This day in history

[May 07, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Thursday, May 7, the 127th day of 2009. There are 238 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On May 7, 1915, nearly 1,200 people died when a German torpedo sank the British liner RMS Lusitania off the Irish coast.

On this date:

In 1789, the first inaugural ball was held in New York in honor of President George Washington and his wife, Martha.

In 1833, composer Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg, Germany.

In 1840, composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born in Votkinsk, Russia.

In 1909, Edwin H. Land, inventor of polarizing filters and Polaroid instant photography, was born in Bridgeport, Conn.

In 1945, Germany signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters in Rheims, France.

In 1954, the 55-day Battle of Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam ended with Vietnamese insurgents overrunning French forces.

In 1960, Leonid Brezhnev replaced Marshal Kliment Voroshilov as president of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet.

In 1975, President Gerald R. Ford formally declared an end to the "Vietnam era." In Ho Chi Minh City -- formerly Saigon -- the Viet Cong celebrated its takeover.

In 1977, Seattle Slew won the Kentucky Derby, the first of his Triple Crown victories. (On this date in 2002, Seattle Slew died.)

In 1984, a $180 million out-of-court settlement was announced in the Agent Orange class-action suit brought by Vietnam veterans who charged they'd suffered injury from exposure to the defoliant.

Ten years ago: NATO jets struck the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, killing three people and injuring 20; President Bill Clinton called the attack a "tragic mistake." A jury in Pontiac, Mich., ordered "The Jenny Jones Show" to pay $25 million to the family of Scott Amedure, a gay man who was shot to death after revealing a crush on Jonathan Schmitz, a fellow guest on the talk show. (However, the Michigan Court of Appeals later overturned the award, and the Michigan Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal.)

Five years ago: Army Pfc. Lynndie England, shown in photographs smiling and pointing at naked Iraqi prisoners, was charged by the military with assaulting the detainees and conspiring to mistreat them. (England was later convicted of conspiracy, mistreating detainees and committing an indecent act, and sentenced to 36 months; she served half that term.) Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld offered "my deepest apology" to abused Iraqi prisoners and warned that videos and photos yet to come could further inflame worldwide outrage.

One year ago: President George W. Bush, addressing the Council of Americas, said Cuba's post-Fidel Castro leadership had made only "empty gestures at reform" as he rejected calls for easing of U.S. restrictions on the communist island. Dmitry Medvedev was sworn in as Russia's president.

Today's birthdays: Former Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., is 77. Singer Jimmy Ruffin is 70. Singer Johnny Maestro is 70. Actress Robin Strasser is 64. Singer-songwriter Bill Danoff is 63. R&B singer Thelma Houston is 63. Rock musician Bill Kreutzmann (The Dead) is 63. Rock musician Prairie Prince is 59. Actor Robert Hegyes is 58. Movie writer-director Amy Heckerling is 55. Actor Michael E. Knight is 50. Rock musician Phil Campbell (Motorhead) is 48. Country musician Rick Schell is 46. Rock singer-musician Chris O'Connor (Primitive Radio Gods) is 44. Actress Traci Lords is 40. Singer Eagle-Eye Cherry is 38. Actor Breckin Meyer is 35. Rock musician Matt Helders (Arctic Monkeys) is 23. Actor Taylor Abrahamse is 18.

Thought for today: "We all live in suspense, from day to day, from hour to hour; in other words, we are the hero of our own story." -- Mary McCarthy, American author (1912-1989)

[Associated Press]

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