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Today is Saturday, June 18, the 170th day of 2016. There are 196 days left in the year.

On this date:

In 1778, American forces entered Philadelphia as the British withdrew during the Revolutionary War.

In 1812, the War of 1812 began as the United States Congress approved, and President James Madison signed, a declaration of war against Britain.

In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte met his Waterloo as British and Prussian troops defeated the French in Belgium.

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In 1873, suffragist Susan B. Anthony was found guilty by a judge in Canandaigua, New York, of breaking the law by casting a vote in the 1872 presidential election. (The judge fined Anthony $100, but she never paid the penalty.)

In 1940, during World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill urged his countrymen to conduct themselves in a manner that would prompt future generations to say, “This was their finest hour.” Charles de Gaulle delivered a speech on the BBC in which he rallied his countrymen after the fall of France to Nazi Germany.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On June 18, 1983, astronaut Sally K. Ride became America’s first woman in space as she and four colleagues blasted off aboard the space shuttle Challenger on a six-day mission.

Ten years ago

Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori was elected the first female presiding bishop for the Episcopal Church, the U.S. arm of the global Anglican Communion.

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Five years ago

President Hamid Karzai acknowledged that the U.S. and Afghan governments had held talks with Taliban emissaries in a bid to end the nation’s nearly 10-year war. British singer Amy Winehouse was heavily booed for being late and displaying erratic behavior on stage during a concert in Belgrade, Serbia. Clarence Clemons, the saxophone player for the E Street Band who was one of the key influences in Bruce Springsteen’s life and music, died in Florida at age 69.

One year ago

In dueling decisions about free speech, the Supreme Court upheld Texas’ refusal to issue a license plate bearing the Confederate battle flag and struck down an Arizona town’s restrictions on temporary signs put up by a small church. Texas death row inmate Gregory Russeau was executed for the 2001 slaying of James Syvertson, a 75- year-old East Texas auto repair shop owner, during a crack cocaine binge.

— By The Associated Press


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