an America “where we don’t leave anyone out, or anyone behind.” To scientists’ relief and delight, the Philae spacecraft that landed on a comet the previous fall “woke up” and communicated with Earth after seven long months of silence.
One year ago: The United States blamed Iran for suspected attacks on two oil tankers near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, denouncing what it called a campaign of “escalating tensions”; the U.S. Navy rushed to assist the vessels, including one that was set ablaze. President Donald Trump said press secretary Sarah Sanders would leave the post at the end of the month. The Toronto Raptors captured Canada’s first major title in 26 years by beating the two-time-defending-champion Golden State Warriors 114-110 to wrap up the NBA championship.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Bob McGrath is 88. Artist Christo is 85. Magician Siegfried (Siegfried & Roy) is 81. Actor Malcolm McDowell is 77. Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is 76. Singer Dennis Locorriere is 71. Actor Richard Thomas is 69. Actor Jonathan Hogan is 69. Actor Stellan Skarsgard is 69. Comedian Tim Allen is 67. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is 63. Actress Ally Sheedy is 58. TV anchor Hannah Storm is 58. Rock musician Paul deLisle (deh-LYL’) (Smash Mouth) is 57. Actress Lisa Vidal is 55. Singer David Gray is 52. Rhythm and blues singer Deniece Pearson (Five Star) is 52. Rock musician Soren Rasted (Aqua) is 51. Actor Jamie Walters is 51. Singer-musician Rivers Cuomo (Weezer) is 50. Country singer Susan Haynes is 48. Actor Steve-O is 46. Country singer Jason Michael Carroll is 42. Actor Ethan Embry is 42. Actor Chris Evans is 39. Actress Sarah Schaub is 37. Singer Raz B is 35. Actress Kat Dennings is 34. Actress Ashley Olsen is 34. Actress Mary-Kate Olsen is 34. DJ/producer Gesaffelstein is 33. Actor Aaron Johnson is 30.
Thought for Today: “Fear has its use but cowardice has none.” — Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948).
