TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS FRIDAY, MAY 4, the 124th day of 2018. There are 241 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY:
On this date in 1968, the Oroville Dam in Northern California was dedicated by Gov. Ronald Reagan; the 770-foottall earth-filled structure, a pet project of Reagan’s predecessor, Pat Brown, remains the tallest dam in the United States, but was also the scene of a near disaster in February 2017 when two spillways collapsed, threatening for a time to flood parts of three counties in the Sierra Nevada foothills.
In 1626,
landed on Dutch present-day explorer Manhattan Peter Minuit Island.
In 1776, Rhode Island declared its freedom from England, two months before the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
In 1830, the Edward Bulwer-Lytton novel “Paul Clifford,” with its famous opening, “It was a dark and stormy night … ,” was first published in London.
In 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago, a labor demonstration for an 8-hour work day turned into a deadly riot when a bomb exploded.
In 1919, the comic strip character Harold Teen made his debut in the Sunday edition of the Chicago Tribune in “The Love Life of Harold Teen” by Carl Ed.
In 1932, mobster Al Capone, convicted of income-tax evasion, entered the federal penitentiary in Atlanta. (Capone was later transferred to Alcatraz Island.)
In 1942, the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first naval clash fought entirely with carrier aircraft, began in the Pacific during World War II. (The outcome was considered a tactical victory for Japan, but ultimately a strategic one for the Allies.)
In 1959, the first Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Domenico Modugno won Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)”; Henry Mancini won Album of the Year for “The
Music from Peter Gunn.”
In 1961, the first group of “Freedom Riders” left Washington, D.C., to challenge racial segregation on interstate buses and in bus terminals. In 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire during an anti-war protest at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others. In 1980, Marshal Josip Broz Tito, president of Yugoslavia, died three days before his 88th birthday.
In 1998, Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski was given four life sentences plus 30 years by a federal judge in Sacramento, Calif., under a plea agreement that spared him the death penalty.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: The former president of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, is 90. Katherine Jackson, matriarch of the Jackson musical family, is 88. Jazz musician Ron Carter and rock musician Dick Dale are 81. Pulitzer Prize-winning political commentator George Will is 77. Pop singer Peggy Santiglia Davison (The Angels) is 74. Actor Richard Jenkins is 71. Country singer Stella Parton is 69. Actor-turned-clergyman Hilly Hicks and Irish musician Darryl Hunt (The Pogues) are 68. Singer Jackie Jackson (The Jacksons) is 67. Singer-actress Pia Zadora is 66. Rhythm-and-blues singer Oleta Adams is 65. Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., is 64. Violinist Soozie Tyrell (Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band) is 61. Country singer Randy Travis is 59. Actress Mary McDonough is 57. Comedian Ana Gasteyer is 51. Actor Will Arnett is 48. Rock musician Mike Dirnt (Green Day) and contemporary Christian singer Chris Tomlin are 46. TV personality and fashion designer Kimora Lee Simmons is 43. Rock musician Jose Castellanos is 41. Sports reporter Erin Andrews is 40. Singer Lance Bass (‘N Sync) is 39. Actress Ruth Negga is 37. Rapper/singer Jidenna is 33. Actor Alexander Gould and country singer RaeLynn are 24. Actress Amara Miller is 18. Actress Brooklynn Prince (Film: “The Florida Project”) is eight.