Today in History: June 26, first Harry Potter book published

Today in History Today is Sunday, June 26, the 177th day of 2022. There are 188 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On June 26, 1945, the charter of the United Nations was signed by 50 countries in San Francisco. On this date: In 1917, the first troops of the American Expeditionary Force deployed to France during World War I landed in St. Nazaire. In 1925, Charles Chaplin’s classic comedy ‘œThe Gold Rush’� premiered at Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. In 1948, the Berlin Airlift began in earnest after the Soviet Union cut off land and water routes to the isolated western sector of Berlin. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy visited West Berlin, where he delivered his famous speech expressing solidarity with the city’s residents, declaring: ‘œIch bin ein Berliner’� (I am a Berliner). In 1977, 42 people were killed when a fire sent toxic smoke pouring through the Maury County Jail in Columbia, Tennessee. Elvis Presley performed his last concert at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush went back on his ‘œno-new-taxes’� campaign pledge, conceding that tax increases would have to be included in any deficit-reduction package worked out with congressional negotiators. In 1993, President Bill Clinton announced the U.S. had launched missiles against Iraqi targets because of ‘œcompelling evidence’� Iraq had plotted to assassinate former President George H.W. Bush. In 1996, the Supreme Court ordered the Virginia Military Institute to admit women or forgo state support. In 1997, the first Harry Potter novel, ‘œHarry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’� by J.K. Rowling (ROHL’-ing), was published in the United Kingdom (it was later released in the United States under the title ‘œHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’�). In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a handgun ban in the District of Columbia as it affirmed, 5-4, that an individual right to gun ownership existed. In 2013, in deciding its first cases on the issue, the U.S. Supreme Court gave the nation’s legally married gay couples equal federal footing with all other married Americans and also cleared the way for same-sex marriages to resume in California. In 2020, after protesters in Washington, D.C., attempted to pull down a statue of Andrew Jackson, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to protect monuments, memorials and statues. Texas and Florida reversed course and clamped down on bars as the daily number of confirmed coronavirus infections in the U.S. surged to an all-time high of 40,000. Ten years ago: Sen. Orrin Hatch won the GOP Senate primary in Utah, handily turning back a challenge from tea party-backed Dan Liljenquist (lihl-IHN’-kwihst). Essayist, author and filmmaker Nora Ephron, 71, died in New York. Five years ago: President Donald Trump welcomed India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (nah-REN’-drah MOH’-dee) to the White House as the two leaders heralded an increasingly close strategic partnership. The Supreme Court said Trump could forge ahead with a limited version of his ban on travel from six mostly Muslim countries. Helmsman Peter Burling and Emirates Team New Zealand won the America’s Cup with a resounding romp against software tycoon Larry Ellison’s two-time defending champion Oracle Team USA. Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook capped his historic season at the NBA’s inaugural awards show, winning the 2016-17 Most Valuable Player award.