This day in history

[May 17, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Monday, May 17, the 137th day of 2010. There are 228 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On May 17, 1510, Early Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli died in obscurity in Florence, Italy; he was probably in his mid-60s. (More than three centuries would pass before the art world rediscovered Botticelli and his works, such as "The Birth of Venus" and "Primavera.")

On this date:

In 1792, the New York Stock Exchange had its origins as a group of brokers met under a tree on Wall Street.

In 1849, fire erupted in St. Louis, Mo., resulting in the loss of three lives, more than 400 buildings and some two dozen steamships.

In 1910, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts was established.

In 1939, Britain's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth arrived in Quebec on the first visit to Canada by reigning British sovereigns.

In 1946, President Harry S. Truman seized control of the nation's railroads, delaying -- but not preventing -- a threatened strike by engineers and trainmen.

In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously struck down racially segregated public schools in its Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision.

In 1973, the Senate began its televised hearings into the Watergate scandal.

In 1980, rioting that claimed 18 lives erupted in Miami's Liberty City after an all-white jury in Tampa acquitted four former Miami police officers of fatally beating black insurance executive Arthur McDuffie.

In 1987, 37 American sailors were killed when an Iraqi warplane attacked the U.S. Navy frigate Stark in the Persian Gulf. (Iraq and the U.S. called the attack a mistake.)

In 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to allow legal same-sex marriages.

Ten years ago: Two former Ku Klux Klansmen were arrested on murder charges in the 1963 church bombing in Birmingham, Ala. that killed four black girls. (Thomas Blanton Jr. and Bobby Frank Cherry were later convicted and sentenced to life behind bars. Cherry died in prison in 2004; Blanton is still serving his sentence.)

Five years ago: British lawmaker George Galloway denounced U.S. senators in testimony on Capitol Hill, denying accusations that he'd profited from the U.N. oil-for-food program and accusing them of unfairly tarnishing his name. Los Angeles Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa (vee-yah-ry-GOH'-sah) trounced Mayor James Hahn to be elected the city's first Hispanic mayor in more than a century. Impressionist and actor Frank Gorshin died in Burbank, Calif. at age 72.

One year ago: President Barack Obama strode head-on into the stormy abortion debate, telling graduates at the University of Notre Dame that both sides had to stop demonizing one another. In Sri Lanka, the Tamil Tigers admitted defeat in their fierce quarter-century war for a separate homeland. Barbara Mandrell, Roy Clark and Charlie McCoy were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Today's birthdays: Actor-director Dennis Hopper is 74. Actor Peter Gerety is 70. Singer Taj Mahal is 68. Singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester is 66. Rock musician Bill Bruford is 61. Singer-musician George Johnson (The Brothers Johnson) is 57. TV personality Kathleen Sullivan is 57. Actor Bill Paxton is 55. Boxing Hall-of-Famer Sugar Ray Leonard is 54. Actor-comedian Bob Saget is 54. Sports announcer Jim Nantz is 51. Singer Enya is 49. Talk show host-actor Craig Ferguson is 48. Rock singer-musician Page McConnell is 47. Singer-musician Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) is 45. Actress Paige Turco is 45. Rhythm-and-blues musician O'Dell (Mint Condition) is 45. Actor Hill Harper is 44. TV personality/interior designer Thom Filicia is 41. Singer Jordan Knight is 40. Rhythm-and-blues singer Darnell Van Rensalier (Shai) is 40. Actress Sasha Alexander is 37. Rock singer-musician Josh Homme (HAHM'-ee) is 37. Rock singer Andrea Corr (The Corrs) is 36. Actor Sendhil Ramamurthy (SEN'-dul rah-mah-MURTH'-ee) (TV: "Heroes") is 36. Actress Rochelle Aytes is 34. Singer Kandi Burruss is 34. Actress Kat Foster (TV: "'Til Death") is 32. Actor Tahj Mowry is 24. Actress Nikki Reed is 22. Actress Leven Rambin is 20. Actress Samantha Browne-Walters is 19. Actor Justin Martin is 16.

Thought for today: "A burning purpose attracts others who are drawn along with it and help fulfill it." -- Margaret Bourke-White, American photojournalist (1904-1971)

[Associated Press]

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