 Today's highlight in history:
On May 11, 1862, during the Civil War, the Confederate ironclad CSS
Virginia was scuttled by its crew off Craney Island, Va., to prevent
it from falling into Union hands.
On this date:
In 1647, Peter Stuyvesant arrived in New Amsterdam to become
governor of New Netherland.
In 1812, British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval was assassinated in
the lobby of the House of Commons by John Bellingham, who was hanged
a week later.
In 1858, Minnesota became the 32nd state of the Union.
In 1927, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was founded
during a banquet at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles.
In 1937, "SPAM" was registered as a trademark by Hormel Foods,
producer of the canned meat product.
In 1946, the first CARE packages arrived in Europe, at Le Havre,
France.
In 1950, President Harry S. Truman formally dedicated the Grand
Coulee Dam in Washington state.
In 1960, Israeli agents captured Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In 1973, charges against Daniel Ellsberg for his role in the
"Pentagon Papers" case were dismissed by Judge William M. Byrne, who
cited government misconduct.
In 1981, legendary reggae artist Bob Marley died in a Miami hospital
at age 36. The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Cats" opened in London.
In 1987, doctors in Baltimore transplanted the heart and lungs of an
auto accident victim to a patient who gave up his own heart to
another recipient. (Clinton House, the nation's first living heart
donor, died 14 months later.)
In 1996, an Atlanta-bound ValuJet DC-9 caught fire shortly after
takeoff from Miami and crashed into the Florida Everglades, killing
all 110 people on board.
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Ten years ago: Israel pulled out of the West Bank town of
Tulkarem (tuhl-KA'-rum), leaving Palestinian-run territories free of
Israeli troops for the first time in six weeks. Joseph Bonanno, the
notorious gangster known as "Joe Bananas," died in Tucson, Ariz., at
age 97.
Five years ago: Speaking aboard the aircraft carrier USS John
C. Stennis in the Persian Gulf, Vice President Dick Cheney warned
Iran the U.S. and its allies would keep it from restricting sea
traffic as well as from developing nuclear weapons. North and South
Korea adopted a military agreement, enabling the first train
crossing of their border in more than half a century.
One year ago: Former hedge fund titan Raj Rajaratnam was
convicted by a federal jury in New York in an insider-trading case
of five counts of conspiracy and nine of securities fraud. (Rajaratnam
was sentenced to 11 years in prison.) Two earthquakes struck
southern Spain in quick succession, killing at least nine people,
injuring dozens and causing major damage to buildings.
Today's birthdays: Comedian Mort Sahl is 85. Rock singer Eric
Burdon (The Animals; War) is 71. Actress Shohreh Aghdashloo (SHOH'-reh
ahg-DAHSH'-loo) is 60. Actress Frances Fisher is 60. Actor Boyd
Gaines is 59. Country musician Mark Herndon (Alabama) is 57. Actress
Martha Quinn is 53. Country singer-musician Tim Raybon (The Raybon
Brothers) is 49. Actor Jeffrey Donovan is 44. Country musician Keith
West (Heartland) is 44. Actor Nicky Katt is 42. Actor Coby Bell is
37. Cellist Perttu Kivilaakso (PER'-tuh KEE'-wee-lahk-soh) is 34.
Actor Jonathan Jackson is 30. Actor Cory Monteith (TV: "Glee") is
30.
Thought for today: "Life is 10 percent what you make it, and
90 percent how you take it." -- Irving Berlin, American
songwriter (born this date in 1888, died 1989)
[Associated Press]
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