This day in history

[May 15, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Saturday, May 15, the 135th day of 2010. There are 230 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On May 15, 1970, just after midnight, Phillip Lafayette Gibbs and James Earl Green, two black students at Jackson State College in Mississippi, were killed as police opened fire during student protests.

On this date:

In 1911, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the breakup of Standard Oil Co., ruling it was a monopoly in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

In 1929, a fire at the Cleveland Clinic claimed 123 lives.

In 1930, registered nurse Ellen Church, the first airline stewardess, went on duty aboard an Oakland-to-Chicago flight operated by Boeing Air Transport (a forerunner of United Airlines).

In 1940, nylon stockings were first introduced to the public by DuPont.

In 1942, wartime gasoline rationing went into effect in 17 Eastern states, limiting sales to three gallons a week for non-essential vehicles.

In 1948, hours after declaring its independence, the new state of Israel was attacked by Transjordan, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.

In 1960, the Michelangelo Antonioni film "L'Avventura," starring Monica Vitti, was roundly jeered by the audience at the Cannes Film Festival, but went on to win a special jury prize.

In 1963, astronaut L. Gordon Cooper blasted off aboard Faith 7 on the final mission of the Project Mercury space program.

In 1972, George C. Wallace was shot by Arthur Bremer and left paralyzed while campaigning in Laurel, Md., for the Democratic presidential nomination.

In 1975, U.S. forces invaded the Cambodian island of Koh Tang and recaptured the American merchant ship Mayaguez. (All 40 crew members had already been released safely by Cambodia; some 40 U.S. servicemen were killed in the operation.)

Ten years ago: By a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out a key provision of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, saying that rape victims could not sue their attackers in federal court. United Press International was sold to the parent company of The Washington Times.

Five years ago: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice paid a surprise visit to Iraq to express support for its new government. The Czech Republic denied Canada its third straight title and won the world ice hockey championship 3-0 in Vienna, Austria.

One year ago: General Motors told about 1,100 dealers their franchises would be terminated. CIA Director Leon Panetta defended the agency against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's charge that she was misled in 2002 about the use of waterboarding. Pope Benedict XVI ended his Mideast visit at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Former basketball star and accomplished jazzman Wayman Tisdale died in Tulsa, Okla. at age 44.

Today's birthdays: Playwright Sir Peter Shaffer ("Equus") is 84. Actress-singer Anna Maria Alberghetti is 74. Counterculture icon Wavy Gravy is 74. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is 73. Singer Trini Lopez is 73. Singer Lenny Welch is 72. Actress-singer Lainie Kazan is 70. Actor-director Paul Rudd ("Knots Landing") is 70. Country singer K.T. Oslin is 68. Singer-songwriter Brian Eno is 62. Actor Nicholas Hammond ("The Sound of Music") is 60. Actor Chazz Palminteri is 58. Baseball Hall-of-Famer George Brett is 57. Musician-composer Mike Oldfield ("Tubular Bells") is 57. Actor Lee Horsley is 55. TV personality Giselle Fernandez is 49. Football Hall-of-Famer Emmitt Smith is 41. Singer-rapper Prince Be (PM Dawn) is 40. Actor Brad Rowe is 40. Actor David Charvet is 38. Rock musician Ahmet Zappa is 36. NFL player Ray Lewis is 35. Olympic gold-medal gymnast Amy Chow is 32. Actor David Krumholtz is 32. Actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler is 29. Rock musician Nick Perri is 26.

Thought for today: "History is a better guide than good intentions." -- Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations

[Associated Press]

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