Today in History
Today is Friday, June 19, the 170th day of 2015. There are 195 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On June 19, 1865, Union troops commanded by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War was over, and that all remaining slaves in Texas were free, an event celebrated to this day as "Juneteenth." On this date: In 1764, Jose Gervasio Artigas, considered the father of Uruguayan independence, was born in Montevideo.
In 1864, during the Civil War, the Confederate sloop-of-war CSS Alabama was sunk by the USS Kearsarge (also a sloop-of-war) off Cherbourg, France.
In 1910, the first-ever Father's Day was celebrated in Spokane, Washington. (The idea for the observance is credited to Sonora Louise Smart Dodd.)
In 1934, the Federal Communications Commission was created; it replaced the Federal Radio Commission.
In 1944, during World War II, the two-day Battle of the Philippine Sea began, resulting in a decisive victory for the Americans over the Japanese.
In 1945, millions of New Yorkers turned out to cheer Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was honored with a parade.
In 1953, Julius Rosenberg, 35, and his wife, Ethel, 37, convicted of conspiring to pass U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, were executed at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York.
In 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was approved by the U.S. Senate, 73-27, after surviving a lengthy filibuster.
In 1972, Hurricane Agnes, blamed for at least 122 deaths, made landfall over the Florida Panhandle.
In 1975, former Chicago organized crime boss Sam Giancana was shot to death in the basement of his home in Oak Park, Illinois; the killing has never been solved.
In 1986, University of Maryland basketball star Len Bias, the first draft pick of the Boston Celtics, suffered a fatal cocaine-induced seizure. Artificial heart recipient Murray P. Haydon died in Louisville, Kentucky, after 16 months on the manmade pump.
In 1999, author Stephen King was seriously injured when he was struck by a van driven by Bryan Smith in North Lovell, Maine. Britain's Prince Edward married commoner Sophie Rhys-Jones (rees johnz) in Windsor, England.
Today's Birthdays: Pop singer Tommy DeVito (The Four Seasons) is 87. Actress Gena (JEH'-nuh) Rowlands is 85. Hall of Fame race car driver Shirley Muldowney is 75. Singer Spanky McFarlane (Spanky and Our Gang) is 73. Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi (soo chee) is 70. Author Salman Rushdie is 68. Actress Phylicia Rashad is 67. Rock singer Ann Wilson (Heart) is 65.