This day in history

[May 26, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, May 26, the 146th day of 2010. There are 219 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On May 26, 1940, the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied troops from Dunkirk, France, began during World War II.

On this date:

In 1521, Martin Luther was banned by the Edict of Worms (vohrms) because of his religious beliefs and writings.

In 1868, the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson ended with his acquittal on the remaining charges.

In 1908, the first major oil strike in the Middle East occurred in Masjid-i-Suleiman, Persia (Iran).

In 1913, Actors' Equity Association was organized in New York.

In 1938, the House Un-American Activities Committee was established by Congress.

In 1960, U.N. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge accused the Soviets of hiding a microphone inside a wood carving of the Great Seal of the United States that had been presented to the U.S. embassy in Moscow.

In 1969, the Apollo 10 astronauts returned to Earth after a successful eight-day dress rehearsal for the first manned moon landing.

In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in Moscow. (The U.S. withdrew from the treaty in 2002.)

In 1981, 14 people were killed when a Marine jet crashed onto the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz off Florida.

In 1994, Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley were married in the Dominican Republic. (The marriage, however, ended in 1996.)

Ten years ago: Barry Grunow (GROO'-noh), 35, an English teacher at Lake Worth Community Middle School in Florida, was shot to death by Nathaniel Brazill, a seventh grader, after the teacher refused to let him talk with two girls in his classroom. (Brazill was convicted of second-degree murder and is serving a 28-year sentence.)

Five years ago: President George W. Bush received Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas at the White House; Bush called Abbas a courageous democratic reformer and bolstered his standing at home with $50 million in assistance. Investigators confirmed five cases in which military personnel mishandled the Qurans of Muslim prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, but said they had found no "credible evidence" that a holy book was flushed in a toilet. Actor Eddie Albert died in Los Angeles at age 99.

One year ago: President Barack Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to be the first Hispanic justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. California's Supreme Court upheld the Proposition 8 gay marriage ban but said the 18,000 same-sex weddings that had taken place before the prohibition passed were still valid.

Today's birthdays: Actor James Arness is 87. Actor Alec McCowen is 85. Sportscaster Brent Musberger is 71. Rock singer-musician Levon Helm (The Band) is 70. Country musician Gates Nichols (Confederate Railroad) is 66. Rock musician Garry Peterson (Guess Who) is 65. Singer Stevie Nicks is 62. Actress Pam Grier is 61. Actor Philip Michael Thomas is 61. Country singer Hank Williams Jr. is 61. Former astronaut Sally K. Ride is 59. Actress Margaret Colin is 53. Country singer-songwriter Dave Robbins is 51. Actor Doug Hutchison is 50. Actress Genie Francis is 48. Comedian Bobcat Goldthwait is 48. Singer Lenny Kravitz is 46. Actress Helena Bonham Carter is 44. Rock musician Phillip Rhodes is 42. Actor Joseph Fiennes (FYNZ) is 40. Singer Joey Kibble (Take 6) is 39. Actor-producer-writer Matt Stone is 39. Contemporary Christian musician Nathan Cochran is 32.

Thought for today: "Talent is what you possess; genius is what possesses you." -- Malcolm Cowley, American author and critic (1898-1989)

[Associated Press]

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