Today in History June 21
Today is Saturday, June 21, the 173rd day of 2008. There are 193 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On June 21, 1788, the United States Constitution went into effect as New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it.
On this day in 1948, Lord Mountbatten resigned as Governor-General of India. He was the last Viceroy of the British Indian Empire and the first Governor-General of independent India (1947-1948).
On this date:
In 1798, the British Army defeated Irish rebels at Battle of Vinegar Hill. The Irish Rebellion of 1798 or 1798 rebellion as it is known locally, was an uprising lasting several months, against the British dominated Kingdom of Ireland.
In 1834, Cyrus Hall McCormick (AP) — received a patent for his reaping machine.
In 1908, composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov died in Lyubensk, Russia, at age 64.
In 1932, heavyweight Max Schmeling lost a title fight rematch in New York by decision to Jack Sharkey, prompting Schmeling's manager, Joe Jacobs, to exclaim: "We was robbed!"
In 1940, France surrenderd to Germany during the World War II.
In 1948, the Republican national convention opened in Philadelphia. The delegates ended up choosing Thomas E. Dewey to be their presidential nominee.
In 1957, Ellen Louks Fairclough was sworn in as Canada's first woman Cabinet Minister.
In 1963, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini was chosen to succeed the late Pope John XXIII; the new pope took the name Paul VI. The French government shocked its allies by announcing that it is withdrawing its navy from the North Atlantic fleet of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)
In 1964, civil rights workers Michael H. Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James E. Chaney disappeared in Philadelphia, Miss.; their bodies were found buried in an earthen dam six weeks later.
In 1973, the Supreme Court, in Miller v. California, ruled that states may ban materials found to be obscene according to local standards.
In 1982, a jury in Washington, found John Hinckley Jr. not guilty by reason of insanity in the shootings of President Reagan and three other men.
In 1985, scientists announced that skeletal remains exhumed in Brazil were those of Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele.
In 1990, an estimated 50,000 Iranians were killed by an earthquake.
In 2002, the World Health Organisation declares Europe polio free. (With research inputs)
Ten years ago: In Colombia, former Bogota Mayor Andres Pastrana was elected the country's president, defeating Horacio Serpa, a key player in the scandal-tainted administration of President Ernesto Samper. In World Cup soccer, Iran defeated the United States, 2-1.
Five years ago: Ten weeks after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, President Bush offered a broadly positive status report on the U.S. mission in Iraq in his weekly radio address. Lennox Lewis retained his heavyweight title after a cut stopped Vitali Klitschko after six brawling rounds in Los Angeles. Author Leon Uris died in New York at age 78; playwright George Axelrod died in Los Angeles at age 81.
One year ago: Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. nuclear envoy, made a rare trip to North Korea in a surprise bid to accelerate international efforts to press the communist government to abandon its nuclear weapons program. Bob Evans, creator of his namesake restaurant chain, died in Cleveland at age 89.
Today's Birthdays: Actress Jane Russell is 87. Actor Bernie Kopell is 75. Actor Monte Markham is 73. Songwriter Don Black is 70. Actress Mariette Hartley is 68. Comedian Joe Flaherty is 67. Rock singer-musician Ray Davies (The Kinks) is 64. Actress Meredith Baxter is 61. Actor Michael Gross is 61. Rock musician Joe Molland (Badfinger) is 61. Rock musician Don Airey (Deep Purple) is 60. Country singer Leon Everette is 60. Rock musicianJoey Kramer (Aerosmith) is 58. Rock musician Nils Lofgren is 57. Actress Robyn Douglass is 55. Actor Leigh McCloskey is 53. Cartoonist Berke Breathed is 51. Country singer Kathy Mattea is 49. Actor Marc Copage is 46. Actress Sammi Davis is 44. Actor Doug Savant is 44. Country musician Porter Howell is 44. Actor Michael Dolan is 43. Writer-director Larry Wachowski ("The Matrix") is 43. Actress Paula Irvine is 40. Country singer Allison Moorer is 36. Actress Juliette Lewis is 35. Musician Justin Cary is 33. Rock musician Mike Einziger (Incubus) is 32. Actor Chris Pratt is 29. Rock singer Brandon Flowers is 27. Britain's Prince William of Wales is 26. Actor Jascha Washington is 19.
Thought for Today: Thought for Today: "He, who will not reason, is a bigot; he, who cannot, is a fool; and he, who dares not, is a slave." — William Drummond, Scottish writer (1585-1649).
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080621/...n_hi/history_1
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv...WEN20080053804