This day in history

[May 06, 2013]  (AP)  Today is Monday, May 6, the 126th day of 2013. There are 239 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On May 6, 1863, the Civil War Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia ended with a Confederate victory over Union forces.

On this date:

In 1840, Britain's first adhesive postage stamp, the Penny Black, officially went into circulation five days after its introduction.

In 1882, President Chester Alan Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which barred Chinese immigrants from the U.S. for 10 years (Arthur had opposed an earlier version with a 20-year ban).

In 1910, Britain's Edwardian era ended with the death of King Edward VII; he was succeeded by George V.

In 1935, the Works Progress Administration began operating under an executive order signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In 1937, the hydrogen-filled German airship Hindenburg burned and crashed in Lakehurst, N.J., killing 35 of the 97 people on board and a Navy crewman on the ground.

In 1942, during World War II some 15,000 Americans and Filipinos on Corregidor surrendered to Japanese forces.

In 1954, medical student Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile during a track meet in Oxford, England, in 3:59.4.

In 1960, Britain's Princess Margaret married Antony Armstrong-Jones, a commoner, at Westminster Abbey. (They divorced in 1978.)

In 1962, in the first test of its kind, the submerged submarine USS Ethan Allen fired a Polaris missile armed with a nuclear warhead that detonated above the Pacific Ocean.

In 1987, CIA Director William J. Casey died at age 74.

In 1996, the body of former CIA director William E. Colby was found washed up on a southern Maryland riverbank, more than a week after he'd disappeared.

In 2002, Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn (pihm fohr-TOWN') was shot and killed in Hilversum, Netherlands. (Volkert van der Graaf was later convicted of killing Fortuyn and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.)

Ten years ago: Florida Sen. Bob Graham launched his campaign for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination by accusing President George W. Bush of retreating from the war on terrorism to "settle old scores" between the Bush family and Iraq's Saddam Hussein. (Graham dropped his bid five months later.) White House budget chief Mitchell Daniels announced his resignation. Kmart Corp. emerged from bankruptcy after more than 15 months of Chapter 11 protection.

Five years ago: Barack Obama swept to a convincing victory in the North Carolina Democratic primary while Hillary Rodham Clinton eked out a win in Indiana. A Georgia man who'd killed his live-in girlfriend was executed; William Earl Lynd was the first inmate put to death since the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of lethal injections. Kobe Bryant won his first MVP award after leading the Los Angeles Lakers to the best record in the Western Conference.

One year ago: Vice President Joe Biden told NBC's "Meet the Press" he was "absolutely comfortable" with gay couples who marry getting the same civil rights and liberties as heterosexual couples. Socialist Francois Hollande (frahn-SWAH' oh-LAWND') defeated conservative incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy (sahr-koh-ZEE') to become France's next president. Greek voters turned against mainline parties that had backed the tough terms of the country's massive international bailout. Actor George Lindsey, "Goober" on "The Andy Griffith Show," died in Nashville at age 83.

Today's birthdays: Baseball Hall-of-Famer Willie Mays is 82. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., is 79. Rock singer Bob Seger is 68. Singer Jimmie Dale Gilmore is 68. Gospel singer-comedian Lulu Roman is 67. Actor Alan Dale is 66. Actor Ben Masters is 66. Actor Gregg Henry is 61. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is 60. TV personality Tom Bergeron is 58. Actress Roma Downey is 53. Rock singer John Flansburgh (They Might Be Giants) is 53. Actor George Clooney is 52. Actor Clay O'Brien is 52. Rock singer-musician Tony Scalzo (Fastball) is 49. Actress Leslie Hope is 48. Rock musician Mark Bryan (Hootie and the Blowfish) is 46. Rock musician Chris Shiflett (Foo Fighters) is 42. Actress Stacey Oristano is 34. Actress Adrianne Palicki is 30. Actress Gabourey Sidibe (GA'-bah-ray SIH'-duh-bay) is 30. Actress-singer Naomi Scott is 20.

Thought for today: "No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks." -- Mary Wollstonecraft, British writer and philosopher (1759-1797)

[Associated Press]

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