On this Day, June 25th...

[Snowden]

Wednesday, June 25th
The 177th day of 2008.
There are 189 days left in the year.
Go to a previous date.

Today's Highlights in History


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On June 25, 1876, Lt. Col. George A. Custer and his 7th Cavalry were wiped out by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians in the Battle of Little Big Horn in Montana. (Go to article.)
On June 25, 1887, George Abbott, American playwright, director, actor and producer, was born. Following his death on Jan. 31, 1995, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. | Other Birthdays)


On June 25, 1887, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the influential veterans' organization, the Grand Army of the Republic. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.)On this date in:

1788Virginia ratified the U.S. Constitution.

1868Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina were readmitted to the Union.

1950War broke out on the Korean peninsula as forces from the communist North invaded the South.

1951The first commercial color telecast took place as CBS transmitted a one-hour special from New York to four other cities.

1962The Supreme Court ruled that the use of an unofficial, nondenominational prayer in New York public schools was unconstitutional.

1967The Beatles performed a new song, "All You Need Is Love," during a live international telecast.

1973Former White House Counsel John Dean began testifying before the Senate Watergate Committee.

1987Pope John Paul II received Austrian President Kurt Waldheim at the Vatican, a meeting fraught with controversy because of allegations that Waldheim had hidden a Nazi past.

1991The Yugoslav republics of Croatia and Slovenia declared their independence.

1995Warren E. Burger, the 15th chief justice of the United States, died at age 87.

1996A truck bomb killed 19 Americans and injured hundreds at a U.S. military housing complex in Saudi Arabia.

1997Oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau died at age 87.

1997An unmanned cargo ship crashed into Russia's Mir space station, knocking out half of the station's power and rupturing a pressurized laboratory.

1998The Supreme Court rejected a line-item veto law as unconstitutional.

2005Hardline Tehran Mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner of Iran's presidential runoff election.

Current Birthdays

Ricky Gervais turns 47 years old today.
AP Photo/Danny Moloshok Actor-writer Ricky Gervais ("The Office") turns 47 years old today.


84Sidney Lumet
Director

83June Lockhart
Actress ("Lassie," "Lost in Space")

73Eddie Floyd
R&B singer

69Barbara Montgomery
Actress

66Willis Reed
Basketball hall of famer

64Gary David Goldberg
Writer, producer ("Family Ties," "Spin City")

63Carly Simon
Singer

62Allen Lanier
Rock musician (Blue Oyster Cult)

62Ian McDonald
Rock musician (Foreigner, King Crimson)

61Jimmie Walker
Actor, comedian ("Good Times")

60Michael Lembeck
Actor, director

59Phyllis George
TV personality

56Tim Finn
Rock singer (Crowded House)

54David Paich
Rock musician (Toto)

53Michael Sabatino
Actor

45John Benjamin Hickey
Actor

45George Michael
Singer

44Erica Gimpel
Actress

42Dikembe Mutombo
Basketball player

41Richie Rich
Rapper, producer

40Candyman
Rapper

37Sean Kelly
Rock musician (Six Pence None the Richer)

37Angela Kinsey
Actress ("The Office")

36Carlos Delgado
Baseball player

36Mike Kroeger
Rock musician (Nickelback)

34Mario Calire
Rock musician (Wallflowers)

33Linda Cardellini
Actress ("ER")

33Albert Costa
Tennis player

30Aramis Ramirez
Baseball player

29Busy Philipps
Actress ("ER")

Historic Birthdays

George Abbott
6/25/1887 - 1/31/1995
American theatrical director, producer, playwright and actor
(Go to obit.)

79Edward Holyoke
6/25/1689 - 1/1/1769
American educator; president of Harvard University (1737-69)

73Antonio Gaudi
6/25/1852 - 6/10/1926
Spanish (Catalan) architect

64Robert Henri
6/25/1865 - 7/12/1929
American painter

47Crystal Eastman
6/25/1881 - 7/8/1928
American lawyer, suffragist and writer

66Benito Lynch
6/25/1885 - 12/23/1951
Argentine novelist and short story writer

63Henry Harley Arnold
6/25/1886 - 1/15/1950
American military strategist

95Hermann Oberth
6/25/1894 - 12/29/1989
Austrian-born German scientist

79Lord Louis Mountbatten
6/25/1900 - 8/27/1979
English statesman, naval leader and last viceroy of India

68William H. Stein
6/25/1911 - 2/2/1980
American Nobel Prize-winning biochemist (1972)

[Snowden]

Today in History - June 25

By The Associated Press

Today is Wednesday, June 25, the 177th day of 2008. There are 189 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On June 25, 1950, war broke out in Korea as forces from the communist North invaded the South.

On this date:

In 1788, the state of Virginia ratified the U.S. Constitution.

In 1807, Napoleon I of France and Russian Czar Alexander I met near Tilsit to discuss terms for ending war between their empires.

In 1876, Lt. Col. George A. Custer and his Seventh Cavalry were wiped out by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana.

In 1906, architect Stanford White was shot to death atop New York's Madison Square Garden, which he had designed, by millionaire Harry K. Thaw, the jealous husband of Evelyn Nesbit (Thaw was acquitted of murder by reason of insanity).

In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was enacted.

In 1942, some 1,000 British Royal Air Force bombers raided Bremen, Germany, during World War II.

In 1958, a four-day dedication of the Mackinac Bridge linking Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas began, even though the bridge had been open to traffic since November 1957.

In 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Engel v. Vitale, ruled that recital of a state-sponsored prayer in New York State public schools was unconstitutional.

In 1973, former White House Counsel John W. Dean began testifying before the Senate Watergate Committee.

In 1996, a truck bomb killed 19 Americans and injured hundreds at a U.S. military housing complex in Saudi Arabia.

Ten years ago: The Supreme Court rejected a 1997 line-item veto law as unconstitutional, and ruled that HIV-infected people are protected by the Americans With Disabilities Act. President Clinton began a nine-day trip to China in the city of Xi'an.

Five years ago: The music industry threatened to sue hundreds of individual computer users who were illegally sharing music files online. Former Georgia Gov. Lester Maddox, a symbol of Old South segregation, died in Atlanta at age 87.

One year ago: A suicide bomber slipped into a Baghdad hotel and blew himself up in the midst of a gathering of U.S.-allied tribal sheiks, killing 13 people. Robert Zoellick won unanimous approval of the World Bank's board to become the institution's next president. World Wrestling Entertainment star Chris Benoit, his wife and 7-year-old son were found dead in their Fayetteville, Ga., home (authorities concluded that Benoit strangled his family, then killed himself). A judge in Washington, D.C., ruled in favor of a dry cleaner sued by a dissatisfied customer who was demanding $54 million for his missing pants.

Today's Birthdays: Movie director Sidney Lumet is 84. Actress June Lockhart is 83. Rhythm-and-blues singer Eddie Floyd is 73. Actress Barbara Montgomery is 69. Basketball Hall-of-Famer Willis Reed is 66. Writer-producer-director Gary David Goldberg is 64. Singer Carly Simon is 63. Rock musician Allen Lanier (Blue Oyster Cult) is 62. Rock musician Ian McDonald (Foreigner; King Crimson) is 62. Actor-comedian Jimmie Walker is 61. Actor-director Michael Lembeck is 60. TV personality Phyllis George is 59. Rock singer Tim Finn is 56. Rock musician David Paich (Toto) is 54. Actor Michael Sabatino is 53. Actor-writer-director Ricky Gervais is 47. Actor John Benjamin Hickey is 45. Rock singer George Michael is 45. Actress Erica Gimpel is 44. Basketball player Dikembe Mutombo is 42. Rapper-producer Richie Rich is 41. Rapper Candyman is 40. Contemporary Christian musician Sean Kelly (Sixpence None the Richer) is 37. Actress Angela Kinsey (TV: "The Office") is 37. Rock musician Mike Kroeger (Nickelback) is 36. Rock musician Mario Calire is 34. Actress Linda Cardellini is 33. Actress Busy Philipps is 29.

Thought for Today: "It is not depravity that afflicts the human race so much as a general lack of intelligence." — Agnes Repplier, American writer and social critic (1858-1950).

[Snowden]

On this day in …


* 1807, Napoleon I of France and Russian Czar Alexander I met near Tilsit, in northern Prussia, to discuss terms for ending war between their empires.

* 1876, Lt. Col. George A. Custer and his 7th Cavalry were wiped out by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana.

* 1906, architect Stanford White was shot to death atop New York's Madison Square Garden, which he had designed, by millionaire Harry K. Thaw, the jealous husband of Evelyn Nesbit. Thaw was acquitted of murder by reason of insanity.

* 1942, some 1,000 British Royal Air Force bombers raided Bremen, Germany, during World War II.

* 1950, war broke out in Korea as forces from the communist North invaded the South.

* 1951, the first commercial color telecast took place as CBS transmitted a 55-minute special from New York to four other cities.

* 1962, the Supreme Court, in Engel v. Vitale, ruled that recital of a state-sponsored prayer in New York State public schools was unconstitutional

* 1973, former White House Counsel John W. Dean began testifying before the Senate Watergate Committee.

* 1996, a truck bomb set off by practitioners of that "religion of peace" killed 19 Americans and injured hundreds at a U.S. military housing complex in Saudi Arabia.

* 1997, the Supreme Court struck down the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, designed to limit government's ability to regulate religious practices.
ALSO: An unmanned cargo ship crashed into Russia's Mir space station, knocking out half of the station's power and rupturing a pressurized laboratory.

* 1998, the Supreme Court rejected a 1997 line-item veto law as nconstitutional, and ruled that HIV-infected people are protected by the Americans With Disabilities Act.
ALSO: President Clinton began a nine-day trip to China in the city of Xi'an.

* 2002, a federal judge in Alexandria, Va., refused to accept a no-contest plea from Zacarias Moussaoui, accused of conspiracy in the Sept. 11 attacks, and instead entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

* 2006, practitioners of that "religion of peace" kidnapped an Israeli soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit, after tunneling under the border and attacking a military post, killing two other soldiers. The act of terrorism eventually led to that summer's war in Lebanon. Shalit remains, according to his captors, still alive.
ALSO: An al-Qaida-linked group posted a Web video showing the killings of three Russian Embassy workers who'd been abducted in Iraq; a statement from the group said a fourth worker had also been slain.

* 2007, a judge in Washington, D.C., ruled in favor of a dry cleaner sued by a dissatisfied customer who was demanding $54 million for his missing pants.

[Snowden]

Thursday, June 26th
The 178th day of 2008.
There are 188 days left in the year.
Go to a previous date.

Today's Highlights in History


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On June 26, 1963, President Kennedy visited West Berlin, where he made his famous declaration: "Ich bin ein Berliner" (I am a Berliner). (Go to article.)
On June 26, 1914, Babe Zaharias, the American athlete known for her achievements in golf, basketball and track and field, was born. Following her death on Sept. 27, 1956, her obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. | Other Birthdays)


On June 26, 1909, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the battle of the sexes over a game of golf. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.)On this date in:

1870The first section of the boardwalk in Atlantic City, N.J., was opened to the public.

1894The American Railway Union, led by Eugene Debs, called a general strike in sympathy with Pullman workers.

1917The first troops of the American Expeditionary Force arrived in France during World War I.

1919The New York Daily News was first published.

1925Charlie Chaplin's comedy "The Gold Rush" premiered in Hollywood.

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

1948The Berlin Airlift began in earnest as the United States, Britain and France began ferrying supplies to the isolated western sector of Berlin after the Soviet Union cut off land and water routes.

1950President Harry S. Truman authorized the Air Force and Navy to enter the Korean conflict. (The order, made on June 26, was not made public until June 27.)

1990President George H.W. Bush, who had campaigned for office on a pledge of "no new taxes," conceded that tax increases would have to be included in any deficit-reduction package.

1992Navy Secretary H. Lawrence Garrett III resigned, accepting responsibility for a "leadership failure" that resulted in the Tailhook sex-abuse scandal.

1993President Bill Clinton announced the U.S. had launched missiles against Iraqi targets because of "compelling evidence" Iraq had plotted to assassinate former President George H.W. Bush.

1996The Supreme Court ordered the Virginia Military Institute to admit women or forgo state support.

1998The Supreme Court issued a landmark sexual harassment ruling, putting employers on notice that they can be held responsible for supervisors' misconduct even if they knew nothing about it.

2000Rival scientific teams completed the first rough map of the human genetic code.

2003The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, struck down state bans on gay sex.

2003Strom Thurmond, the second longest-serving senator in U.S. history, died in Edgefield, S.C., at age 100.

2003Sir Denis Thatcher, husband of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, died at age 88.

Current Birthdays

Derek Jeter turns 34 years old today.
AP Photo/Charles Krupa New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter turns 34 years old today.


86Eleanor Parker
Actress

74Dave Grusin
Jazz pianist, film composer

74Josef Sommer
Actor

69Charles Robb
Former Virginia governor and U.S. senator

68Billy Davis Jr.
Singer (The Fifth Dimension)

65Georgie Fame
Rock singer

62Clive Francis
Actor

62Brenda Holloway
R&B singer

58Michael Paul Chan
Actor ("The Closer")

55Robert Davi
Actor

53Mick Jones
Rock singer, musician (The Clash, Big Audio Dynamite)

53Gedde Watanabe
Actor ("ER")

52Chris Isaak
Rock singer, musician

51Patty Smyth
Rock singer, musician

47Jim Nussle
Director of the Office of Management and Budget

47Terri Nunn
Pop singer (Berlin)

45Harriet Wheeler
Rock singer (The Sundays)

40Shannon Sharpe
Football player

39Colin Greenwood
Rock musician (Radiohead)

38Paul Thomas Anderson
Writer, director

38Sean Hayes
Actor ("Will and Grace")

38Matt Letscher
Actor

38Chris O'Donnell
Actor

35Rebecca Budig
Actress ("ER")

34Gretchen Wilson
Country singer

32Chad Pennington
Football player

28Jason Schwartzman
Actor

28Michael Vick
Football player

22Kaitlin Cullum
Actress

Historic Birthdays

Babe Zaharias
6/26/1914 - 9/27/1956
American athlete
(Go to obit.)

44Arthur Middleton
6/26/1742 - 1/1/1787
American; signed the Declaration of Independence

94Bernard Berenson
6/26/1865 - 10/6/1959
American art critic

63Albert Siklos
6/26/1878 - 4/3/1942
Hungarian cellist, composer and musicologist

80Pearl Buck
6/26/1892 - 3/6/1973
American Nobel Prize-winning author (1938)

80Willy Messerschmitt
6/26/1898 - 9/17/1978
German aircraft engineer and designer

87Stuart Symington
6/26/1901 - 12/14/1988
American politician; U.S. senator from Missouri (1953-76)

75William Lear
6/26/1902 - 5/14/1978
American industrialist and electrical engineer

87Antonia Brico
6/26/1902 - 8/3/1989
Dutch-born American conductor and pianist

59Peter Lorre
6/26/1904 - 3/23/1964
Hungarian-born American film actor

[Snowden]

Today in History - June 26

By The Associated Press

Today is Thursday, June 26, the 178th day of 2008. There are 188 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On June 26, 1963, President Kennedy visited West Berlin, where he made his famous declaration: "Ich bin ein Berliner" (I am a Berliner).

On this date:

In 1870, the first section of the boardwalk in Atlantic City, N.J., was opened to the public.

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

In 1948, the Berlin Airlift began in earnest after the Soviet Union cut off land and water routes to the isolated western sector of Berlin.

In 1950, President Truman authorized the Air Force and Navy to enter the Korean conflict.

In 1959, President Eisenhower joined Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in ceremonies officially opening the St. Lawrence Seaway.

In 1968, Chief U.S. Justice Earl Warren announced he was resigning.

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 1977, 42 people were killed when a fire sent toxic smoke pouring through the Maury County Jail in Columbia, Tenn.

In 1988, three people were killed when a new Airbus A-320 jetliner carrying more than 130 people crashed into a forest during an air show demonstration flight in Mulhouse, France.

In 1993, President Clinton announced the U.S. had launched missiles against Iraqi targets because of "compelling evidence" Iraq had plotted to assassinate former President Bush.

Ten years ago: The Supreme Court issued a landmark sexual harassment ruling, putting employers on notice that they can be held responsible for supervisors' misconduct even if they knew nothing about it.

Five years ago: The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, struck down state bans on gay sex. A jury in Fort Worth, Texas, convicted former nurse's aide Chante Mallard of murder for hitting a homeless man with her car, driving home with his mangled body jammed in the windshield and leaving him to die in her garage. (Mallard was later sentenced to 50 years in prison.) Strom Thurmond, the longest-serving senator in U.S. history, died in Edgefield, S.C., at age 100. Sir Denis Thatcher, husband of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, died in London at age 88.

One year ago: Conservative commentator Ann Coulter, appearing on MSNBC's "Hardball," got into a verbal fracas with Elizabeth Edwards, who had called into the program to ask Coulter to stop making personal attacks on her husband, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards. Paris Hilton left the Los Angeles County jail after a bizarre, three-week stay for a probation violation. Fashion designer Liz Claiborne died in New York at age 78.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Eleanor Parker is 86. Jazz musician-film composer Dave Grusin is 74. Actor Josef Sommer is 74. Singer Billy Davis Jr. (The Fifth Dimension) is 68. Rock singer Georgie Fame is 65. Actor Clive Francis is 62. Rhythm-and-blues singer Brenda Holloway is 62. Actor Michael Paul Chan is 58. Actor Robert Davi is 55. Singer-musician Mick Jones is 53. Actor Gedde Watanabe is 53. Rock singer Chris Isaak is 52. Rock singer Patty Smyth is 51. Singer Terri Nunn (Berlin) is 47. Rock singer Harriet Wheeler (The Sundays) is 45. Rock musician Colin Greenwood (Radiohead) is 39. Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson is 38. Actor Sean Hayes is 38. Actor Matt Letscher is 38. Actor Chris O'Donnell is 38. Actress Rebecca Budig is 35. Country singer Gretchen Wilson is 34. Actor-musician Jason Schwartzman is 28. Actress Kaitlin Cullum is 22.

Thought for Today: "When a diplomat says yes, he means perhaps; when he says perhaps, he means no; when he says no, he is no diplomat." — Anonymous.