Today is Monday, June 26, the 177th day of 2006. There are 188 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On June 26, 1963, President Kennedy visited West Berlin, where he made his famous declaration: “Ich bin ein Berliner” (I am a Berliner).
On this date:
In 1870, the first section of the boardwalk at Atlantic City, N.J., was opened to the public.
In 1900, a commission that included Dr. Walter Reed began the fight against the deadly disease yellow fever.
In 1917, the first troops of the American Expeditionary Force arrived in France during World War I.
In 1944, the Republican national convention opened in Chicago with a keynote speech by California Gov. Earl Warren.
In 1945, the charter of the United Nations was signed by 50 countries in San Francisco.
In 1948, the Berlin Airlift began in earnest after the Soviet Union cut off land and water routes to the isolated western sector of Berlin.
In 1959, President Eisenhower joined Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in ceremonies officially opening the St. Lawrence Seaway.
In 1968, Chief U.S. Justice Earl Warren announced his intention to resign.
In 1977, 42 people were killed when a fire sent toxic smoke pouring through the Maury County Jail in Columbia, Tenn.
In 2003, Strom Thurmond, the longest-serving senator in U.S. history, died in Edgefield, S.C., at age 100.
Ten years ago: The Supreme Court ordered the Virginia Military Academy to admit women, or forgo state support. Former White House counsel Bernard Nussbaum took the blame for the FBI files controversy; White House security chief Craig Livingstone resigned. President Clinton and leaders of the world’s other industrial powers gathered in Lyon, France, for their annual economic summit.
Five years ago: President Bush urged Ariel Sharon during a White House meeting to take the next step toward Middle East peace talks, but the Israeli prime minister said violence had to end first. George Trofimoff, a retired Army officer, was convicted in Tampa, Fla., of selling Cold War secrets to Moscow over two decades. (Trofimoff, who maintains his innocence, was sentenced to life in prison.)
One year ago: Dozens of international leaders met in San Francisco to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the United Nations’ birth. Tens of thousands of festively dressed people marched in parades around the country to celebrate the 35th anniversary of gay pride. South Korea’s Birdie Kim holed a 30-yard bunker shot to birdie the 18th hole and win the U.S. Women’s Open.
Today’s Birthdays: Actress Eleanor Parker is 84. Jazz musician-film composer Dave Grusin is 72. Actor Josef Sommer is 72. Singer Billy Davis Jr. (The Fifth Dimension) is 66. Rock singer Georgie Fame is 63. Actor Clive Francis is 60. Actor Robert Davi is 52. Singer-musician Mick Jones is 51. Actor Gedde Watanabe is 51. Rock singer Chris Isaak is 50. Rock singer Patty Smyth is 49. Singer Terri Nunn (Berlin) is 45. Rock singer Harriet Wheeler (The Sundays) is 43. Rock musician Colin Greenwood (Radiohead) is 37. Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson is 36. Actor Sean Hayes is 36. Actor Matt Letscher is 36. Actor Chris O’Donnell is 36. Actress Rebecca Budig is 33. Country singer Gretchen Wilson is 32. Actor-musician Jason Schwartzman is 26. Actress Kaitlin Cullum is 20.
Thought for Today: “There are two insults which no human will endure: the assertion that he hasn’t a sense of humor, and the doubly impertinent assertion that he has never known trouble.” — Sinclair Lewis, American author (1885-1951).
