Today in History – Saturday, June 10, 2017

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Today is Saturday, June 10, the 161st day of 2017. There are 204 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlights in History:

On June 10, 1967, war in the Mideast ended as Israel and Syria accepted a United Nations-mediated cease-fire; during the six days of conflict with Syria, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, Israeli forces captured the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. Academy Award-winning actor Spencer Tracy died in Beverly Hills, California, at age 67.

On this date:

In 1692, the first execution resulting from the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts took place as Bridget Bishop was hanged.

In 1892, the Republican national convention in Minneapolis nominated President Benjamin Harrison for re-election and Whitelaw Reid for vice president. (Harrison, however, lost the election to former President Grover Cleveland.)

In 1907, eleven men in five cars set out on a race from “Peking to Paris.” (Prince Scipione Borghese (ship-ee-OH’-nay bohr-GAY’-seh) of Italy was the first to arrive in the French capital two months later.)

In 1922, singer-actress Judy Garland was born Frances Ethel Gumm in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

In 1935, Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in Akron, Ohio, by Dr. Robert Holbrook Smith and William Griffith Wilson.

In 1942, during World War II, German forces massacred 173 male residents of Lidice (LIH’-dyiht-zeh), Czechoslovakia, in retaliation for the killing of Nazi official Reinhard Heydrich.

In 1944, German forces massacred 642 residents of the French village of Oradour-sur-Glane.

In 1957, in Canadian elections, John Diefenbaker (DEE’-fehn-BAY’-kur) led the Progressive Conservatives to an upset victory over the Liberal party of Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent (LOO’-ee sant law-RAHNT’).

In 1977, James Earl Ray, the convicted assassin of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., escaped from Brushy Mountain State Prison in Tennessee with six others; he was recaptured June 13.

In 1982, Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi fantasy “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” had its world premiere in Los Angeles.

In 1991, 11-year-old Jaycee Dugard of South Lake Tahoe, California, was abducted by Phillip and Nancy Garrido; Jaycee was held by the couple for 18 years before she was found by authorities.

In 2002, organized crime figure John Gotti died at a prison hospital in Springfield, Missouri, at age 61. A partial solar eclipse cast a shadow over parts of eastern Asia, the Pacific Ocean and North America.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush was enthusiastically welcomed to Albania as the first U.S. president to visit the former communist nation. The crews of Atlantis and the international space station greeted each other after the space shuttle arrived at the orbiting outpost. In the French Open final, Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Suzann Pettersen shot a 5-under 67 for a one-shot victory over Karrie Webb at the LPGA Championship. “Spring Awakening” was named best musical at the Tony Awards; “The Coast of Utopia,” best play. HBO aired the final episode of “The Sopranos,” featuring an abrupt blackout ending that left forever dangling the fate of mob boss Tony Soprano.

Five years ago: Parts of northern Colorado and southern New Mexico battled wildfires that were spreading rapidly through mountainous forest land, forcing hundreds of evacuations. Shanshan Feng won the LPGA Championship to become the first Chinese player to win an LPGA Tour title and a major event, closing with a 5-under 67 for a two-stroke victory at Locust Hill Country Club in Pittsford, New York. The bittersweet “Once” won eight Tony Awards, including best musical; “Clybourne Park” won best play.

One year ago: Muhammad Ali was laid to rest in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, after an all-day send-off. “Mr. Hockey” Gordie Howe, who set scoring records that stood for decades, died in Sylvania, Ohio, at 88. Singer Christina Grimmie, 22, a finalist on NBC’s “The Voice,” was shot to death during a meet-and-greet after giving a concert in Orlando, Florida, by an apparently obsessed fan who then killed himself. Actor Michael Jace was sentenced in Los Angeles to 40 years to life in prison for fatally shooting his wife, April.

Today’s Birthdays: Britain’s Prince Philip is 96. Attorney F. Lee Bailey is 84. Actress Alexandra Stewart is 78. Singer Shirley Alston Reeves (The Shirelles) is 76. Actor Jurgen Prochnow is 76. Media commentator Jeff Greenfield is 74. Football Hall of Famer Dan Fouts is 66. Country singer-songwriter Thom Schuyler is 65. Former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., is 64. Actor Andrew Stevens is 62. Singer Barrington Henderson is 61. Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer is 58. Rock musician Kim Deal is 56. Singer Maxi Priest is 56. Actress Gina Gershon is 55. Actress Jeanne Tripplehorn is 54. Rock musician Jimmy Chamberlin is 53. Actor Ben Daniels is 53. Actress Kate Flannery is 53. Model-actress Elizabeth Hurley is 52. Rock musician Joey Santiago is 52. Actor Doug McKeon is 51. Rock musician Emma Anderson is 50. Country musician Brian Hofeldt (The Derailers) is 50. Rapper The D.O.C. is 49. Rock singer Mike Doughty is 47. Rhythm-and-blues singer JoJo is 46. Former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is 46. Rhythm-and-blues singer Faith Evans is 44. Actor Hugh Dancy is 42. Rhythm-and-blues singer Lemisha Grinstead (702) is 39. Actor DJ Qualls is 39. Actor Shane West is 39. Country singer Lee Brice is 38. Singer Hoku is 36. Actress Leelee Sobieski is 35. Olympic gold medal figure skater Tara Lipinski is 35. Americana musician Bridget Kearney (Lake Street Drive) is 32. Model-actress Kate Upton is 25. Sasha Obama is 16.

Thought for Today: “I am firm. You are obstinate. He is a pig-headed fool.” — Katharine Whitehorn, British newspaper columnist.

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