This day in history

[May 19, 2011]  (AP)  Today is Thursday, May 19, the 139th day of 2011. There are 226 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On May 19, 1967, the Soviet Union ratified a treaty with the United States and Britain banning nuclear and other weapons from outer space as well as celestial bodies such as the moon. (The treaty entered into force in Oct. 1967.)

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 1909, the Ballets Russes (Russian Ballets), under the direction of Sergei Diaghilev, debuted in Paris.

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

In 1935, 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 1971, poet Ogden Nash, known for his humorous light verses, died in Baltimore at age 68.

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

Ten years ago: The Arab League called on Arab governments to sever political contacts with Israel until the Jewish state ended military action against Palestinians. Point Given won the Preakness as Derby winner Monarchos finished out of the money. Apple, Inc. opened its first retail stores, one in Tysons Corner, Va., the other in Glendale, Calif.

Five years ago: A key U.N. panel joined European and United Nations leaders in urging the Bush administration to close its prison in Guantanamo Bay, saying the indefinite detention of terror suspects there violated the world's ban on torture; the report by the Committee Against Torture came as the U.S. military disclosed that prisoners wielding improvised weapons had clashed with guards trying to save a detainee who was pretending to commit suicide. Freddie Garrity, lead singer of the 1960s British pop band Freddie and the Dreamers, died in Wales at age 69.

One year ago: President Barack Obama condemned Arizona's crackdown on illegal immigration and pushed instead for a federal fix he said the nation could embrace, showing solidarity with his guest of honor, Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who called Arizona's law discriminatory. Rioters in Bangkok torched the stock exchange and other landmark buildings after a deadly army assault on an anti-government encampment ended a two-month siege.

Today's birthdays: PBS newscaster Jim Lehrer is 77. TV personality David Hartman is 76. Actor James Fox is 72. Actress Nancy Kwan is 72. Author-director Nora Ephron is 70. Actor Peter Mayhew is 67. Rock singer-composer Pete Townshend (The Who) is 66. Concert pianist David Helfgott is 64. Rock singer-musician Dusty Hill (ZZ Top) is 62. Singer-actress Grace Jones is 59. Rock musician Phil Rudd (AC-DC) is 57. Actor Steven Ford is 55. Rock musician Iain Harvie (Del Amitri) is 49. Actor Jason Gray-Stanford is 41. Rock singer Jenny Berggren (Ace of Base) is 39. Actor Drew Fuller is 31. Christian rock musician Tim McTague is 28. Actor Eric Lloyd is 25.

Thought for today: "The most exciting happiness is the happiness generated by forces beyond your control." -- Ogden Nash (1902-1971)

[Associated Press]

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