Today in History

Today in History

Today is Tuesday, June 16, the 167th day of 2015. There are 198 days left in the year.
June 16, 1955
members of Argentina's military bombarded the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires in a failed attempt to assassinate President Juan Domingo Peron and his Cabinet, causing hundreds of civilian deaths, the same day Peron was excommunicated by Pope Pius XII for expelling two bishops from his country (however, the ban was effectively lifted in 1963).
1567
Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle in Scotland. (She escaped almost a year later but ended up imprisoned again.)
1858
accepting the Illinois Republican Party's nomination for the U.S. Senate, Abraham Lincoln said the slavery issue had to be resolved, declaring, "A house divided against itself cannot stand."
1903
Ford Motor Co. was incorporated.
1911
IBM had its beginnings as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. was incorporated in New York State.
1933
the National Industrial Recovery Act became law with President Franklin D. Roosevelt's signature. (The Act was later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.) The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was founded as President Roosevelt signed the Banking Act of 1933.
1943
comedian Charles Chaplin, 54, married his fourth wife, 18-year-old Oona O'Neill, daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill, in Carpinteria, California.
1944
George Stinney, a 14-year-old black youth, became the youngest person to die in the electric chair as the state of South Carolina executed him for the murders of two white girls, Betty June Binnicker, 11, and Mary Emma Thames, 7.
1955
the Disney animated feature "Lady and the Tramp" had its world premiere in Chicago.
1963
the world's first female space traveler, Valentina Tereshkova (teh-ruhsh-KOH'-vuh), 26, was launched into orbit by the Soviet Union aboard Vostok 6; she spent 71 hours in flight, circling the Earth 48 times before returning safely.
1978
President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos (toh-REE'-ohs) exchanged the instruments of ratification for the Panama Canal treaties.
1987
a jury in New York acquitted Bernhard Goetz of attempted murder in the subway shooting of four youths he said were going to rob him; however, Goetz was convicted of illegal weapons possession. (In 1996, a civil jury ordered Goetz to pay $43 million to one of the persons he'd shot.)
1999
Vice President Al Gore formally opened his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination. Kathleen Ann Soliah (SOH'-lee-ah), a fugitive member of the Symbionese Liberation Army, was captured in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she had made a new life under the name Sara Jane Olson. Thabo Mbeki (TAH'-boh um-BEH'-kee) took the oath as president of South Africa, succeeding Nelson Mandela.
Ten years ago:
On the eve of Iran's presidential election, President George W. Bush said the voting was designed to keep power in the hands of a few rulers "through an electoral process that ignores the basic requirements of democracy." European Union leaders put on hold plans to unite their 25 nations under a single constitution. Masked gunmen took dozens of toddlers hostage at an international school in Siem Reap, Cambodia, killing a 3-year-old Canadian boy before they were overpowered by the police.
Five years ago:
After meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House, BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg announced the oil giant was establishing a $20 billion claim fund and suspending dividends as he insisted, "We care about the small people." Movie director Ronald Neame ("The Poseidon Adventure") died in Los Angeles at age 99.
One year ago:
President Barack Obama notified Congress that up to 275 troops could be sent to Iraq to provide support and security for U.S. personnel and the American Embassy in Baghdad. A divided Supreme Court sided with gun control groups and the Obama administration, ruling that the federal government can strictly enforce laws that ban a "straw" purchaser from buying a gun for someone else.
Today's Birthdays:
Actor Bill Cobbs is 81. Author Joyce Carol Oates is 77. Country singer Billy "Crash" Craddock is 77. Songwriter Lamont Dozier is 74. Rhythm-and-blues singer Eddie Levert is 73. Actress Joan Van Ark is 72. Actor Geoff Pierson is 66. Rhythm-and-blues singer James Smith (The Stylistics) is 65. Boxing Hall of Famer Roberto Duran is 64. Pop singer Gino Vannelli is 63. Actress Laurie Metcalf is 60. Actor Arnold Vosloo is 53. Model-actress Jenny Shimizu is 48. Actor James Patrick Stuart is 47. Rapper MC Ren is 46. Actor Clifton Collins Jr. is 45. Golfer Phil Mickelson is 45. Actor John Cho is 43. Actor Eddie Cibrian is 42. Actor Fred Koehler is 40. Actress China (chee-nah) Shavers is 38. Actress Sibel Kekilli is 35. Actress Missy Peregrym (PEH'-rih-grihm) is 33. Actress Olivia Hack is 32. Singer Diana DeGarmo (TV: "American Idol") is 28. Pop-rock musician Ian Keaggy (Hot Chelle (SHEL)) is 28.
Thought for Today:
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me." — Dudley Field Malone, American attorney (1882-1950).