Today's Highlight in History:

On May 10, 1869, a golden spike was driven at Promontory, Utah, marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States.

On this date:

In 1774, Louis XVI ascended the throne of France.

In 1775, Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys captured the British-held fortress at Ticonderoga, N.Y.

In 1865, Union forces captured Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Irwinville, Ga.

In 1924, J. Edgar Hoover was given the job of FBI director.

In 1933, the Nazis staged massive public book burnings in Germany.

In 1940, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned, and Winston Churchill formed a new government.

In 1941, Adolf Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess, parachuted into Scotland on what he claimed was a peace mission.

In 1968, preliminary Vietnam peace talks began in Paris.

In 1978, Britain's Princess Margaret and the Earl of Snowdon announced they were divorcing after 18 years of marriage.

In 1984, the International Court of Justice said the U.S. should halt any actions to blockade Nicaragua's ports (the U.S. had already said it would not recognize World Court jurisdiction on this issue.)

Years ago...

Ten years ago: The state of Illinois executed convicted serial killer John Wayne Gacy for the murders of 33 young men and boys. Nelson Mandela took the oath of office to become South Africa's first black president. An annular, or "ring," eclipse cast a moving shadow across the United States.

Five years ago: China broke off talks on arms control with the United States, and allowed demonstrators to hurl stones at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing for a third day to protest NATO's bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia. A military jury at Camp Lejeune, N.C., sentenced Captain Richard Ashby, a Marine pilot whose jet had clipped an Italian gondola cable, sending 20 people plunging to their deaths, to six months in prison and dismissed him from the corps for helping hide a videotape made during the flight (Ashby had been acquitted earlier of manslaughter).

One year ago: The leader of Iraq's largest Shiite Muslim group, Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim, returned triumphantly to his U.S.-occupied homeland after two decades in Iranian exile. The New York Times announced on its Web site that one of its reporters, Jayson Blair, had "committed frequent acts of journalistic fraud," according to an investigation conducted by the paper.

Today's Birthdays: Sportscaster Pat Summerall is 74. T.V. and radio personality Gary Owens is 68. Rhythm and blues singer Henry Fambrough (The Spinners) is 66. Writer-producer-director Jim Abrahams is 60. Singer Donovan is 58. Singer Dave Mason is 58. Rhythm and blues singer Ron Banks (The Dramatics) is 53. Rock singer Bono (U2) is 44. Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks is 41. Model Linda Evangelista is 39. Rock musician Krist Novoselic (Nirvana, Eyes Adrift) is 39. Rapper Young MC is 37. Actor Erik Palladino is 36. Rock musician Jesse Vest (Tantric) is 27. Actor Kenan Thompson is 26. Rhythm and blues singer Jason Dalyrimple (Soul For Real) is 24. Singer Ashley Poole (Dream) is 19.


- posted by Bill @ 9:53 AM