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 Today's
highlight in history:
On May 8, 1945, President Truman announced in a radio address that World War II had ended in Europe.
On this date:
In 1541, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River.
In 1794, Antoine Lavoisier, the father of modern chemistry, was executed on the guillotine during France's Reign of Terror.
In 1846, the first major battle of the Mexican-American War was fought at Palo Alto, Texas; U.S. forces led by General Zachary Taylor were able to beat back the invading Mexican forces.
In 1884, the 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, was born near Lamar, Mo.
In 1958, Vice President Richard Nixon was shoved, stoned, booed and spat upon by anti-American protesters in Lima, Peru.
In 1962, the musical comedy "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" opened on Broadway.
In 1970, antiwar protests took place across the United States and around the world; in New York, construction workers broke up a demonstration on Wall Street.
In 1973, militant American Indians who'd held the South Dakota hamlet of Wounded Knee for 10 weeks surrendered.
In 1978, David R. Berkowitz pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn courtroom to murder, attempted murder and assault in connection with one of the "Son of Sam" shootings that had terrified New Yorkers.
In 1988, science-fiction author Robert A. Heinlein died in Carmel, Calif., at age 80.
Ten years ago: Big Tobacco settled with the state of Minnesota for $6.6 billion as the state's lawsuit was about to go to a jury; Minnesota became the fourth state to settle with the tobacco industry over the costs of treating smoking-related illnesses.
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Five years ago: The Senate unanimously endorsed adding to NATO seven former communist nations: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. A federal grand jury indicted Chinese-born California socialite Katrina Leung on charges that she'd illegally taken, copied and kept secret documents obtained from an FBI agent. (A federal judge later dismissed the case against Leung, rebuking prosecutors for misconduct.) A Russian-built cargo plane lost a door over Congo, hurling more than 100 Congolese soldiers and their families to their deaths.
One year ago: The Pentagon announced that it had notified more than 35,000 Army soldiers to be prepared to deploy to Iraq beginning in the fall. Bitter enemies from Northern Ireland's bloody past joined forces atop a new Northern Ireland government.
Today's birthdays: Comedian Don Rickles is 82. Naturalist Sir David Attenborough is 82. Singer Toni Tennille is 68. Actor James Mitchum is 67. Country singer Jack Blanchard is 66. Jazz musician Keith Jarrett is 63. Singer Philip Bailey (Earth, Wind and Fire) is 57. Rock musician Chris Frantz (Talking Heads) is 57. Rockabilly singer Billy Burnette is 55. Rock musician Alex Van Halen is 55. Actor David Keith is 54. Actor Stephen Furst is 54. Actress Melissa Gilbert is 44. Rock musician Dave Rowntree (Blur) is 44. Country musician Del Gray is 40. Rock singer Darren Hayes is 36. Singer Enrique Iglesias is 33. Singer Ana Maria Lombo (Eden's Crush) is 30. Actress Julia Whelan is 23.
Thought for today: "What you see is news, what you know is background, what you feel is opinion."
-- Lester Markel, American editor (1894-1977)
[Associated Press]
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