Today In History

Today is Wednesday, June 17, the 169th day of 2020. There are 197 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

› 1972: President Richard Nixon’s eventual downfall began with the arrest of five burglars inside the Democratic headquarters in Washington, D.C.’s Watergate complex.

ON THIS DATE

› 1579: Sir Francis Drake arrived in present-day northern California, naming it New Albion and claiming English sovereignty.

› 1775: The Revolutionary War Battle of Bunker Hill resulted in a costly victory for the British, who suffered heavy losses.

› 1930: President Herbert Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which boosted U.S. tariffs to historically high levels, prompting foreign retaliation.

› 1944: The Republic of Iceland was established.

› 1967: China successfully tested its first thermonuclear (hydrogen) bomb.

› 1994: After leading police on a slow-speed chase on Southern California freeways, O.J. Simpson was arrested and charged with murder in the slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. (Simpson was later acquitted in a criminal trial but held liable in a civil trial.)

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Actor Peter Lupus is

88. Movie director Ken Loach is 84. Actor William Lucking is 79. Singer Barry Manilow is 77. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is 77. Comedian Joe Piscopo is 69. Actor Mark Linn-Baker is 66. Actor Jon Gries is 63. Rock singer Jello Biafra is 62. Movie producer-director-writer Bobby Farrelly is 62. Actor Thomas Haden Church is 60. Actor Greg Kinnear is 57. Actress Kami Cotler is

55. Olympic gold medal speed skater Dan Jansen is 55. Actor Jason Patric is 54. R&B singer Kevin Thornton is 51. Actor-comedian Will Forte is 50. Latin pop singer Paulina Rubio is 49. Tennis player Venus Williams is 40. Actor Arthur Darvill is

38. Actress Jodie Whittaker is 38. Actor Manish Dayal is 37. Country singer Mickey Guyton is 37. Actor-rapper Herculeez (aka Jamal Mixon) is 37. Actress Marie Avgeropoulos is 34. Rapper Kendrick Lamar is 33. NHL forward Nikita Kucherov is 27. Actor Damani Roberts is 24. Actor KJ Apa is 23.