Today in History — May 7
Today is Monday, May 7, the 127th day of 2007. There are 238 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On May 7, 1915, nearly 1,200 people died when a German torpedo sank the British liner Lusitania off the Irish coast.
On this date:
In 1789, the first inaugural ball was held in New York in honor of President and Mrs. George Washington.
In 1825, composer Antonio Salieri died in Vienna, Austria.
In 1833, composer Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg, Germany.
In 1840, composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born in the Ural region of Russia.
In 1941, Glenn Miller and His Orchestra recorded “Chattanooga Choo Choo” for RCA Victor.
In 1945, Germany signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters in Rheims, France.
In 1954, the 55-day Battle of Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam ended with Vietnamese insurgents overrunning French forces.
In 1975, President Ford formally declared an end to the Vietnam era. In Ho Chi Minh City — formerly Saigon — the Viet Cong celebrated its takeover.
In 1977, Seattle Slew won the Kentucky Derby, the first of his Triple Crown victories.
In 1984, a $180 million out-of-court settlement was announced in the Agent Orange class-action suit brought by Vietnam veterans who charged they’d suffered injury from exposure to the defoliant.
Ten years ago: The Army accused its top enlisted man, Sgt. Major of the Army Gene McKinney, of sexual misconduct. (At his court-martial, McKinney was acquitted of sexual misconduct, but found guilty of obstruction of justice.) Chrysler Corp. and United Auto Workers agreed to a new contract, ending a damaging 28-day engine-plant strike.
Five years ago: Authorities arrested 21-year-old college student Luke J. Helder in a series of rural mailbox bombings that left six people wounded in Illinois and Iowa. (Helder has since been found incompetent to stand trial.) A China Northern Airlines jetliner crashed into the Yellow Sea, killing 112 people; Chinese authorities later blamed a saboteur who’d set a fire on board. An EgyptAir jetliner with 62 people aboard crashed in Tunisia, killing
14. Fifteen Israelis were killed by a suicide bomber at a pool hall in suburban Tel Aviv. Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew died at age 28, 25 years to the day after his victory in the Kentucky Derby.
One year ago: Iran’s hard-line parliament threatened to pass legislation that would force the Tehran government to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Today’s Birthdays: Singer Teresa Brewer is 76. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., is 75. Singer Jimmy Ruffin is 68. Singer Johnny Maestro is 68. Actress Robin Strasser is 62. Singer-songwriter Bill Danoff is 61. Rhythm-and-blues singer Thelma Houston is 61. Rock musician Bill Kreutzmann (The Dead) is 61. Rock musician Prairie Prince is 57. NBC newsman Tim Russert is 57. Actor Robert Hegyes is 56. Movie writer-director Amy Heckerling is 53. Actor Michael E. Knight is 48. Rock musician Phil Campbell (Motorhead) is 46. Country musician Rick Schell is 44. Rock singer-musician Chris O’Connor (Primitive Radio Gods) is 42. Actress Traci Lords is 38. Singer Eagle-Eye Cherry is 35. Actor Breckin Meyer is 33. Actor Taylor Abrahamse is 16.
Thought for Today: “To delight in war is a merit in the soldier, a dangerous quality in the captain, and a positive crime in the statesman.” — George Santayana, Spanish-American philosopher (1863-1952).
URL:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18404934/