Today in History: June 16, Donald Trump launches presidential campaign - WTOP News (2024)

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Today in History

Today is Sunday, June 16, the 168th day of 2024. There are 198 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On June 16, 2015, real estate mogul Donald Trump launched his successful campaign to become president of the United States with a speech at Trump Tower in Manhattan.

On this date:

In 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.”

In 1903, Ford Motor Co. was incorporated.

In 1933, the National Industrial Recovery Act became law with President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signature. (The Act was later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.)

In 1941, National Airport (now Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport) opened for business with a ceremony attended by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In 1963, the world’s first female space traveler, Valentina Tereshkova (teh-ruhsh-KOH’-vuh), 26, was launched into orbit by the Soviet Union aboard Vostok 6; Tereshkova spent 71 hours in flight, circling the Earth 48 times before returning safely.

In 1970, Kenneth A. Gibson of Newark, New Jersey, became the first Black politician elected mayor of a major Northeast city. Chicago Bears running back Brian Piccolo, 26, died at a New York hospital after battling cancer.

In 1977, Soviet Communist Party General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev was named president, becoming the first person to hold both posts simultaneously.

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos (toh-REE’-ohs) signed the instruments of ratification for the Panama Canal treaties during a ceremony in Panama City.

In 1999, Thabo Mbeki (TAH’-boh um-BEH’-kee) took the oath as president of South Africa, succeeding Nelson Mandela.

In 2011, U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., announced his resignation from Congress, bowing to the furor caused by his sexually charged online dalliances with a former p*rn performer and other women.

In 2013, Justin Rose captured his first major championship and became the first Englishman in 43 years to win the U.S. Open, shooting a closing 70 at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, for a 1-over 281 total.

In 2016, Walt Disney Co. opened Shanghai Disneyland, its first theme park in mainland China.

In 2017, President Donald Trump acknowledged for the first time that he was under federal investigation as part of the expanding probe into Russia’s election meddling as he lashed out at a top Justice Department official overseeing the inquiry.

In 2018, a 23-foot-long python swallowed a 54-year-old woman in central Indonesia, an extremely rare occurrence.

In 2020, federal authorities announced murder and attempted murder charges against an Air Force sergeant, Steven Carrillo, in the fatal shooting of a federal security officer outside a U.S. courthouse in Oakland, California. (Carrillo, who had ties to the far-right, anti-government “boogaloo” movement, pleaded guilty to a federal murder charge after prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty.)

In 2022, witnesses testified to the Jan. 6 committee that Donald Trump’s closest advisers viewed his last-ditch efforts to pressure Vice President Mike Pence to reject the tally of state electors and overturn the 2020 election as “nuts,” “crazy” and even likely to incite riots.

In 2023, Daniel Ellsberg, the government analyst and whistleblower who leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971, died at age 92.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Eileen Atkins is 90. Actor Bill Cobbs is 90. Author Joyce Carol Oates is 86. Country singer Billy “Crash” Craddock is 86. R&B singer Eddie Levert is 82. Actor Joan Van Ark is 81. Actor Geoff Pierson is 75. Boxing Hall of Famer Roberto Duran is 73. Pop singer Gino Vannelli is 72. Actor Laurie Metcalf is 69. Actor Arnold Vosloo is 62. Actor Danny Burstein is 60. Model-actor Jenny Shimizu is 57. Actor James Patrick Stuart is 56. Rapper MC Ren is 55. Actor Clifton Collins Jr. is 54. Golfer Phil Mickelson is 54. Actor John Cho is 52. Actor Eddie Cibrian is 51. Actor Fred Koehler is 49. Actor China (chee-nah) Shavers is 47. Actor Daniel Bruhl is 46. Bluegrass musician Caleb Smith (Balsam Range) is 46. Actor Sibel Kekilli is 44. Actor Missy Peregrym (PEH’-rih-grihm) is 42. Actor Olivia Hack is 41. Singer Diana DeGarmo (TV: “American Idol”) is 37. Actor Ali Stroker is 37. Tennis player Bianca Andreescu is 24.

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