Today is Friday, June 11, the 162nd day of 2021. There are 203 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On June 11, 1993, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that people who commit “hate crimes” motivated by bigotry may be sentenced to extra punishment.
On this date:
In 1509, England’s King Henry VIII married his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.
In 1770, Captain James Cook, commander of the British ship Endeavour, “discovered” the Great Barrier Reef off Australia by running onto it.
In 1776, the Continental Congress formed a committee to draft a Declaration of Independence calling for freedom from Britain.
In 1936, Kansas Gov. Alfred “Alf” Landon was nominated for president at the Republican national convention in Cleveland.
In 1947, the government announced the end of sugar rationing for households and “institutional users” (e.g., restaurants and hotels) as of midnight.
In 1955, in motor racing’s worst disaster, more than 80 people were killed during the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France when two of the cars collided and crashed into spectators.
In 1962, three prisoners at Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay staged an escape, leaving the island on a makeshift raft; they were never found or heard from again.
In 1985, Karen Ann Quinlan, the comatose patient whose case prompted a historic right-to-die court decision, died in Morris Plains, New Jersey, at age 31.
In 2001, Timothy McVeigh, 33, was executed by injection at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people.
In 2009, with swine flu reported in more than 70 nations, the World Health Organization declared the first global flu pandemic in 41 years.
Today’s Birthdays: Former U.S. Rep. Charles B. Rangel, D-N.Y., is 91. International Motorsports Hall of Famer Jackie Stewart is 82. Rock musician Frank Beard (ZZ Top) is 72. Rock singer Donnie Van Zant is 69. Actor Peter Bergman is 68. Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Montana is 65. Actor Hugh Laurie is 62. TV personality Mehmet Oz, M.D., is 61. Actor Peter Dinklage is 52. Actor Lenny Jacobson is 47. Actor Shia LaBeouf is 35.
