Video: '1943 Riots'
(Sunday, June 20, 1943) — A fistfight at the crowded Belle Isle Park in Detroit, Michigan, erupted into a riot late tonight between white and black residents. 34 people were killed and 760 injured before federal troops were sent in June 22, 1943, to restore the peace.
Video: 'The Great Escape' trailer
(Thursday, June 20, 1963) — The Great Escape, a film about an escape by Allied prisoners of war from a German POW camp during World War II, premiered today in London.
Directed by John Sturges, the film stars Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence and James Coburn.
Video: 'Dr. Strangelove phone conversation U.S President'
(Thursday, June 20, 1963) — The Moscow–Washington hotline (officially, the Direct Communications Link or DCL) was authorized today by the signing of a “Memorandum of Understanding Regarding the Establishment of a Direct Communications Line” in Geneva, Switzerland, by representatives of the Soviet Union and the United States. The agreement resulted from the Cuban Missile Crisis, which made it clear that reliable, direct communications between the two nuclear powers were a necessity.
Video: 'Rocky Horror Show'
(Tuesday, June 19, 1973) — The stage production of The Rocky Horror Show premiered today at Royal Court Theatre (Upstairs) in London. The rock musical tells the story of a newly engaged couple getting caught in a storm and coming to the home of a mad transvestite scientist unveiling his new creation, a muscle man named Rocky Horror.
(Wednesday, June 19, 1963, during the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–68)) — U.S. President John F. Kennedy sent Congress today a five-point civil rights program (which would eventually become the Civil Rights Act of 1964), providing the most “responsible, reasonable and urgently needed solutions” to discrimination in public accommodations, education and employment.
Video: 'Korean War - PART 28, End of the War, 6.25' (June 18, 1953, at 6:25)
(Thursday, June 18, 1953, by 5 a.m. local time; during the Korean War, part of the Cold War) — With an armistice agreement was all but complete, South Korea President Syngman Rhee unilaterally ordered the release of 25,000 anti-communist North Korean prisoners of war today in protest of the proposed settlement.
Video: 'Ringo Starr - "Old Wave" [Full Album]'
(Thursday, June 16, 1983) — Old Wave, the ninth (and last for nine years) studio album by ex-Beatle Ringo Starr, was released today in Germany (it was not released in the U.S. or UK until 1994). A single, “In My Car”/”As Far as We Can Go”, was also pulled from the album today for release in Germany.
Video: 'Rise and Fall of the National Industrial Recovery Act'
(Friday, June 16, 1933); part of the New Deal in response to the Great Depression) — The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt today after being passed by the U.S. Congress, creating the National Recovery Administration (NRA). The Act, however, would be later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Video: 'Jim Croce - Bad Bad Leroy Brown (Midnight Special - 1973)'
(Saturday, June 16, 1973, 1:00 a.m. EDT) — Jim Croce was among the performers on tonight’s episode of the late-night musical variety NBC-TV series The Midnight Special as hosted by Croce.
Video: 'Governor Connally Speaks Emotionally About JFK Assassination And Dismisses MBT - NBC Video'
(Tuesday, June 15, 1993, at about 5:15 p.m. EDT) — John Connally, a three-time Texas governor and former Cabinet member who was wounded in the gunfire that killed President John F. Kennedy, died today in Houston of pulmonary fibrosis. He was 76.
