 Today's highlight in history:
On May 24, 1962, astronaut Scott Carpenter became the second
American to orbit the Earth as he flew aboard Aurora 7.
On this date:
In 1775, John Hancock was elected President of the Continental
Congress, succeeding Peyton Randolph.
In 1844, Samuel F.B. Morse transmitted the message "What hath God
wrought" from Washington to Baltimore as he formally opened
America's first telegraph line.
In 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge, linking Brooklyn and Manhattan, was
dedicated by President Chester Alan Arthur and New York Gov. Grover
Cleveland. In 1918, Bela Bartok's one-act opera "Bluebeard's Castle" had its
premiere in Budapest.
In 1935, the first major league baseball game to be played at night
took place at Cincinnati's Crosley Field as the Reds beat the
Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1.
In 1937, in a set of rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the
constitutionality of the Social Security Act of 1935.
In 1941, the German battleship Bismarck sank the British battle
cruiser HMS Hood in the North Atlantic, killing all but three of the
1,418 men on board.
In 1959, former U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles died in
Washington, D.C. at age 71.
In 1961, a group of Freedom Riders was arrested after arriving at a
bus terminal in Jackson, Miss., charged with breaching the peace for
entering white-designated areas. (They ended up serving 60 days in
jail.)
In 1976, Britain and France opened trans-Atlantic Concorde
supersonic transport service to Washington.
In 1980, Iran rejected a call by the World Court in The Hague to
release the American hostages.
In 2001, 23 people were killed when the floor of a Jerusalem wedding
hall collapsed beneath dancing guests, sending them plunging several
stories into the basement.
[to top of second column] |
Ten years ago: President George W. Bush and Russian President
Vladimir Putin (POO'-tihn) signed a landmark nuclear arms reduction
treaty in Moscow. U.S. Olympic Committee president Sandra Baldwin
resigned, a day after she admitted lying about her academic
credentials.
Five years ago: Bowing to President George W. Bush, Congress
passed an emergency war spending bill that did not include a
provision ordering troops home from Iraq beginning in the fall of
2007. Ohio death row inmate Christopher Newton was executed by
injection; it took him 16 minutes to die, more than twice the usual
amount of time, once chemicals began flowing into his veins, which
the execution team had trouble locating.
One year ago: Egyptian authorities ordered former President
Hosni Mubarak tried on charges of corruption and conspiracy in the
deadly shooting of protesters who'd driven him from power. President
Barack Obama was honored with a state dinner in London as he
continued his visit to Britain. Oprah Winfrey taped the final
episode of her long-running talk show.
Today's birthdays: Comedian Tommy Chong is 74. Singer Bob
Dylan is 71. Actor Gary Burghoff is 69. Singer Patti LaBelle is 68.
Actress Priscilla Presley is 67. Country singer Mike Reid is 65.
Actor Jim Broadbent is 63. Actor Alfred Molina is 59. Singer Rosanne
Cash is 57. Actress Kristin Scott Thomas is 52. Rock musician Jimmy
Ashhurst (Buckcherry) is 49. Rock musician Vivian Trimble is 49.
Actor John C. Reilly is 47. Actor Eric Close is 45. Rock musician
Rich Robinson is 43. Actor Bryan Greenburg is 34. Actor Billy L.
Sullivan is 32. Actor-rapper Jerod Mixon (aka Big Tyme) is 31. Rock
musician Cody Hanson (Hinder) is 30. Country singer Billy Gilman is
24. Actor Cayden Boyd is 18.
Thought for today: "Responsibility educates." --
Wendell Phillips, American abolitionist (1811-1884)
[Associated Press]
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed. |
