Today is the 168th day of 2021 and the 90th day of spring.

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that requiring the recitation of Bible verses and the Lord’s Prayer in public schools is unconstitutional.

In 1967, the People’s Republic of China carried out its first successful test of a thermonuclear bomb.

In 1972, five people were arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C.

In 1994, a televised police chase ended in the arrest of O.J. Simpson for the murders of his ex-wife and her friend.

In 2015, a white gunman killed nine people at a predominately Black church in Charleston, South Carolina.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), composer; M.C. Escher (1898- 1972), artist; Ralph Bellamy (1904-1991), actor; Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch (1923- 2004), football player; Newt Gingrich (1943- ), U.S. politician; Barry Manilow (1943- ), singer-songwriter; Thomas Haden Church (1960- ), actor; Greg Kinnear (1963- ), actor; Will Forte (1970- ), actor; Venus Williams (1980- ), tennis player; Kendrick Lamar (1987- ), rapper.

TODAY’S FACT: “In God We Trust” became the official U.S. national motto after an act of Congress in 1956.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1962, 22-year-old Jack Nicklaus beat Arnold Palmer by three strokes and became the youngest golfer to win the U.S. Open since 1923.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “Losses have propelled me to even bigger places, so I understand the importance of losing.” - Venus Williams

TODAY’S NUMBER: 4 -- months it took to reassemble the Statue of Liberty before its dedication in October 1886. It was shipped to the United States in 350 pieces and arrived in New York City on this day in 1885 from France.

TODAY’S MOON: First quarter moon (June 17).