The Associated Press

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

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On this date in:

1586

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

1862

Slavery was outlawed in U.S. territories.

1903

Baseball Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig was born in New York City.

1910

Father's Day was celebrated for the first time, in Spokane, Wash.

1917

During World War I, King George V changed the British royal family's German-sounding surname, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, to Windsor.

1934

The Federal Communications Commission was created.

1961

The Supreme Court struck down a provision in Maryland's constitution requiring state officeholders to profess a belief in God.

1964

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was approved after an 83-day filibuster in the U.S. Senate.

1987

The Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law requiring any public school teaching the theory of evolution to teach creation science as well.

1999

Britain's Prince Edward married commoner Sophie Rhys-Jones in Windsor, England.

AP Photo/Findlay Kember

2000

The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling, barred officials from letting students lead stadium crowds in prayer before football games.

2007

A truck bomb struck a Shiite mosque in central Baghdad, killing at least 87 people.

2008

Democrat Barack Obama announced he would bypass public financing for the presidential election, even though Republican John McCain was accepting it.

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Highlights of This Day in History

Today's Birthdays:

Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi turns 68 years old today.

AP Photo/Khin Maung Win

Name

Profession

Age

Gena Rowlands

Actress

Salman Rushdie

Author

Phylicia Rashad

Actress ("The Cosby Show")

Ann Wilson

Rock singer (Heart)

Kathleen Turner

Actress

Paula Abdul

Singer, TV personality ("American Idol")

Michael Trucco

Actor ("Battlestar Galactica")

Jean Dujardin

Actor ("The Artist")

Robin Tunney

Actress

Poppy Montgomery

Actress

Zoe Saldana

Actress ("Avatar")

Lauren Lee Smith

Actress ("CSI")

Atticus Shaffer

Actor ("The Middle")

Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki turns 35 years old today.

AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez