This day in history

[June 16, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Tuesday, June 16, the 167th day of 2009. There are 198 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On June 16, 1858, as he accepted the Illinois Republican Party's nomination for 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 re-nominated 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 1958, the Supreme Court, in Kent v. Dulles, ruled that artist Rockwell Kent could not be denied a passport because of his communist affiliations.

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

In 1976, riots broke out in the black South African township of Soweto.

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos exchanged the instruments of ratification for the Panama Canal treaties.

Ten years ago: Vice President Al Gore formally opened his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination. Kathleen Ann Soliah, a fugitive member of the Symbionese Liberation Army, was captured in St. Paul, Minn., where she had made a new life under the name Sara Jane Olson. Thabo Mbeki took the oath as president of South Africa, succeeding Nelson Mandela.

Five years ago: Rebuffing Bush administration claims, the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks said no evidence existed that al-Qaida had strong ties to Saddam Hussein.

One year ago: Former Vice President Al Gore announced his endorsement of Barack Obama. A California Supreme Court ruling that overturned the state's bans on same-sex marriage became final at 5:01 p.m. Pacific time. Tiger Woods, playing on an injured knee that later required season-ending surgery, won an epic U.S. Open after a 19-hole playoff with Rocco Mediate.

Today's birthdays: Actor Bill Cobbs is 74. Author Erich Segal is 72. Author Joyce Carol Oates is 71. Country singer Billy "Crash" Craddock is 70. Songwriter Lamont Dozier is 68. R&B singer Eddie Levert is 67. Actress Joan Van Ark is 66. Actor Geoff Pierson is 60. R&B singer James Smith (The Stylistics) is 59. Boxer Roberto Duran is 58. Pop singer Gino Vannelli is 57. Actress Laurie Metcalf is 54. Model-actress Jenny Shimizu is 42. Actor James Patrick Stuart is 41. Actor Clifton Collins Jr. is 39. Actor John Cho is 37. Actor Eddie Cibrian is 36. Actress China Shavers is 32. Actress Missy Peregrym is 27. Actress Olivia Hack is 26. Singer Diana DeGarmo ("American Idol") is 22.

Thought for today: "Not to know is bad. Not to want to know is worse. Not to hope is unthinkable. Not to care is unforgivable." -- Nigerian saying

[Associated Press]

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