By The Associated Press

Today in History

Today is Friday, June 26, the 178th day of 2020. There are 188 days left in the year.

Todayís Highlight in History:

On June 26, 1948, the Berlin Airlift began in earnest after the Soviet Union cut off land and water routes to the isolated western sector of Berlin.

On this date:

In 1870, the first section of Atlantic City, New Jerseyís Boardwalk was opened to the public.

In 1911, John J. McDermott became the first American-born golf player to win the U.S. Open, played in Chicago.

In 1917, the first troops of the American Expeditionary Force deployed to France during World War I landed in St. Nazaire.

In 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was nominated for a second term of office by delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

In 1963, President John F. Kennedy visited West Berlin, where he delivered his famous speech expressing solidarity with the cityís residents, declaring: ìIch bin ein Berlinerî (I am a Berliner).

In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced his choice of Abe Fortas to succeed the retiring Earl Warren as chief justice of the United States (however, Fortas later withdrew in the face of stiff Senate opposition).

In 1974, the supermarket price scanner made its debut in Troy, Ohio, as a 10-pack of Wrigleyís Juicy Fruit chewing gum costing 67 cents and bearing a Uniform Product Code (UPC) was scanned by a Marsh Supermarket cashier.

In 1977, 42 people were killed when a fire sent toxic smoke pouring through the Maury County Jail in Columbia, Tennessee. Elvis Presley performed his last concert at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton announced the U.S. had launched missiles against Iraqi targets because of ìcompelling evidenceî Iraq had plotted to assassinate former President George H.W. Bush. In 1996, the Supreme Court ordered the Virginia Military Institute to admit women or forgo state support.

In 1997, the first Harry Potter novel, ìHarry Potter and the Philosopherís Stoneî by J.K. Rowling (ROHLí-ing), was published in the United Kingdom (it was later released in the United States under the title ìHarry Potter and the Sorcererís Stoneî).