This day in history

[May 11, 2011]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, May 11, the 131st day of 2011. There are 234 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On May 11, 1981, legendary reggae artist Bob Marley died in a Miami hospital at age 36.

On this date:

In 1647, Peter Stuyvesant arrived in New Amsterdam to become governor of New Netherland.

In 1811, conjoined twins Chang and Eng Bunker were born in Siam (now Thailand), giving rise to the term "Siamese twins."

In 1858, Minnesota became the 32nd state of the Union.

In 1911, actor-comedian Phil Silvers was born in New York City.

In 1946, the first CARE packages arrived in Europe, at Le Havre, France.

In 1950, President Harry S. Truman formally dedicated the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington state.

In 1960, Israeli agents captured Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

In 1973, charges against Daniel Ellsberg for his role in the "Pentagon Papers" case were dismissed by Judge William M. Byrne, who cited government misconduct.

In 1981, the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Cats," based on T.S. Eliot's "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats," opened in London.

In 1996, an Atlanta-bound ValuJet DC-9 caught fire shortly after takeoff from Miami and crashed into the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 people on board.

Ten years ago: A jury in Pittsburgh sentenced Richard Baumhammers to death for killing five people in a racially motivated shooting rampage. (Baumhammers is appealing his sentence.) Miss Puerto Rico Denise Quinones August was crowned Miss Universe. Douglas Adams, author of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," died in Santa Barbara, Calif., at age 49.

Five years ago: Lawmakers demanded answers after a USA Today report that the National Security Agency was secretly collecting records of millions of ordinary Americans' phone calls; President George W. Bush sought to assure Americans their civil liberties were being "fiercely protected." A priest was convicted in Toledo, Ohio, of murdering a nun; the Rev. Gerald Robinson was immediately sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for the 1980 death of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl. Former heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson died in New Paltz, N.Y., at age 71.

One year ago: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown resigned, ending 13 years of the Labour Party government and paving the way for Conservative David Cameron to become Britain's next leader. Italian designer Giuliana Coen Camerino, credited with making handbags a fashion item, died in Venice at age 90.

Today's birthdays: Comedian Mort Sahl is 84. Rock singer Eric Burdon (The Animals; War) is 70. Actress Shohreh Aghdashloo (SHOH'-reh ahg-DAHSH'-loo) is 59. Actress Frances Fisher is 59. Actor Boyd Gaines is 58. Country musician Mark Herndon (Alabama) is 56. Actress Martha Quinn is 52. Country singer-musician Tim Raybon (The Raybon Brothers) is 48. Actor Jeffrey Donovan is 43. Country musician Keith West (Heartland) is 43. Actor Coby Bell is 36. Cellist Perttu Kivilaakso (PER'-tuh KEE'-wee-lahk-soh) is 33. Actor Jonathan Jackson is 29. Actor Cory Monteith (TV: "Glee") is 29.

Thought for today: "We carry our nemesis within us: yesterday's self-admiration is the legitimate father of today's feeling of guilt." -- Dag Hammarskjold, U-N Secretary-General (1905-1961)

[Associated Press]

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