Today in History

On June 20, 1967, boxer Muhammad Ali was convicted in Houston of violating Selective Service laws by refusing to be drafted and was sentenced to five years in prison. (Ali’s conviction would be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court).

On this date

1837: Queen Victoria acceded to the British throne following the death of her uncle, King William IV.

1943: Race-related rioting erupted in Detroit; federal troops were sent in by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to quell the violence that resulted in more than 30 deaths.

1947: Gangster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel was shot dead at the Beverly Hills, Calif., home of his girlfriend, Virginia Hill, likely at the order of mob associates.

1972: Three days after the arrest of the Watergate burglars, President Richard Nixon met at the White House with his chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman; the secretly made tape recording of this meeting ended up with a notorious 18 1/2-minute gap.

2002: In the case Atkins v. Virginia, the Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that executing people with intellectual disabilities qualified as cruel and unusual punishment and was therefore in violation of the Eighth Amendment.

Today’s birthdays

Filmmaker Stephen Frears is 84. Musician-songwriter Singer Anne Murray is 80. TV personality Bob Vila is 79. Musician Lionel Richie is 76. Actor John Goodman is 73. Rock bassist Michael Anthony is 71. Rock bassist John Taylor (Duran Duran) is 65. Actor Nicole Kidman is 58. Filmmaker Robert Rodriguez is 57. Actor Josh Lucas is 54. Actor Christopher Mintz-Plasse is 36.