This day in history

[May 05, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, May 5, the 125th day of 2010. There are 240 days left in the year.

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 1821, Napoleon Bonaparte, 51, died in exile on the island of St. Helena.

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 1920, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were arrested in the shooting deaths of a paymaster and security guard during a robbery at a shoe factory in Braintree, Mass. (Sacco and Vanzetti were later convicted and executed amid an international outcry.)

In 1925, schoolteacher John T. Scopes was charged in Tennessee with violating a state law that prohibited teaching the theory of evolution. (Scopes was found guilty, but his conviction was later set aside.)

In 1942, during World War II, Japanese forces landed on the Philippine island of Corregidor.

In 1955, West Germany became a fully sovereign state. The baseball musical "Damn Yankees" opened on Broadway.

In 1960, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announced his country had shot down an American U-2 plane which the U.S. claimed was conducting weather studies over Turkey. (The U.S. cover story fell apart two days later when Khrushchev announced that the U-2 pilot, Francis Gary Powers, had survived.)

In 1980, a siege at the Iranian embassy in London by armed men demanding the release of political prisoners in Iran ended as British forces stormed the building, killing four of the five hostage-takers. Nineteen hostages were rescued; two had already been killed by their captors.

In 1985, President Ronald Reagan kept a controversial promise to West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl by leading a wreath-laying ceremony at the military cemetery in Bitburg.

Ten years ago: President Bill Clinton met at the White House with Japan's new prime minister, Yoshiro Mori (yoh-shee-roh moh-ree). The Labor Department reported the nation's unemployment rate had hit a 30-year low of 3.9 percent in April 2000. Reformers swept Iran's run-off elections, winning control of the legislature from conservatives. The tightest alignment of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the sun and the moon since 1962 took place.

Five years ago: Tony Blair won a historic third term as Britain's prime minister, but his Labour Party suffered a sharply reduced parliamentary majority. "Precious Doe," a slain girl in Kansas City, Mo., was identified after four years as 3-year-old Erica Michelle Marie Green. (Harrell Johnson was later convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole; Erica's mother, Michelle Green, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received a 25-year term.) Michael Jackson's lawyers opened their successful defense in his molestation and conspiracy trial.

One year ago: America's first face transplant recipient appeared before reporters at the Cleveland Clinic. (Connie Culp underwent the procedure after being shot by her husband in a failed murder-suicide attempt.) Texas health officials confirmed the first death of a U.S. resident with swine flu.

Today's birthdays: Actress Pat Carroll is 83. Former AFL-CIO president John J. Sweeney is 76. Saxophonist Ace Cannon is 76. Country singer-musician Roni Stoneman is 72. Actor Michael Murphy is 72. Actor Lance Henriksen is 70. Comedian-actor Michael Palin is 67. Actor John Rhys-Davies is 66. Actor Roger Rees is 66. Rock correspondent Kurt Loder is 65. Rock musician Bill Ward (Black Sabbath) is 62. Actor Richard E. Grant is 53. Broadcast journalist-turned-FBI spokesman John Miller is 52. Rock singer Ian McCulloch (Echo and the Bunnymen) is 51. NBC News anchor Brian Williams is 51. Rock musician Shawn Drover (Megadeth) is 44. TV personality Kyan (KY'-ihn) Douglas is 40. Actress Tina Yothers is 37. Actor Vincent Kartheiser is 31. Singer Craig David is 29. Actress Danielle Fishel is 29. Actor Henry Cavill is 27. Soul singer Adele is 22. Rock singer Skye Sweetnam is 22. Rhythm-and-blues singer Chris Brown is 21.

Thought for today: "The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority." -- Ralph W. Sockman, American clergyman (1889-1970)

[Associated Press]

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