Almanac - Friday 6/17/22

1631 – Mumtaz Mahal dies during childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, will spend the next 17 years building her mausoleum, the Taj Mahal.

1885 – The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor.

1901 – The College Board introduces its first standardized test, the forerunner to the SAT.

1932 – Bonus Army: Around a thousand World War I veterans amass at the United States Capitol as the U.S. Senate considers a bill that would give them certain benefits.

1960 – The Nez Perce tribe is awarded $4 million for 7 million acres (28,000 km2) of land undervalued at four cents/acre in the 1863 treaty.

1971 – U.S. President Richard Nixon in a televised press conference called drug abuse "America's public enemy number one", starting the War on drugs.

1972 – Watergate scandal: Five White House operatives are arrested for burgling the offices of the Democratic National Committee during an attempt by members of the administration of President Richard M. Nixon to illegally wiretap the political opposition as part of a broader campaign to subvert the democratic process.

1991 – Apartheid: The South African Parliament repeals the Population Registration Act which required racial classification of all South Africans at birth.

1994 – Following a televised low-speed highway chase, O. J. Simpson is arrested for the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.

2021 – Juneteenth National Independence Day, was signed into law by President Joe Biden, to become the first federal holiday established since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.

…and if today is your birthday, Happy Birthday To You! You share your special day with…

1871 – James Weldon Johnson, American author, journalist, and activist (d. 1938)

1882 – Igor Stravinsky, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1971)

1898 – M. C. Escher, Dutch illustrator (d. 1972)

1904 – Ralph Bellamy, American actor (d. 1991)

1910 – Red Foley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1968)

1915 – David "Stringbean" Akeman, American singer and banjo player (d. 1973)

1916 – Terry Gilkyson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1999)

1931 – John Baldessari, American painter and illustrator (d. 2020)

1942 – Mohamed ElBaradei, Egyptian politician, Vice President of Egypt, Nobel Prize laureate

1943 – Newt Gingrich, American historian and politician, 58th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

1943 – Barry Manilow, American singer-songwriter and producer

1945 – Art Bell, American broadcaster and author (d. 2018)

1947 – Linda Chavez, American journalist and author

1947 – George S. Clinton, American composer and songwriter

1948 – Dave Concepción, Venezuelan baseball player and manager

1949 – Snakefinger, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1987)

1951 – Starhawk, American author and activist

1951 – Joe Piscopo, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter

1958 – Jello Biafra, American singer-songwriter and producer

1975 – Joshua Leonard, American actor, director, and screenwriter

1980 – Venus Williams, American tennis player

1987 – Kendrick Lamar, American rapper

1989 – Simone Battle, American singer and actress (d. 2014)

Almanac - Friday 6/17/22

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