Today is Friday, June 29, the 181st day of 2012. There are 185 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight:
On June 29, 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Furman v. Georgia, Jackson v. Georgia and Branch v. Texas, struck down a trio of death sentences, saying the way they had been imposed constituted cruel and unusual punishment. (The ruling prompted states to effectively impose a moratorium on executions until their capital punishment laws could be revised.)
On this date:
In 1613, the original Globe Theatre in London was destroyed by a fire.
In 1767, Britain approved the Townshend Revenue Act, which imposed import duties on glass, paint, oil, lead, paper and tea shipped to the American colonies. (Colonists bitterly protested, prompting Parliament to repeal the duties — except for tea.)
In 1911, the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers had its beginnings as Pope Pius X gave his blessing for the formation of The Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America.
In 1927, the first trans-Pacific airplane flight was completed as Lt. Lester Maitland and Lt. Albert Hegenberger arrived at Wheeler Field in Hawaii aboard the Bird of Paradise, an Atlantic-Fokker C-2, after flying 2,400 miles from Oakland, Calif., in 25 hours, 50 minutes.
In 1954, the Atomic Energy Commission voted against reinstating Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer’s access to classified information.
In 1956, actress Marilyn Monroe married playwright Arthur Miller in a civil ceremony in White Plains, N.Y. (the marriage lasted 4½ years).
Associated Press
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