Today in History for June 16

Today is Sunday, June 16, the 167th day of 2013. There are 198 days left in the year. This is Father's Day.

Today's Highlight in History:

On June 16, 1963, the world's first female space traveler, 26-year-old Valentina Tereshkova (teh-ruhsh-KOH'-vuh), 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.

On this date:

In 1567, Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle in Scotland. (She escaped almost a year later but ended up imprisoned again.)

In 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."

In 1883, baseball's first "Ladies' Day" took place as the New York Gothams offered women free admission to a game against the Cleveland Spiders. (New York won, 5-2.)

In 1903, Ford Motor Co. was incorporated.

In 1911, IBM had its beginnings as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. which was incorporated in New York State.

In 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.

In 1943, comedian Charles Chaplin, 54, married his fourth wife, 18-year-old Oona O'Neill, daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill, in Carpinteria, Calif.

In 1959, actor George Reeves, TV's "Superman," was found dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound in the bedroom of his Beverly Hills, Calif., home; he was 45.

In 1962, The New Yorker published the first of a three-part serialization of "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson.

In 1973, Soviet leader Leonid I. Brezhnev began an official visit to the United States.

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos (toh-REE'-ohs) exchanged the instruments of ratification for the Panama Canal treaties.

In 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.)

Ten years ago: Twelve people sent to prison as the result of a Tulia, Texas, drug bust were released on bail by a judge who said they'd been railroaded by an undercover agent. (A total of 35 people were later pardoned by Texas Gov. Rick Perry; 45 of the 46 who were arrested shared a $6 million settlement in a civil rights lawsuit.) A divided U.S. Supreme Court said, 6-3, the government can force medication on mentally ill criminal defendants only in the rarest of circumstances.

Five years ago: Former Vice President Al Gore announced his endorsement of Barack Obama for president. A California Supreme Court ruling that overturned the state's bans on same-sex marriage became final at 5:01 p.m. Pacific time. Tiger Woods, playing on a throbbing injured knee, won an epic U.S. Open after a 19-hole playoff with Rocco Mediate.

One year ago: Egyptians began going to the polls for a two-day runoff to choose their first freely elected president; Islamist candidate Mohammed Morsi emerged the winner. China launched its most ambitious space mission to date, carrying its first female astronaut, Liu Yang, and two male colleagues on a 13-day mission to an orbiting module. The mission ended safely.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Bill Cobbs is 78. Author Joyce Carol Oates is 75. Country singer Billy "Crash" Craddock is 74. Songwriter Lamont Dozier is 72. Rhythm-and-blues singer Eddie Levert is 71. Actress Joan Van Ark is 70. Actor Geoff Pierson is 64. Rhythm-and-blues singer James Smith (The Stylistics) is 63. Boxing Hall of Famer Roberto Duran is 62. Pop singer Gino Vannelli is 61. Actress Laurie Metcalf is 58. Model-actress Jenny Shimizu is 46. Actor James Patrick Stuart is 45. Actor Clifton Collins Jr. is 43. Actor John Cho is 41. Actor Eddie Cibrian is 40. Actress China (chee-nah) Shavers is 36. Actress Sibel Kekilli (TV: "Game of Thrones") is 33. Actress Missy Peregrym (PEH'-rih-grihm) is 31. Actress Olivia Hack is 30. Singer Diana DeGarmo ("American Idol") is 26. Pop-rock musician Ian Keaggy (Hot Chelle (SHEL)) is 26.

Thought for Today: "Not to know is bad. Not to want to know is worse. Not to hope is unthinkable. Not to care is unforgivable." — Nigerian saying.

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