Today’s Highlight in History:
On June 26, 1997, the first Harry Potter novel, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling (ROHL’-ing), was published in the United Kingdom (it was later released in the United States under the title “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”).
On this date:
In 1917, the first troops of the American Expeditionary Force deployed to France during World War I landed in St. Nazaire.
In 1925, Charles Chaplin’s classic comedy “The Gold Rush” premiered at Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.
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 1963, President John F. Kennedy visited West Berlin, where he delivered his famous speech expressing solidarity with the city’s residents, declaring: “Ich bin ein Berliner” (I am a Berliner).
In 1977, 42 people were killed when a fire sent toxic smoke pouring through the Maury County Jail in Columbia, Tennessee. Elvis Presley performed his last concert at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.
In 1990, President George H.W. Bush went back on his “no-new-taxes” campaign pledge, conceding that tax increases would have to be included in any deficit-reduction package worked out with congressional negotiators.
TODAY IN HISTORY
Today in History: June 25, Anne Frank's diary published
Today in History: June 24, Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade
Today in History: June 23, Nasser elected Egypt's president
Today in History: June 22, Operation Barbarossa begins
In 1993, President Bill Clinton announced the U.S. had launched missiles against Iraqi targets because of “compelling evidence” Iraq had plotted to assassinate former President George H.W. Bush.
In 1996, the Supreme Court ordered the Virginia Military Institute to admit women or forgo state support.
In 1997, the first Harry Potter novel, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling (ROHL’-ing), was published in the United Kingdom (it was later released in the United States under the title “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”).
In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a handgun ban in the District of Columbia as it affirmed, 5-4, that an individual right to gun ownership existed.
In 2012: Sen. Orrin Hatch won the GOP Senate primary in Utah, handily turning back a challenge from tea party-backed Dan Liljenquist (lihl-IHN’-kwihst). Essayist, author and filmmaker Nora Ephron, 71, died in New York.
In 2013, in deciding its first cases on the issue, the U.S. Supreme Court gave the nation’s legally married gay couples equal federal footing with all other married Americans and also cleared the way for same-sex marriages to resume in California.
In 2017: President Donald Trump welcomed India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (nah-REN’-drah MOH’-dee) to the White House as the two leaders heralded an increasingly close strategic partnership. The Supreme Court said Trump could forge ahead with a limited version of his ban on travel from six mostly Muslim countries. Helmsman Peter Burling and Emirates Team New Zealand won the America’s Cup with a resounding romp against software tycoon Larry Ellison’s two-time defending champion Oracle Team USA. Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook capped his historic season at the NBA’s inaugural awards show, winning the 2016-17 Most Valuable Player award.
In 2020, after protesters in Washington, D.C., attempted to pull down a statue of Andrew Jackson, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to protect monuments, memorials and statues. Texas and Florida reversed course and clamped down on bars as the daily number of confirmed coronavirus infections in the U.S. surged to an all-time high of 40,000.
In 2021: Fire and smoke from inside the remains of a collapsed 12-story condominium tower near Miami hampered search efforts. Former President Donald Trump returned to a rally stage in Ohio for his first campaign-style event since leaving the White House; he reprised his election grievances and baseless claims of fraud. The Celebrity Edge became the first cruise ship to leave a U.S. port since the coronavirus pandemic brought the industry to a 15-month standstill; the number of passengers was limited to 40 percent capacity as the ship left Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with virtually all of them vaccinated against COVID-19.
Celebrity Birthdays
Jazz pianist Dave Grusin is 89. Singer Billy Davis Jr. of the Fifth Dimension is 85. Singer Georgie Fame is 80. Actor Clive Francis (“The Crown”) is 77. Singer Brenda Holloway is 77. Actor Michael Paul Chan (“The Closer”) is 73. Actor Robert Davi (“Profiler”) is 72. Musician Mick Jones of The Clash is 68. Actor Gedde Watanabe (“ER,” ″Sixteen Candles”) is 68. Singer Chris Isaak is 67. Singer Patty Smyth is 66. Singer Terri Nunn of Berlin is 64. Singer Harriet Wheeler of The Sundays is 60. Guitarist Eddie Perez of The Mavericks is 55. Bassist Colin Greenwood of Radiohead is 54. Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson (“Magnolia,” ″Boogie Nights”) is 53. Actor Sean Hayes (“Will and Grace”) is 53. Actor Matt Letscher (“Eli Stone,” ″The New Adventures of Old Christine”) is 53. Actor Chris O’Donnell is 53. Actor Nick Offerman (“Parks and Recreation”) is 53. Keyboardist Jeff Frankenstein of Newsboys is 49. Singer Gretchen Wilson is 49. Drummer Nathan Followill of Kings of Leon is 44. Singer Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic is 44. Actor Jason Schwartzman (“Slackers,” ″Rushmore”) is 43. Actor Aubrey Plaza (“Parks and Recreation”) is 39. Actor Jennette McCurdy (“iCarly”) is 31. Singer-actor Ariana Grande is 30.