This day in history

[June 16, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, June 16, the 167th day of 2010. There are 198 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On June 16, 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."

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 1897, the government signed a treaty of annexation with Hawaii.

In 1903, Ford Motor Co. was incorporated.

In 1932, President Herbert Hoover and Vice President Charles Curtis were renominated at the Republican national convention in Chicago.

In 1933, the National Industrial Recovery Act became law. (It was later struck down by the Supreme Court.)

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 1960, the Alfred Hitchcock movie "Psycho" opened in New York.

In 1963, the world's first female space traveler, Valentina Tereshkova, was launched into orbit by the Soviet Union aboard Vostok 6.

In 1970, Kenneth A. Gibson of Newark, N.J. became the first black politician to win a mayoral election in a major Northeast city. Chicago Bears running back Brian Piccolo, 26, died at a New York hospital after battling cancer.

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

Ten years ago: Federal regulators approved the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE Corp.; the new entity became Verizon Communications Inc. Empress dowager Nagako, widow of Japan's Emperor Hirohito, died in Tokyo at age 97.

Five years ago: On the eve of Iran's presidential election, President George W. Bush said the voting was designed to keep power in the hands of a few rulers "through an electoral process that ignores the basic requirements of democracy." European Union leaders put on hold plans to unite their 25 nations under a single constitution. Masked gunmen took dozens of toddlers hostage at an international school in Siem Reap, Cambodia, killing a 3-year-old Canadian boy before they were overpowered by the police.

One year ago: President Barack Obama met with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak at the White House; afterward, Obama declared North Korea a "grave threat" to the world and pledged the U.S. and its allies would aggressively enforce fresh international penalties against the nuclear-armed nation. Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, a leading Republican mentioned as a potential presidential candidate, admitted he'd had an extramarital affair with a campaign staff member. Federal health regulators warned consumers to stop using Zicam Cold Remedy nasal gel and related products because they could permanently damage the sense of smell.

Today's birthdays: Actor Bill Cobbs is 75. Author Joyce Carol Oates is 72. Country singer Billy "Crash" Craddock is 71. Songwriter Lamont Dozier is 69. Rhythm-and-blues singer Eddie Levert is 68. Actress Joan Van Ark is 67. Actor Geoff Pierson is 61. Rhythm-and-blues singer James Smith (The Stylistics) is 60. Boxing Hall of Famer Roberto Duran is 59. Pop singer Gino Vannelli is 58. Actress Laurie Metcalf is 55. Model-actress Jenny Shimizu is 43. Actor James Patrick Stuart is 42. Actor Clifton Collins Jr. is 40. Actor John Cho is 38. Actor Eddie Cibrian is 37. Actress China (chee-nah) Shavers is 33. Actress Missy Peregrym (PEH'-rih-grihm) is 28. Actress Olivia Hack is 27. Singer Diana DeGarmo ("American Idol") is 23.

Thought for today: "We seldom stop to think how many people's lives are entwined with our own. It is a form of selfishness to imagine that every individual can operate on his own or can pull out of the general stream and not be missed." -- Ivy Baker Priest, former U.S. treasurer (1905-1975)

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.