TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS SATURDAY, MAY 8, the 128th day of 2021. There are 237 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 1984, the Soviet Union announced it would boycott the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
In 1541, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River.
In 1660, the British Parliament moved to restore the monarchy by declaring that Charles II had been the country’s lawful king since the execution of his father, Charles I, in 1649.
In 1846, the first major battle of the Mexican-American War was fought at Palo Alto, Texas; U.S. forces led by Gen. Zachary Taylor were able to beat back Mexican forces.
In 1886, Atlanta pharmacist John Pemberton began selling the original version of Coca-Cola, which he’d invented.
In 1915, Regret became the first filly to win the Kentucky Derby.
In 1945, President Harry S. Truman announced on radio that Nazi Germany’s forces had surrendered, and that “the flags of freedom fly all over Europe.”
In 1958, Vice President Richard Nixon was shoved, stoned, booed and spat upon by anti-American protesters in Lima, Peru.
In 1973, militant American Indians who had held the South Dakota hamlet of Wounded Knee for 10 weeks surrendered.
In 1978, David R. Berkowitz pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn courtroom to murder, attempted murder and assault in connection with the “Son of Sam” shootings that claimed six lives and terrified New Yorkers. (Berkowitz was sentenced to six consecutive life prison terms.)
In 1987, Gary Hart, dogged by questions about his personal life, including his relationship with Miami model Donna Rice, withdrew from the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
In 1993, the Muslim-led government of Bosnia-Herzegovina and rebel Bosnian Serbs signed an agreement for a nationwide cease-fire.
In 1996, South Africa took another step from apartheid to democracy by adopting a constitution that guaranteed equal rights for Blacks and whites.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Naturalist Sir David Attenborough is 95. Singer Toni Tennille is 81. Actor James Mitchum is 80. Country singer Jack Blanchard is 79. Jazz musician Keith Jarrett is 76. Actor Mark Blankfield is 73. Singer Philip Bailey (Earth, Wind and Fire) and rock musician Chris Frantz (Talking Heads) are 70. Rockabilly singer Billy Burnette and rock musician Alex Van Halen are 68. Actor David Keith is 67. Actor Raoul Max Trujillo is 66. Sports commentator/former NFL coach Bill Cowher is 64. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is 60. Actor Melissa Gilbert and rock musician Dave Rowntree (Blur) are 57. Country musician Del Gray is 53. Rock singer Darren Hayes is 49. Singer Enrique Iglesias is 46. Blues singer-musician Joe Bonamassa is 44. Actor Matt Davis and singer Ana Maria Lombo (Eden’s Crush) are 43. Actors Elyes Gabel and Domhnall Gleeson are 38. Actor Julia Whelan is 37. Actor Nora Anezeder is 32.