This Day in History

On May 24, 1968, the Rolling Stones single “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” was released in the United Kingdom by Decca Records.

On this date:

In 1775, John Hancock was unanimously elected President of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, succeeding Peyton Randolph.

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 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge, linking Brooklyn and Manhattan, was dedicated by President Chester Alan Arthur and New York Gov. Grover Cleveland.

In 1918, Bela Bartok’s oneact opera “Bluebeard’s Castle” had its premiere in Budapest.

In 1937, in a set of rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Social Security Act of 1935.

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 1958, United Press International was formed through a merger of the United Press and the International News Service.

In 1962, astronaut Scott Carpenter became the second American to orbit the Earth as he flew aboard Aurora 7.

In 1976, Britain and France opened trans-Atlantic Concorde supersonic transport service to Washington.

In 1980, Iran rejected a call by the World Court in The Hague to release the American hostages.

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 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.

Ten years ago: British actor Rob Knox, 18, who had completed filming a minor role in “Harry Potter and the HalfBlood Prince,” was stabbed to death during a brawl in London. (His attacker was later sentenced to life in prison.) Comedy performer and director Dick Martin of TV’s “Laugh-In” fame died in Santa Monica, California, at age 86.