Today In History

Today is Friday, May 19, the 139th day of 2017. There are 226 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

› 1927: The silent movie “Wings,” a World War I drama starring Clara Bow, Charles “Buddy” Rogers and Richard Arlen, had its world premiere in San Antonio, Texas, where it had been filmed. (“Wings” would go on to win the first Academy Award for best picture.)

ON THIS DATE

› 1780: A mysterious darkness enveloped much of New England and part of Canada in the early afternoon.

› 1913: California Gov. Hiram Johnson signed the Webb-Hartley Law prohibiting “aliens ineligible to citizenship” from owning farm land, a measure targeting Asian immigrants, particularly Japanese.

› 1962: Actress Marilyn Monroe sang “Happy Birthday to You” to President John F. Kennedy during a Democratic fundraiser at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

› 1967: The Soviet Union ratified a treaty banning nuclear and other weapons from outer space as well as celestial bodies such as the moon. (The treaty entered into force in Oct. 1967.)

› 1992: Vice President Dan Quayle sparked controversy by publicly criticizing the CBS sitcom “Murphy Brown” for having its title character, played by Candice Bergen, decide to become a single mother.