June 20
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Featured Event
© FLHC 20212/Alamy; Photo Illustration EncyclopÊdia Britannica, Inc.
On this day in 1893, one of the most sensational murder trials in American history came to a shocking conclusion when a Massachusetts jury acquitted Lizzie Borden of murderâafter just over an hour of deliberation. The 32-year-old was accused of killing her 70-year-old father and 64-year-old stepmother, Andrew and Abby Borden, in the home they shared. While the trial was full of gruesome details, the prosecution was unable to provide concrete evidence of Lizzie Bordenâs guilt, and the murders remain officially unsolved. [Read todayâs edition of Today in History > >]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
Pictorial Press Ltd./Alamy
Iâm the wolf that howls, trying to be satisfied.
American blues singer and composer Howlinâ Wolf, one of the principal exponents of the urban blues style of Chicago and noted for his brooding lyrics and his earthy, aggressive stage presence, was born this day in 1910.
Famous Birthdays
More on June 20
© Orhan Ăam/stock.adobe.com
2002
In Atkins v. Virginia, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the imposition of the death penalty in cases involving intellectually disabled defendants violated the Eighth Amendmentâs protection against cruel and unusual punishment. [Why are there nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court?]
EncyclopĂŠdia Britannica, Inc.
1992
A new constitution went into effect in Paraguay, signaling the end of military rule established in the 1950s by Alfredo Stroessner. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about Paraguay.]
© 1975 Universal Pictures Company, Inc.
1975
Steven Spielbergâs thriller Jaws was released in theaters, and it was a huge success, essentially creating the genre of summer blockbusters. [Take our movie quiz.]
© ANGELA WEISSâAFP/Getty Images
1967
Australian actress Nicole Kidmanâwho was known for her considerable range and versatility, as well as for her glamorous looks and cool demeanorâwas born in Hawaii. [Test your knowledge of A-list actors.]
Prestige Records
1928
American jazz musician Eric Dolphy, a virtuoso improviser on woodwinds and a major influence on free jazz, was born in Los Angeles. [Take our music quiz.]
Brown Brothers
1905
American playwright and screenwriter Lillian Hellmanâwhose dramas forcefully attacked injustice, exploitation, and selfishnessâwas born in New Orleans, Louisiana. [Test your knowledge of theatrical history.]
EncyclopĂŠdia Britannica, Inc.
1903
American automobile-racing driver Barney Oldfield accomplished the first mile-a-minute performance in a car, at Indianapolis, Indiana. [How much do you know about auto racing?]
Image: EncyclopĂŠdia Britannica, Inc.
1887
German Dada artist and poet Kurt Schwitters, who was best known for his collages and relief constructions, was born in Hannover. [Sort fact from fiction in our artists and painters quiz.]
Courtesy of the World Health Organization
1861
British biochemist Frederick Gowland Hopkins, who won a share of the 1929 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of vitamins, was born in Eastbourne, East Sussex. [Test your knowledge of the Nobel Prize.]
© Photos.com/Getty Images
1837
With the death of William IV, Victoria becomes queen of the United Kingdom, and during her reign the country became the worldâs most powerful empire. [Sort fact from fiction in our English royalty quiz.]
© air/Fotolia
1789
Locked out of their meeting hall at Versailles, the deputies of the Third Estate in France congregated on a nearby tennis court and took an oath not to separate until a written constitution had been establishedâthe Tennis Court Oath. [Take our quiz about French history.]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LOT 13407, no. 181)
1567
The Casket Lettersâwhich directly implicated Mary, Queen of Scots, in a plot with James Hepburn, 4th earl of Bothwell, to murder Maryâs husband, Henry Stewart, Lord Darnleyâwere said to have been discovered. [Test your knowledge of kings and queens.]