This day in history

[May 19, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Tuesday, May 19, the 139th day of 2009. There are 226 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

One hundred years ago, on May 19, 1909, the innovative Ballets Russes (Russian Ballets), under the direction of Sergei Diaghilev, debuted in Paris.

On this date:

In 1536, Anne Boleyn, the second wife of England's King Henry VIII, was beheaded after being convicted of adultery.

In 1780, a mysterious darkness enveloped much of New England and part of Canada in the early afternoon.

In 1921, Congress passed, and President Warren G. Harding signed, the Emergency Quota Act, which established national quotas for immigrants.

In 1935, British soldier T.E. Lawrence, also known as "Lawrence of Arabia," died in Dorset, England, six days after being injured in a motorcycle crash.

In 1943, in an address to the U.S. Congress, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill pledged his country's full support in the fight against Japan.

In 1962, during a Democratic fundraiser at New York's Madison Square Garden, actress Marilyn Monroe sang "Happy Birthday to You" to guest-of-honor, President John F. Kennedy.

In 1964, the State Department disclosed that 40 hidden microphones had been found in the U.S. embassy in Moscow.

In 1967, the Soviet Union ratified a treaty with the United States and Britain banning nuclear weapons from outer space.

In 1992, the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits Congress from giving itself pay raises until the next congressional term, went into effect. Mary Jo Buttafuoco of Massapequa, N.Y., was shot and seriously wounded by her husband Joey's teenage lover, Amy Fisher.

In 1994, former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis died in New York at age 64.

Ten years ago: As NATO's Operation Allied Force entered its ninth week, Russia's special envoy to the Balkans called on both NATO and Yugoslavia to suspend hostilities. The Justice Department renewed its campaign to revoke John Demjanjuk's citizenship, alleging he was a Nazi death camp guard known as "Ivan the Terrible." The much-anticipated movie prequel "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace" opened.

Five years ago: Army Reserve Spc. Jeremy C. Sivits wept and apologized after receiving a year in prison and a bad conduct discharge in the first court-martial stemming from abuse of Iraqis at the Abu Ghraib prison. Outraged relatives of World Trade Center victims heckled former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani during his appearance before the Sept. 11 commission. Two men hurled purple flour at British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the House of Commons. Manmohan Singh was named India's new prime minister. Millionaire philanthropist Jack Eckerd, founder of the drugstore empire that bears his name, died in Clearwater, Fla., at age 91.

One year ago: China stood still and sirens wailed to mourn the country's nearly 70,000 earthquake victims. Democrat Barack Obama picked up the endorsement of Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, less than a week after Hillary Rodham Clinton overwhelmingly won the state's primary. Jon Lester of the Boston Red Sox shut down Kansas City 7-0 for the first no-hitter of the season.

Today's birthdays: PBS newscaster Jim Lehrer is 75. TV personality David Hartman is 74. Actor James Fox is 70. Actress Nancy Kwan is 70. Author-director Nora Ephron is 68. Actor Peter Mayhew is 65. Rock singer-writer Pete Townshend (The Who) is 64. Concert pianist David Helfgott is 62. Rock singer-musician Dusty Hill (ZZ Top) is 60. Singer-actress Grace Jones is 57. Rock musician Phil Rudd (AC-DC) is 55. Former baseball catcher Rick Cerone is 55. Actor Steven Ford is 53. Rock musician Iain Harvie (Del Amitri) is 47. Actor Jason Gray-Stanford is 39. Rock singer Jenny Berggren (Ace of Base) is 37. Actor Drew Fuller is 29. Christian rock musician Tim McTague is 26. Actor Eric Lloyd is 23.

Thought for today: "There could be no honor in a sure success, but much might be wrested from a sure defeat." -- T.E. Lawrence, English soldier and author (1888-1935)

[Associated Press]

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