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History

Staff
Wednesday June 19, 2002

On June 19, 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, convicted of conspiring to pass U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, were executed at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, N.Y. 

On this date: 

In 1586, English colonists sailed from Roanoke Island, N.C., after failing to establish England’s first permanent settlement in America. 

In 1862, slavery was outlawed in U.S. territories. 

In 1910, Father’s Day was celebrated for the first time, in Spokane, Wash. 

In 1934, the Federal Communications Commission was created. 

In 1952, 50 years ago, the celebrity-panel game show “I’ve Got A Secret” made its debut on CBS-TV with Garry Moore as host. 

In 1963, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova returned to Earth after spending nearly three days as the first woman in space. 

In 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was approved after surviving an 83-day Senate filibuster. 

In 1982, in a case that galvanized the Asian-American community, Vincent Chin, a Chinese-American, was beaten to death outside a nightclub in Highland Park, Mich., by auto worker Ronald Ebens.  

Ten years ago: Results in Ireland showed voters overwhelmingly approving the Maastricht Treaty on a European union. Russian President Boris Yeltsin addressed the Canadian Parliament, saying his country had abandoned totalitarianism for democracy. 

Five years ago: President Clinton welcomed world leaders to Denver on the eve of an economic summit. McDonald’s won a libel case in London against two vegetarian activists, even though the judge said he agreed with some of the defendants’ sharpest criticisms of the fast-food giant. 

One year ago: Strapped to the same padded gurney on which Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh died, drug kingpin Juan Raul Garza received a chemical injection and became the second inmate in eight days to be executed by the U.S. government. A jury in San Jose, Calif., convicted Andrew Burnett of tossing a little dog to its death on a busy highway in a bout of road rage. He was sentenced to three years in prison for the death of Leo, a fluffy white bichon frise. 

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Gena Rowlands is 66. Singer Spanky MacFarlane (Spanky and Our Gang) is 60. Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is 57. Actress Phylicia Rashad is 54. Rock singer Ann Wilson (Heart) is 52. Musician Larry Dunn is 49. Actress Kathleen Turner is 48. Singer Mark DeBarge is 43. Singer-dancer Paula Abdul is 40. Actor Andy Lauer is 37. Actor Bumper Robinson is 28.