Today is Saturday, June 22, the 173rd day of 2019. There are 192 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On June 22, 1977, John N. Mitchell became the first former U.S. Attorney General to go to prison as he began serving a sentence for his role in the Watergate cover-up. (He was released 19 months later.)
In 1911, Britain’s King George V was crowned at Westminster Abbey.
In 1918, a train carrying members of the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus and their families was rear-ended during an emergency stop by another train near Hammond, Indiana, killing at least 86 people aboard the circus train.
In 1937, Joe Louis began his reign as world heavyweight boxing champion by knocking out Jim Braddock in the eighth round of their fight in Chicago. (A year later on this date, Louis knocked out Max Schmeling in the first round of their rematch at Yankee Stadium.)
In 1940, during World War II, Adolf Hitler gained a stunning victory as France was forced to sign an armistice eight days after German forces overran Paris.
In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, more popularly known as the “GI Bill of Rights.”
In 1945, the World War II battle for Okinawa ended with an Allied victory.
In 1969, singer-actress Judy Garland died in London at age 47.
In 1970, President Richard Nixon signed an extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that lowered the minimum voting age to 18.
In 1981, Mark David Chapman pleaded guilty to killing rock star John Lennon. Abolhassan Bani-Sadr was deposed as president of Iran.
In 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court, in R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul, unanimously ruled that “hate crime” laws that banned cross burning and similar expressions of racial bias violated free-speech rights.
In 2012, ex-Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was convicted by a jury in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, on 45 counts of sexually assaulting 10 boys over 15 years. (Sandusky is appealing a 30- to 60-year state prison sentence.)
In 2008, acerbic standup comedian and satirist George Carlin died in Santa, Monica, California, at age 71.
Ten years ago: Nine people were killed when a Washington, D.C., commuter train crashed into the rear of another during afternoon rush hour. President Barack Obama signed the nation’s toughest anti-smoking law, aiming to keep thousands of teens from getting hooked. Chris Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault of ex-girlfriend Rihanna (he was later sentenced to probation and community labor). Lucas Glover won the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black with a 3-over 73 for a two-shot victory.
Five years ago: President Barack Obama, in a recorded interview aired on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” said that al-Qaida-inspired militants who had violently seized territory in Iraq could grow in power and destabilize other countries in the region. Michelle Wie closed with an even-par 70 for a two-shot victory over Stacy Lewis, the No. 1 player in women’s golf, in the U.S. Women’s Open; it was Wie’s first major championship. “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” received its eighth trophy as outstanding entertainment talk show at the Daytime Emmy awards ceremony in Beverly Hills. Steve Rossi, 82, one half of the comic duo of Allen & Rossi, died in Las Vegas.
One year ago: White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked to leave a Virginia restaurant; the co-owner said the move came at the request of gay employees who objected to Sanders’ defense of President Donald Trump’s effort to bar transgender people from the military. Trump accused Democrats of telling “phony stories of sadness and grief” about children separated from their parents while crossing the border; he met with parents of children who’d been killed by immigrants in the country illegally. The European Union began enforcing tariffs on American imports including bourbon, peanut butter and orange juice, in retaliation for duties the Trump administration imposed on European steel and aluminum.
Today’s Birthdays: Actress Prunella Scales (TV: “Fawlty Towers”) is 87. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is 86. Singer-actor Kris Kristofferson is 83. Movie director John Korty is 83. Actor Michael Lerner is 78. Actor Klaus Maria Brandauer is 76. Fox News analyst Brit Hume is 76. Singer Peter Asher (Peter and Gordon) is 75. Actor David L. Lander is 72. Singer Howard “Eddie” Kaylan is 72. Singer-musician Todd Rundgren is 71. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is 70. Actress Meryl Streep is 70. Actress Lindsay Wagner is 70. Singer Alan Osmond is 70. Actor Murphy Cross is 69. Actor Graham Greene is 67. Pop singer Cyndi Lauper is 66. Actor Chris Lemmon is 65. Rock musician Derek Forbes is 63. Actor Tim Russ is 63. Rock musician Garry Beers (INXS) is 62. Actor-producer-writer Bruce Campbell is 61. Rock musician Alan Anton (Cowboy Junkies) is 60. Actress Tracy Pollan is 59. Environmental activist Erin Brockovich is 59. Rock singer-musician Jimmy Somerville is 58. Basketball Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler is 57. Actress Amy Brenneman is 55. Author Dan Brown is 55. Rock singer-musician Mike Edwards (Jesus Jones) is 55. Rock singer Steven Page is 49. Actor Michael Trucco is 49. Actress Mary Lynn Rajskub is 48. TV personality Carson Daly is 46. Rock musician Chris Traynor is 46. Country musician Jimmy Wallace is 46. Actor Donald Faison is 45. Actress Alicia Goranson is 45. Actor-comedian Mike O’Brien (TV: “Saturday Night Live”) is 43. TV personality/actor Jai Rodriguez is 40. Americana singer-songwriter John Moreland is 34. Actress Lindsay Ridgeway is 34. Pop singer Dina Hansen (Fifth Harmony) (TV: “The X Factor”) is 22.
Thought for Today: “If you look at life one way, there is always cause for alarm.” — Elizabeth Bowen, Irish author (1899-1973).