This day in history

[June 12, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Saturday, June 12, the 163rd day of 2010. There are 202 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On June 12, 1963, civil rights leader Medgar Evers, 37, was fatally shot in front of his home in Jackson, Miss. (In 1994, Byron De La Beckwith was convicted of murdering Evers and sentenced to life in prison; he died in 2001.)

On this date:

In 1665, England installed a municipal government in New York, formerly the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam.

In 1776, Virginia's colonial legislature became the first to adopt a Bill of Rights.

In 1898, Philippine nationalists declared independence from Spain.

In 1920, the Republican national convention, meeting in Chicago, nominated Warren G. Harding for president on the tenth ballot. Calvin Coolidge was nominated for vice president.

In 1929, Holocaust diarist Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt, Germany.

In 1939, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum was dedicated in Cooperstown, N.Y.

In 1967, the Supreme Court, in Loving v. Virginia, struck down state laws prohibiting interracial marriages.

In 1979, 26-year-old cyclist Bryan Allen flew the man-powered Gossamer Albatross across the English Channel.

In 1987, President Ronald Reagan, during a visit to the divided German city of Berlin, publicly challenged Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev to "tear down this wall."

In 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were slashed to death outside her Los Angeles home. (O.J. Simpson was later acquitted of the killings in a criminal trial, but was eventually held liable in a civil action.)

Ten years ago: The Supreme Court, in a unanimous ruling, said patients cannot use a federal law to sue HMOs for giving doctors a financial incentive to cut treatment costs.

Five years ago: Vice President Dick Cheney, reacting to a growing chorus of calls to close the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, told Fox News Channel there were no plans to do so. American-educated professor and women's rights activist Massouma al-Mubarak was named Kuwait's first female Cabinet minister. At the LPGA Championship, Annika Sorenstam closed with a 1-over 73 for a three-shot victory over Michelle Wie, who shot a 69 to finish second.

One year ago: U.S. television stations ended analog broadcasts in favor of digital transmission. Congress approved legislation banning "light" or candy-flavored cigarettes and requiring tobacco companies to make bigger warning labels and run fewer ads. The U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions on North Korea for its second nuclear test. The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 to win the Stanley Cup in Game 7.

Today's birthdays: Banker-philanthropist David Rockefeller is 95. Former President George H.W. Bush is 86. Singer Vic Damone is 82. Songwriter Richard Sherman is 82. Actor-singer Jim Nabors is 80. Jazz musician Chick Corea is 69. Sportscaster Marv Albert is 69. Singer Roy Harper is 69. Rock singer Reg Presley (The Troggs) is 69. Pop singer Len Barry is 68. Rock singer-musician John Wetton (Asia, King Crimson) is 61. Rock musician Bun E. Carlos (Cheap Trick) is 59. Country singer-musician Junior Brown is 58. Singer-songwriter Rocky Burnette is 57. Actor Timothy Busfield is 53. Singer Meredith Brooks is 52. Actress Jenilee Harrison is 52. Rock musician John Linnell (They Might Be Giants) is 51. Rapper Grandmaster Dee (Whodini) is 48. Actress Paula Marshall is 46. Actress Frances O'Connor is 43. Blues musician Kenny Wayne Shepherd is 33. Actor Wil Horneff is 31. Singer Robyn is 31. Country singer Chris Young is 25. Actor Ryan Malgarini is 18.

Thought for today: "A man without ambition is dead. A man with ambition but no love is dead. A man with ambition and love for his blessings here on earth is ever so alive." -- Pearl Bailey, American entertainer (1918-1990)

[Associated Press]

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