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Today in history: June 29

Celebrity birthdays, highlights in history, plus more facts about this day
/ Source: The Associated Press

Today is Thursday, June 29, the 180th day of 2006. There are 185 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:
On June 29, 1776, the Virginia state constitution was adopted, and Patrick Henry made governor.

On this date:
In 1767, the British Parliament approved the Townshend Revenue Acts, which imposed import duties on certain goods shipped to America. Colonists bitterly protested the Acts, which were repealed in 1770.

In 1946, British authorities arrested more than 2,700 Jews in Palestine in an attempt to stamp out alleged terrorism.

In 1949, the government of South Africa enacted a ban against racially mixed marriages.

In 1954, the Atomic Energy Commission voted against reinstating Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer’s access to classified information.

In 1966, the United States bombed fuel storage facilities near the North Vietnamese cities of Hanoi and Haiphong.

In 1967, Jerusalem was reunified as Israel removed barricades separating the Old City from the Israeli sector.

In 1970, the United States ended a two-month military offensive into Cambodia.

In 1972, the Supreme Court ruled the death penalty, as it was being meted out, could constitute “cruel and unusual punishment.” (The ruling prompted states to revise their capital punishment laws.)

In 1981, Hu Yaobang, a protege of Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, was elected Communist Party chairman, replacing Mao Tse-tung’s hand-picked successor, Hua Guofeng.

In 1995, the shuttle Atlantis and the space station Mir docked in orbit.

Ten years ago: U.S. allies backed President Clinton’s demand that Bosnian Serb leaders indicted for war crimes be forced “out of power and out of influence.”

Five years ago: Vice President Dick Cheney, experiencing heart problems for the third time since the November election, announced he was going back to the hospital. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was elected to a second term.

One year ago: President Bush, embracing nearly all the recommendations of a White House commission, said he was creating a national security service at the FBI to specialize in intelligence as part of a shake-up of the disparate U.S. spy agencies. Mexico released a series of postage stamps depicting an exaggerated black cartoon character known as “Memin Pinguin,” prompting protests from U.S. activists.

Today’s Birthdays: Movie producer Robert Evans is 76. Songwriter L. Russell Brown is 66. Actor Gary Busey is 62. Comedian Richard Lewis is 59. Actor Fred Grandy is 58. Rock musician Ian Paice (Deep Purple) is 58. Singer Don Dokken (Dokken) is 53. Rock singer Colin Hay (Men At Work) is 53. Actress Maria Conchita Alonso is 49. Singer Evelyn “Champagne” King is 46. Actress Sharon Lawrence is 45. Actress Amanda Donohoe is 44. Rhythm-and-blues singer Stedman Pearson (Five Star) is 42. Musician Dale Baker is 40. Rap DJ Shadow is 34. Country musician Todd Sansom (Marshall Dyllon) is 28. Singer Nicole Scherzinger is 28.

Thought for Today: “A hypocrite is a person who — but who isn’t?” — Don Marquis, American journalist-author (1878-1937).