This day in history

[June 10, 2011]  (AP)  Today is Friday, June 10, the 161st day of 2011. There are 204 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On June 10, 1921, President Warren G. Harding signed into law the Budget and Accounting Act, which created the Bureau of the Budget and the General Accounting Office.

On this date:

In 1610, Englishman Lord De La Warr arrived at the Jamestown settlement to take charge of the Virginia Colony.

In 1861, during the Civil War, Confederate troops routed Union soldiers in the Battle of Big Bethel in Virginia.

In 1907, 11 men in five cars set out from the French embassy in Beijing on a race to Paris. (Prince Scipione Borghese of Italy was the first to arrive in the French capital two months later.)

In 1935, Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in Akron, Ohio by Dr. Robert Holbrook Smith and William Griffith Wilson.

In 1940, Italy declared war on France and Britain; Canada declared war on Italy.

In 1942, the Gestapo massacred 173 male residents of Lidice (LIH'-dyiht-zeh), Czechoslovakia, in retaliation for the killing of a Nazi official.

In 1967, the Middle East War ended as Israel and Syria agreed to observe a United Nations-mediated cease-fire.

In 1971, President Richard M. Nixon lifted a two-decades-old trade embargo on China.

In 1985, socialite Claus von Bulow was acquitted by a jury in Providence, R.I., at his retrial on charges he'd tried to murder his heiress wife, Martha "Sunny" von Bulow.

In 1991, 11-year-old Jaycee Dugard of South Lake Tahoe, Calif. was abducted by Phillip and Nancy Garrido; Jaycee was held by the couple for 18 years before she was found by authorities.

Ten years ago: The Supreme Court, without comment, turned down a request to allow the videotaping of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh's execution, scheduled for the following day. The death toll from the flooding caused by the remnants of Tropical Storm Allison rose to 16 in Texas and Louisiana. Defending champion Gustavo Kuerten (KEHR'-ten) won his third French Open title, beating Alex Corretja (koh-REHT'-chuh) 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-2, 6-0.

Five years ago: Two Saudis and one Yemeni were found hanged at the Guantanamo Bay military prison, the first successful suicides at the base after dozens of attempts. Justine Henin-Hardenne won the French Open, beating Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-4. Jazil cruised to victory, holding off Bluegrass Cat in the Belmont Stakes.

One year ago: Army Secretary John McHugh announced that an investigation had found that potentially hundreds of remains at Arlington National Cemetery were misidentified or misplaced. Nelson Mandela's 13-year-old great-granddaughter, Zenani Mandela, was killed in a car accident while on the way home from a concert in Soweto on the eve of the World Cup. The NCAA sanctioned the University of Southern California with a two-year bowl ban, four years' probation, loss of scholarships and forfeits of an entire year's games for improper benefits given to Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush.

Today's birthdays: Britain's Prince Philip is 90. Columnist Nat Hentoff is 86. Author Maurice Sendak is 83. Attorney F. Lee Bailey is 78. Actress Alexandra Stewart is 72. Singer Shirley Alston Reeves (The Shirelles) is 70. Actor Jurgen Prochnow is 70. Media commentator Jeff Greenfield is 68. Country singer-songwriter Thom Schuyler is 59. Former Sen. John Edwards is 58. Actor Andrew Stevens is 56. Singer Barrington Henderson is 55. Former New York Governor-turned-media commentator Eliot Spitzer is 52. Rock musician Kim Deal is 50. Singer Maxi Priest is 50. Actress Gina Gershon is 49. Actress Jeanne Tripplehorn is 48. Rock musician Jimmy Chamberlin is 47. Actress Kate Flannery is 47. Model-actress Elizabeth Hurley is 46. Rock musician Joey Santiago is 46. Actor Doug McKeon is 45. Rock musician Emma Anderson is 44. Country musician Brian Hofeldt (The Derailers) is 44. Rapper The D.O.C. is 43. Rock singer Mike Doughty is 41. Rhythm-and-blues singer JoJo is 40. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is 40. Rhythm-and-blues singer Faith Evans is 38. Actor Hugh Dancy is 36. Rhythm-and-blues singer Lemisha Grinstead (702) is 33. Actor DJ Qualls is 33. Actor Shane West is 33. Country singer Lee Brice is 32. Singer Hoku is 30. Actress Leelee Sobieski is 29. Olympic gold medal figure skater Tara Lipinski is 29. Presidential daughter Sasha Obama is 10.

Thought for today: "I think we all have a need to know what we do not need to know." -- William Safire, American writer and journalist (1929-2009)

[Associated Press]

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