This day in history

[May 04, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Monday, May 4, the 124th day of 2009. There are 241 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

Fifty years ago, on May 4, 1959, the first-ever Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Domenico Modugno won Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)"; Henry Mancini won Album of the Year for "The Music from Peter Gunn."

On this date:

In 1626, Dutch explorer Peter Minuit landed on present-day Manhattan Island.

In 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago, a labor demonstration for an eight-hour work day turned into a deadly riot when a bomb exploded.

In 1904, the United States took over construction of the Panama Canal.

In 1916, responding to a demand from President Woodrow Wilson, Germany agreed to limit its submarine warfare, thereby averting a diplomatic break with Washington. (However, Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare the following year.)

In 1932, mobster Al Capone, convicted of income-tax evasion, entered the federal penitentiary in Atlanta. (Capone was later transferred to Alcatraz Island.)

In 1945, during World War II, German forces in the Netherlands, Denmark and northwest Germany agreed to surrender.

In 1946, a two-day riot at Alcatraz prison in San Francisco Bay ended, the violence having claimed five lives.

In 1961, a group of "Freedom Riders" left Washington, D.C., for New Orleans to challenge racial segregation on interstate buses and in bus terminals.

In 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on anti-war protesters at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others.

In 2001, Bonny Lee Bakley, wife of actor Robert Blake, was shot to death as she sat in a car in Los Angeles. (Blake, accused of the killing, was acquitted in a criminal trial but was found liable by a civil jury and ordered to pay damages.)

Ten years ago: Work crews struggled to restore electricity across Serbia after NATO strikes on major power grids left Belgrade and other cities in the dark. Five New York City police officers went on trial for the torture of Haitian immigrant Abner Louima. (One officer later pleaded guilty to civil rights violations; a second later pleaded guilty to perjury; the remaining three were acquitted of brutality charges. Two of those three were later convicted of conspiring to obstruct justice; those convictions were overturned.) Tornadoes roared across the Plains for a second straight day.

Five years ago: The Army disclosed that the deaths of 10 prisoners and abuse of 10 more in Iraq and Afghanistan were under criminal investigation, as U.S. commanders in Baghdad announced interrogation changes. The United States walked out of a U.N. meeting to protest its decision minutes later to give Sudan a third term on the Human Rights Commission.

One year ago: President George W. Bush visited Greensburg, Kan., where he hailed the resilience of the town and its tiny high school graduating class, one year after a tornado barreled through with astonishing fury. A river boat sank in a remote Amazon region in northern Brazil, killing at least 48 people. Iraq's first lady, Hiro Ibrahim Ahmed, escaped unharmed from a bomb attack in downtown Baghdad that struck her motorcade.

Today's birthdays: The president of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, is 81. Opera singer Roberta Peters is 79. Jazz musician Ron Carter is 72. Rock musician Dick Dale is 72. Singer-songwriter Nick Ashford is 67. Pop singer Peggy Santiglia (The Angels) is 65. Actor Richard Jenkins is 62. Country singer Stella Parton is 60. Actor-turned-clergyman Hilly Hicks is 59. Irish musician Darryl Hunt (The Pogues) is 59. Singer Jackie Jackson (The Jacksons) is 58. R&B singer Oleta Adams is 56. R&B singer Sharon Jones is 53. Country singer Randy Travis is 50. Actress Mary McDonough is 48. Comedian Ana Gasteyer is 42. Actor Will Arnett is 39. Rock musician Mike Dirnt (Green Day) is 37. Contemporary Christian singer Chris Tomlin is 37. TV personality and fashion designer Kimora Lee Simmons is 34. Rock musician Jose Castellanos is 32. Singer Lance Bass ('N Sync) is 30. Actor Alexander Gould is 15.

Thought for today: "When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt." -- Henry J. Kaiser, American industrialist (1882-1967)

[Associated Press]

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