HISTORY FOR SUNDAY, JUNE 20

Sunday June 20, 2010

Today is Sunday, June 20, the 171st day of 2010 with 194 to follow.

This is Father's Day.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Neptune, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. The evening stars are Venus and Mars.

This Day in History, June 20
On June 20th, 1214, the University of Oxford received its charter.

Other Notable Events, June 20
In 1893, a jury in Fall River, Mass., found Lizzy Borden not guilty in the ax murders of her father and stepmother.

In 1898, the U.S. Navy seized Guam, the largest of the Mariana Islands in the Pacific, during the Spanish-American War. The people of Guam were granted U.S. citizenship in 1950.

In 1900, in response to widespread foreign encroachment upon China's national affairs, Chinese nationalists launched the so-called Boxer Rebellion in Beijing.

In 1963, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to establish a hot line communications link between Washington and Moscow.

In 1967, the American Independent Party was formed to back George Wallace of Alabama for president.

In 1977, oil began to flow through the $7.7 billion, 789-mile Alaska pipeline.

In 1990, U.S. President George H.W. Bush broke off U.S. diplomatic contact with the Palestine Liberation Organization after the PLO refused to act against a factional leader who plotted to attack Israel.

In 1991, the German parliament voted to move its capital from Bonn to Berlin.

In 1994, O.J. Simpson pleaded "100 percent not guilty" to charges he killed his ex-wife and her friend.

In 1995, a military court acquitted Air Force Capt. James Wang of charges in the April 1994 downing of two U.S Army helicopters over Iraq. He was the senior director of an AWACS plane that failed to warn two U.S. jets that the choppers were friendly.

In 1997, four major U.S. tobacco companies and several state attorneys general, after months of negotiations, agreed to a $368.5 billion settlement to recover the costs of smoking-related illnesses.

In 1999, NATO formally ended its bombing campaign of Yugoslavia as Serb forces completed their withdrawal from Kosovo.

In 2000, Taiwan's new president invited his Chinese counterpart to take part in a peace effort similar to one begun by North and South Korea.

In 2003, up to 200 illegal immigrants were feared dead after their boat capsized off the coast of Tunisia on its way to Italy.

In 2004, Pakistan and India reached agreement on banning nuclear testing.

In 2006, former White House official David Saravian was convicted on four counts of lying to investigators and obstruction of justice in dealings with lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

In 2007, U.S. President George W. Bush blocked legislation to permit federal funding for stem cell studies. He vetoed a new proposal to lift restrictions on funding for the research.

Also in 2007, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered the military to allow the evacuation of busloads of fleeing Palestinians from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

In 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an updated wiretapping law that includes protection from civil suits for telecommunications companies.

Also in 2008, the U.S. military appears to have misplaced hundreds of nuclear missile components, officials reported. The Financial Times said one U.S. Defense Department official cited more than 1,000 parts that cannot be accounted for.

In 2009, Iraqi insurgents, striking in a series of attacks as U.S. troops pulled out of Iraq as planned, set off a truck bomb near a Shiite mosque in northern Iraq, killing 82 people and injuring 250.

Also in 2009, authorities reported at least 19 protesters were killed as demonstrations continued in the aftermath of the Iranian presidential election.

And, U.S. President Barack Obama said drug makers and congressional leaders had agreed to a plan to reduce prescriptions drug costs for many American seniors.


Notable Birthdays for June 20
Those born on this date include:
- James VI of Scotland, later James I of England, in 1566
- French philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal in 1623
- The Duchess of Windsor, born Bessie Wallis Warfield, in 1896
- Moe Howard, leader of the Three Stooges, in 1897
- Bandleader Guy Lombardo in 1902
- Baseball legend Lou Gehrig in 1903
- Former U.S. Sen. Alan Cranston, D-Calif., in 1914
- Film critic Pauline Kael in 1919
- Actress Nancy Marchand in 1928
- Actress Gena Rowlands in 1930 (age 80)
- Author Salman Rushdie in 1947 (age 63)
- Actress Phylicia Rashad in 1948 (age 62)
- Singer Ann Wilson of Heart in 1950 (age 60)
- Actress Kathleen Turner in 1954 (age 56)
- Singer Paula Abdul in 1962 (age 48)


Copyright 2010 by United Press International