Today in History

Today in History

Today is Sunday, June 26, the 178th day of 2016. There are 188 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On June 26, 2015, a divided U.S. Supreme Court, in Obergefell v. Hodges, ruled 5-4 that same-sex couples had the right to marry nationwide as it overturned bans in 14 states.

On this date:

In 1483, Richard III began his reign as King of England (he was crowned the following month at Westminster Abbey).

In 1870, the first section of Atlantic City, New Jersey's Boardwalk was opened to the public.

In 1925, Charles Chaplin's classic comedy "The Gold Rush" premiered at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.

In 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was nominated for a second term of office by delegates to the Democratic national convention in Philadelphia.

In 1945, the charter of the United Nations was signed by 50 countries in San Francisco.

In 1950, President Harry S. Truman authorized the U.S. Air Force and Navy to enter the Korean War.

In 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower joined Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in ceremonies officially opening the St. Lawrence Seaway. Swedish boxer Ingemar Johansson knocked out Floyd Patterson in the third round of their match at New York's Yankee Stadium to win the heavyweight title.

In 1963, President John F. Kennedy visited West Berlin, where he delivered his famous speech expressing solidarity with the city's residents, declaring: "Ich bin ein Berliner" (I am a Berliner).

In 1973, former White House counsel John W. Dean told the Senate Watergate Committee about an "enemies list" kept by the Nixon White House.

In 1988, three people were killed when a new Airbus A320 jetliner carrying more than 130 people crashed into a forest during a demonstration at an air show in Mulhouse (muh-LOOZ'), France.

In 1990, President George H.W. Bush went back on his "no-new-taxes" campaign pledge, conceding that tax increases would have to be included in any deficit-reduction package worked out with congressional negotiators.

In 1996, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Virginia Military Institute to admit women, or forgo state support.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush said it was "disgraceful" that the news media had disclosed a secret CIA-Treasury program to track millions of financial records in search of terrorist suspects. More than a foot of rain inundated Washington, D.C., toppling a 100-year-old elm tree on the White House lawn and causing flooding that closed major government departments.

Five years ago: New York City's gay pride parade turned into a carnival-like celebration of same-sex marriage as hundreds of thousands of revelers rejoiced at the state's new law giving gay couples the same marital rights as everyone else. In Senegal, hundreds of Muslim protesters descended on a Jehovah's Witness temple and a bar in Dakar, setting the buildings on fire in a rare instance of religious extremism in the normally moderate Islamic republic. Top-ranked Yani Tseng won the LPGA Championship at Locust Hill Country Club in Pittsford, New York, by 10 strokes.

One year ago: President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and their wives visited Charleston, South Carolina, where nine black churchgoers had been shot to death; Obama eulogized one of the victims, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, who was the pastor of the church and also a state senator. Richard Matt, one of two convicted murderers who'd escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York, was shot and killed by authorities in a wooded area 30 miles from the prison; David Sweat remained at large (he was arrested two days later). A gunman killed 38 tourists on a beach in Sousse (soos), Tunisia, in an attack later claimed by the Islamic State group. Former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, 85, died in Moscow.

Today's Birthdays: Jazz musician-film composer Dave Grusin is 82. Actor Josef Sommer is 82. Singer Billy Davis Jr. is 78. Rock singer Georgie Fame is 73. Actor Clive Francis is 70. Rhythm-and-blues singer Brenda Holloway is 70. Actor Michael Paul Chan is 66. Actor Robert Davi is 65. Singer-musician Mick Jones is 61. Actor Gedde Watanabe is 61. Rock singer Chris Isaak is 60. Rock singer Patty Smyth is 59. Singer Terri Nunn (Berlin) is 57. U.S. Bicycling Hall of Famer Greg LeMond is 55. Rock singer Harriet Wheeler (The Sundays) is 53. Country musician Eddie Perez (The Mavericks) is 48. Rock musician Colin Greenwood (Radiohead) is 47. Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson is 46. Actor Sean Hayes is 46. Actor Matt Letscher is 46. Actor Chris O'Donnell is 46. Actor Nick Offerman is 46. Actress Rebecca Budig is 43. MLB All-Star Derek Jeter is 42. Contemporary Christian musician Jeff Frankenstein (Newsboys) is 42. Country singer Gretchen Wilson is 42. Rock musician Nathan Followill (Kings of Leon) is 37. Pop-rock singer-musician Ryan Tedder (OneRepublic) is 37. Actor-musician Jason Schwartzman is 36. Actress Aubrey Plaza is 32. Actress-singer Jennette McCurdy is 24. Actress-singer Ariana Grande is 23.

Thought for Today: "You can judge your age by the amount of pain you feel when you come in contact with a new idea." -- Pearl S. Buck, American author (born this date in 1892, died in 1973).