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 Today's
highlight in history:
On May 5, 1961, astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. became America's first space traveler as he made a 15-minute sub-orbital flight in a capsule launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla.
On this date:
In 1818, political philosopher Karl Marx was born in Prussia.
In 1821, Napoleon Bonaparte, 51, died in exile on the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic.
In 1862, Mexican forces loyal to Benito Juarez defeated French troops sent by Napoleon III in the Battle of Puebla.
In 1891, Carnegie Hall (then named "Music Hall") had its official opening night in New York City.
In 1904, Cy Young pitched the American League's first perfect game as the Boston Americans defeated the Philadelphia Athletics, 3-0.
In 1925, John T. Scopes was arrested in Tennessee for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution.
In 1942, during World War II, Japanese forces landed on the Philippine island of Corregidor.
In 1945, in the only fatal attack of its kind during World War II, a Japanese balloon bomb exploded on Gearhart Mountain in Oregon, killing the pregnant wife of a minister and five children.
In 1958, the Arkansas Gazette received the Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the Little Rock Central High School integration crisis; James Agee was posthumously honored for his novel "A Death in the Family."
In 1981, Irish Republican Army hunger-striker Bobby Sands died at the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland in his 66th day without food.
Ten years ago: An exasperated Secretary of State Madeleine Albright called on Israel to agree to hand over an additional 13 percent of the West Bank to the Palestinians, on top of the 27 percent already relinquished; Israel, however, continued to balk at the proposal.
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Five years ago: Searchers using dogs and heavy equipment went from one crumbled home to another after tornado-packed storms flattened communities in four Midwestern states. In Colombia, a botched rescue attempt resulted in the deaths of a state governor, former defense minister and eight other hostages being held by rebels; three hostages survived. Walter Sisulu, the quiet giant of South Africa's anti-apartheid struggle for five decades, died in Johannesburg at age 90.
One year ago: A Kenya Airways jet crashed in southern Cameroon, killing all 114 people on board. Street Sense roared from next-to-last in a 20-horse field to win the Kentucky Derby. Floyd Mayweather Jr. beat Oscar De La Hoya to win the WBC 154-pound title at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.
Today's birthdays: Actress Pat Carroll is 81. AFL-CIO president John J. Sweeney is 74. Saxophonist Ace Cannon is 74. Country singer-musician Roni Stoneman is 70. Actor Michael Murphy is 70. Actor Lance Henriksen is 68. Comedian-actor Michael Palin is 65. Actor John Rhys-Davies is 64. Actor Roger Rees is 64. Rock correspondent Kurt Loder is 63. Rock musician Bill Ward (Black Sabbath) is 60. Actor Richard E. Grant is 51. Broadcast journalist John Miller is 50. Rock singer Ian McCulloch (Echo and the Bunnymen) is 49. NBC News anchor Brian Williams is 49. TV personality Kyan Douglas is 38. Actress Tina Yothers is 35. Singer Craig David is 27. Actress Danielle Fishel is 27. Rock singer Skye Sweetnam is 20. Rhythm-and-blues singer Chris Brown is 19.
Thought for today: "Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people."
-- Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, "father" of America's nuclear navy (1900-1986)
[Associated Press]
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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