历史上的今天:06月29日

Today's Highlight in History:
On June 29th, 1970, the United States ended a two-month military offensive into Cambodia.
On this date:
In 1767, the British Parliament approved the Townshend Revenue Acts, which imposed import duties on certain goods shipped to America. Colonists¹ bitterly protested the Acts, which were repealed² in 1770.

In 1776, the Virginia state constitution was adopted, and Patrick Henry made governor.

In 1941, Polish statesman, pianist and composer Ignace Jan Paderewski died in New York at age 80.

In 1946, British authorities arrested more than 27-hundred Jews in Palestine in an attempt to stamp out alleged³ terrorism.

In 1949, the government of South Africa enacted⁴ a ban against racially-mixed marriages.

In 1954, the Atomic Energy Commission voted against re-instating Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer's access to classified information.

In 1966, the United States bombed fuel storage facilities near the North Vietnamese cities of Hanoi and Haiphong.

In 1967, Jerusalem was re-unified as Israel removed barricades⁵ separating the Old City from the Israeli sector⁶.

In 1972, the Supreme⁷ Court ruled the death penalty, as it was being meted⁸ out, could constitute "cruel and unusual punishment." (The ruling prompted states to revise their capital punishment laws.)

In 1988, the Supreme Court upheld, 7-to-1, the independent counsel law.

Ten years ago: Fernando Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Dodgers⁹ and Dave Stewart of the Oakland A's became the first pitchers¹⁰ to hurl¹¹ no-hitters in both the National and American Leagues on the same day. (Oakland shut out the Blue Jays, 5-to-0, while Los Angeles blanked the St. Louis Cardinals¹², 6-to-0.)

Five years ago: The shuttle "Atlantis" and the space station "Mir" docked in orbit. A department store in Seoul, South Korea, collapsed¹³, killing¹⁴ at least 500 people. Actress Lana Turner died in Century City, California, at age 74.

One year ago: Urging the biggest expansion in Medicare's history, President Clinton proposed that the government help older Americans pay for prescription¹⁵ drugs. Ten-thousand demonstrators rallied in central Serbia, demanding the resignation of President Slobodan Milosevic. Abdullah Ocalan, leader of Turkey's rebel Kurds, was convicted of treason and sentenced to death.