Today is Monday, June 19, the 170th day of 2006. There are 195 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On June 19, 1865, Union troops commanded by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War was over, and that all slaves were free. (The anniversary of this celebration is called “Juneteenth.”)
On this date:
In 1586, English colonists sailed from Roanoke Island, N.C., after failing to establish England’s first permanent settlement in America.
In 1862, slavery was outlawed in U.S. territories.
In 1910, Father’s Day was celebrated for the first time, in Spokane, Wash.
In 1917, during World War I, King George V ordered the British royal family to dispense with German titles and surnames. The family took the name “Windsor.”
In 1934, the Federal Communications Commission was created; it replaced the Federal Radio Commission.
In 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, convicted of conspiring to pass U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, were executed at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, N.Y.
In 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was approved by the Senate, 73-27, after surviving a lengthy filibuster.
In 1982, in a case that galvanized the Asian-American community, Vincent Chin, a Chinese-American, was beaten to death outside a nightclub in Highland Park, Mich., by two autoworkers who later received probation for manslaughter.
In 1986, University of Maryland basketball star Len Bias, the first draft pick of the Boston Celtics, suffered a fatal cocaine-induced seizure.
In 1986, artificial heart recipient Murray P. Haydon died in Louisville, Ky., after 16 months on the manmade pump.
Ten years ago: Chief executives from seven states, police, state attorneys general and members of Congress met with President Clinton at the White House to discuss ways of stopping the recent torching of black churches. New York City police announced that a shooting suspect in custody had been linked to the “Zodiac” shootings that terrorized New Yorkers in the early 1990’s.
Five years ago: Strapped to the same padded gurney on which Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh died, drug kingpin Juan Raul Garza received a chemical injection and became the second inmate in eight days to be executed by the U.S. government. A jury in San Jose, Calif., convicted Andrew Burnett of tossing a little dog to its death on a busy highway in a bout of road rage. (Burnett was later sentenced to three years in prison for the death of Leo, a white bichon frise.)
One year ago: Fighting raged across southern Afghanistan as the U.S. military pounded suspected Taliban positions with airstrikes. Michael Campbell answered every challenge Tiger Woods threw his way for a two-shot victory in the U.S. Open. Fourteen Formula One drivers refused to participate in the United States Grand Prix because of unresolved concerns over the safety of their Michelin tires. (The race was won by Michael Schumacher, one of six drivers who raced using Bridgestone tires.)
Today’s Birthdays: Actress Gena Rowlands is 70. Singer Al Wilson is 67. Singer Spanky MacFarlane (Spanky and Our Gang) is 64. Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is 61. Actress Phylicia Rashad is 58. Rock singer Ann Wilson (Heart) is 56. Musician Larry Dunn is 53. Actress Kathleen Turner is 52. Country singer Doug Stone is 50. Singer Mark DeBarge is 47. Singer-dancer-“American Idol” judge Paula Abdul is 44. Rock singer-musician Brian Vander Ark (Verve Pipe) is 42. Actor Andy Lauer is 41. Actress Robin Tunney is 34. Actor Bumper Robinson is 32. Actress Poppy Montgomery is 31. Actress Zoe Saldana is 27.
Thought for Today: “To seek fulfillment is to invite frustration.” — Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian author and philosopher (1895-1986).