 Today's
highlight in history:
On May 25, 1787, the Constitutional Convention began at the
Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall) in Philadelphia after
enough delegates had shown up for a quorum. (The Convention ended
four months later with the delegates adopting the Constitution of
the United States.)
On this date:
In 1810, Argentina began its revolt against Spanish rule with the
forming of the Primera Junta in Buenos Aires.
In 1895, playwright Oscar Wilde was convicted of a morals charge in
London; he was sentenced to two years in prison.
In 1916, the Chicago Tribune published an interview with Henry Ford
in which the automobile industrialist was quoted as saying, "History
is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We
want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a
tinker's dam is the history we make today."
In 1935, Babe Ruth hit the 714th and final home run of his career,
for the Boston Braves, in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
In 1942, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Joseph Stilwell, frustrated over being
driven out of Burma by Japanese troops during World War II, bluntly
told reporters in Delhi, India: "I claim we got a hell of a
beating."
In 1946, Transjordan (now Jordan) became a kingdom as it proclaimed
its new monarch, Abdullah I.
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy told Congress: "I believe that
this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this
decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely
to the earth."
In 1968, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis was dedicated by Vice
President Hubert Humphrey and Interior Secretary Stewart Udall.
In 1979, 273 people died when an American Airlines DC-10 crashed
just after takeoff from Chicago's O'Hare airport. Six-year-old Etan
Patz disappeared while on his way to a school bus stop in lower
Manhattan; his fate has yet to be determined.
In 1981, daredevil Dan Goodwin, wearing a Spiderman costume, scaled
the outside of Chicago's Sears Tower in 7 1/2 hours.
In 1986, an estimated 7 million Americans participated in "Hands
Across America" to raise money for the nation's hungry and homeless.
In 1992, Jay Leno made his debut as host of NBC's "Tonight Show,"
succeeding Johnny Carson.
Ten years ago: President George W. Bush, during a visit to
St. Petersburg, joined Russian President Vladimir Putin (POO'-tihn)
in pressuring Pakistan's president to curb cross-border violence in
Kashmir and ease tensions with neighboring India. A China Airlines
Boeing 747-200 flying to Hong Kong crashed in the Taiwan Strait,
killing all 225 people on board. A passenger train and a freight
train collided in southern Mozambique, killing more than 190 people.
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Five years ago: President George W. Bush signed a bill to pay
for military operations in Iraq that did not contain a timetable for
troop withdrawals. Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr (mook-TAH'-duh
al SAH'-dur) resurfaced after nearly four months in hiding and
demanded U.S. troops leave Iraq. Atlanta attorney Andrew Speaker,
infected with drug-resistant tuberculosis, was quarantined by the
federal government after returning from his European wedding and
honeymoon. (It turned out Speaker had a form of TB less severe than
what authorities had feared.) Tony Award-winning actor Charles
Nelson Reilly died in Los Angeles at age 76.
One year ago: President Barack Obama and British Prime
Minister David Cameron confronted complex security debates over
Afghanistan, Libya and economic growth during Obama's state visit to
London. A judge in Salt Lake City sentenced street preacher Brian
David Mitchell to life in prison for kidnapping and raping Elizabeth
Smart, who was 14 at the time of her abduction in 2002. A judge in
Tucson, Ariz., ruled that Jared Lee Loughner, the man accused of
wounding U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killing six in a shooting
rampage, was mentally incompetent to stand trial. Scotty McCreery, a
17-year-old high school student from Garner, N.C., won "American
Idol" on Fox. After a 25-year run, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" aired
its final broadcast.
Today's birthdays: Lyricist Hal David is 91. Former White
House news secretary Ron Nessen is 78. Country singer-songwriter Tom
T. Hall is 76. Actor Sir Ian McKellen is 73. Country singer Jessi
Colter is 69. Actress-singer Leslie Uggams is 69. Movie director and
Muppeteer Frank Oz is 68. Actress Karen Valentine is 65. Rock singer
Klaus Meine (The Scorpions) is 64. Actress Patti D'Arbanville is 61.
Actress Connie Sellecca is 57. Rock singer-musician Paul Weller is
54. Actor-comedian Mike Myers is 49. Actor Matt Borlenghi is 45.
Actor Joseph Reitman is 44. Rock musician Glen Drover is 43. Actress
Anne Heche (haych) is 43. Actresses Sidney and Lindsay Greenbush
(TV: "Little House on the Prairie") are 42. Actor-comedian Jamie
Kennedy is 42. Actress Octavia Spencer (Film: "The Help") is 42.
Actor Justin Henry is 41. Rapper Daz Dillinger is 39. Actress Molly
Sims is 39. Singer Lauryn Hill is 37. Actor Cillian Murphy is 36.
Actor Ethan Suplee (soo-PLEE') is 36. Rock musician Todd Whitener is
34. Actor Corbin Allred is 33. Actress-singer Lauren Frost is 27.
Thought for today: "Nothing is really work unless you would
rather be doing something else." -- Sir James Barrie, Scottish
dramatist (1860-1937)
[Associated Press]
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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