TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS SUNDAY, MAY 24, the 145th day of 2020. There are 221 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 1844, Samuel F.B. Morse transmitted the message “What hath God wrought” from Washington to Baltimore as he formally opened America’s first telegraph line.
In 1775, John Hancock was unanimously elected President of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, succeeding Peyton Randolph.
In 1935, the first major league baseball game to be played at night took place at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field as the Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1.
In 1941, the German battleship Bismarck sank the British battle cruiser HMS Hood in the North Atlantic, killing all but three of the 1,418 men on board.
In 1961, a group of Freedom Riders was arrested after arriving at a bus terminal in Jackson, Mississippi, charged with breaching the peace for entering white-designated areas. (They ended up serving 60 days in jail.)
In 1962, astronaut Scott Carpenter became the second American to orbit the Earth as he flew aboard Aurora 7.
In 1974, American jazz composer and bandleader Duke Ellington, 75, died in New York.
In 1976, Britain and France opened trans-Atlantic Concorde supersonic transport service to Washington.
In 1991, the feminist film drama “Thelma & Louise,” starring Susan Sarandon (as Louise) and Geena Davis (as Thelma), was released by MGM.
In 1994, four Islamic fundamentalists convicted of bombing New York’s World Trade Center in 1993 were each sentenced to 240 years in prison.
In 1995, former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson died in London at age 79.
In 2001, 23 people were killed when the floor of a Jerusalem wedding hall collapsed beneath dancing guests, sending them plunging several stories into the basement.
In 2018, a gunman was shot and killed by two bystanders after opening fire at an Oklahoma City restaurant and wounding three patrons.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actor-comedianimpressionist Stanley Baxter is 94. Jazz musician Archie Shepp is 83. Comedian Tommy Chong is 82. Singer Bob Dylan is 79. Actor Gary Burghoff is 77. Singer Patti LaBelle is 76. Actress Priscilla Presley is 75. Country singer Mike Reid is 73. Actor Jim Broadbent is 71. Actor Alfred Molina is 67. Singer Rosanne Cash is 65. Actor Cliff Parisi and actress Kristin Scott Thomas are 60. Rock musicians Jimmy Ashhurst (Buckcherry) and Vivian Trimble are 57. Actor John C. Reilly is 55. Actors Dana Ashbrook and Eric Close are 53. Actor Carl Payne and rock musician Rich Robinson are
51. Former MLB pitcher Bartolo Colon is
47. Actor Dash Mihok is 46. Actor Bryan Greenburg is 42. Actors Owen Benjamin and Billy L. Sullivan are 40. Actor-rapper Jerod Mixon (aka Big Tyme) is 39. Rock musician Cody Hanson (Hinder) is 38. Dancer-choreographer-singer Mark Ballas is 34. Country singer Billy Gilman is 32. Rapper/producer G-Eazy and actress Brianne Howey are 31. Actor Cayden Boyd is 26.