Today in History.....June 20

On this day in …

* 1782, Congress approved the Great Seal of the United States

* 1898, during the Spanish-American War, the U.S. cruiser Charleston captured the Spanish-ruled island of Guam

* 1939, Benny Goodman's radio show goes off the air after three years. A brilliant clarinet player, Goodman formed his own band in
1932 and influenced scores of later musicians. Goodman, who was white, became one of the first band leaders to use both black and white musician

* 1943, race-related rioting erupted in Detroit; federal troops were sent in two days later to quell the violence that resulted in more than 30 deaths

* 1947, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel was shot dead at the Beverly Hills, Calif., mansion of his girlfriend, Virginia Hill, apparently at the order of mob associates

* 1948, Ed Sullivan's long-running variety show premieres. Although later known simply as The Ed Sullivan Show, the series debuts as Toast of the Town. Among the many performers who made their TV debuts on the show were Bob Hope, Lena Horne, the Beatles, and Walt Disney. Elvis Presley also made several high-profile performances on the show, in 1956 and 1957. The show ran until 1971

* 1963, the United States and Soviet Union signed an agreement to set up a "hot line" between the two superpowers

* 1967, boxer Muhammad Ali was convicted in Houston of violating Selective Service laws by refusing to be drafted. (Ali's conviction was ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court)

* 2001, Houston resident Andrea Yates drowned her five children in the family bathtub, then called police. (Yates was later convicted of murder, but had her conviction overturned; she faces a retrial.)
ALSO: American Lori Berenson was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Peruvian court for collaborating with leftist guerrillas

* 2005, during a joint news conference with European leaders, President Bush said he was determined to complete the mission of establishing democracy in Iraq because the world would be a better place for it