On June 24, 1983, the space shuttle Challenger — carrying America’s first woman in space, Sally Ride — coasted to a safe landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

On this date

1509: Henry VIII was crowned king of England; his wife, Catherine of Aragon, was crowned queen consort.

1948: Communist forces cut off all land and water routes between West Germany and West Berlin, prompting the Western allies to organize the Berlin Airlift.

1957: The U.S. Supreme Court, in Roth v. United States, ruled in a 6-3 decision that obscene materials were not protected by the First Amendment.

1973: President Richard Nixon concluded a summit with the visiting leader of the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev, who hailed the talks in an address on American television.

1992: The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, strengthened its 30-year ban on officially sponsored worship in public schools, prohibiting prayer as a part of graduation ceremonies.

2018: Women in Saudi Arabia were allowed behind the wheel for the first time as the world’s last remaining ban on female drivers was formally lifted.

2022: In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to remove constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place since 1973’s Roe v. Wade.

Today’s birthdays

Author Anita Desai is 88. Musician Mick Fleetwood is 78. Golf Hall of Famer Juli Inkster is 65. Actor-producer Mindy Kaling is 46. Soccer player Lionel Messi is 38.