Today in History

Today is Saturday, June 23, the 174th day of 2018. There are 191 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On June 23, 1868, Christopher Latham Sholes received a patent for his "Type-Writer," featuring a QWERTY keyboard; it was the first commercially successful typewriter.

On this date:

In 1314, during the First War of Scottish Independence, the two-day Battle of Bannockburn, resulting in victory for the forces of Robert the Bruce over the army of King Edward II, began near Stirling.

In 1537, Spanish explorer Pedro de Mendoza, the founder of Buenos Aires, died aboard his ship while heading back to Spain.

In 1757, forces of the East India Company led by Robert Clive won the Battle of Plassey, which effectively marked the beginning of British colonial rule in India.

In 1892, the Democratic national convention in Chicago nominated former President Grover Cleveland on the first ballot.

In 1938, the Civil Aeronautics Authority was established.

In 1947, the Senate joined the House in overriding President Harry S. Truman's veto of the Taft-Hartley Act, designed to limit the power of organized labor.

In 1950, Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501, a DC-4, crashed into Lake Michigan with the loss of all 58 people on board.

In 1968, a syndicated newspaper column by Joseph Kraft coined the term "Middle America."

In 1969, Warren E. Burger was sworn in as chief justice of the United States by the man he was succeeding, Earl Warren.

In 1972, President Richard Nixon and White House chief of staff H.R. Haldeman discussed using the CIA to obstruct the FBI's Watergate investigation. (Revelation of the tape recording of this conversation sparked Nixon's resignation in 1974.) President Nixon signed Title IX barring discrimination on the basis of sex for "any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."

In 1985, all 329 people aboard an Air India Boeing 747 were killed when the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Ireland because of a bomb authorities believe was planted by Sikh separatists.

In 1993, in a case that drew widespread attention, Lorena Bobbitt of Prince William County, Virginia, sexually mutilated her husband, John, after he allegedly raped her. (John Bobbitt was later acquitted of marital sexual assault; Lorena Bobbitt was later acquitted by reason of insanity of malicious wounding.) Canada's Senate ratified the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Ten years ago: Condemning the turmoil in Zimbabwe, the U.N. Security Council declared that a fair presidential vote was impossible because of a "campaign of violence" waged by President Robert Mugabe's government. Seattle's Felix Hernandez hit the first grand slam by an American League pitcher in 37 years, then departed with a sprained ankle before he could qualify for a win in the Mariners' 5-2 victory over the New York Mets.

Five years ago: Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency contractor behind the disclosures of the U.S. government's sweeping surveillance programs, left Hong Kong for Moscow with the stated intention of seeking asylum in Ecuador; however, Snowden ended up remaining in Moscow. Aerialist Nik Wallenda completed a tightrope walk that took him a quarter mile over the Little Colorado River Gorge in northeastern Arizona. Sci-fi and fantasy writer Richard Matheson, 87, died in Los Angeles.

One year ago: President Donald Trump signed a bill making it easier for the Department of Veterans Affairs to fire employees, part of a push to overhaul an agency struggling to serve millions of military vets. California Gov. Jerry Brown blocked parole for Charles Manson follower and convicted killer Bruce Davis. The New Jersey Devils selected center Nico Hischier with the No. 1 overall pick in the NHL draft.

Today's Birthdays: Singer Diana Trask is 78. Musical conductor James Levine is 75. Actor Ted Shackelford is 72. Actor Bryan Brown is 71. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is 70. Actor Jim Metzler is 67. "American Idol" ex-judge Randy Jackson is 62. Actress Frances McDormand is 61. Rock musician Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth) is 56. Actor Paul La Greca is 56. Writer-director Joss Whedon is 54. Rhythm and blues singer Chico DeBarge is 48. Actress Selma Blair is 46. Actor Joel Edgerton is 44. Rock singer KT Tunstall is 43. Rhythm and blues singer Virgo Williams (Ghostowns DJs) is 43. Actress Emmanuelle Vaugier is 42. Singer-songwriter Jason Mraz is 41. Football Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson is 39. Actress Melissa Rauch is 38. Rock singer Duffy is 34. Country singer Katie Armiger is 27.

Thought for Today: "To have felt too much is to end in feeling nothing." -- Dorothy Thompson, American journalist (1894-1961).