Today In History

Today is Thursday, May 2, the 122nd day of 2019. There are 243 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

› 1941: General Mills began shipping its new cereal, “Cheerioats,” to six test markets. (The cereal was later renamed “Cheerios.”)

ON THIS DATE

› 1863: During the Civil War, Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson was accidentally wounded by his own men at Chancellorsville, Virginia; he died eight days later.

› 1908: The original version of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” with music by Albert Von Tilzer and lyrics by Jack Norworth, was published by Von Tilzer’s York Music Co.

› 1927: The U.S. Supreme Court, in Buck v. Bell, upheld 8-1 a Virginia law allowing the forced sterilization of people to promote the “health of the patient and the welfare of society.”

› 1968: “The Odd Couple,” the movie version of the Neil Simon comedy starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, opened in New York.

› 1982: The Weather Channel made its debut.

› 1994: Nelson Mandela claimed victory in the wake of South Africa’s first democratic elections; President F.W. de Klerk acknowledged defeat.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Singer Engelbert Humperdinck is 83. Country singer R.C. Bannon is 74. Actor David Suchet is 73. Singer-songwriter Larry Gatlin is 71. Rock singer Lou Gramm (Foreigner) is 69. Actress Christine Baranski is 67. Singer Angela Bofill is 65. Fashion designer Donatella Versace is 64. Actor Brian Tochi is 60. Movie director Stephen Daldry is 59. Actress Elizabeth Berridge is 57. Country singer Ty Herndon is 57. Actress Mitzi Kapture is

57. Rock musician Todd Sucherman (Styx) is 50. Wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson (AKA The Rock) is 47. Soccer player David Beckham is

44. Rock singer Jeff Gutt (Stone Temple Pilots) is

43. Actress Jenna Von Oy is 42. Actress Ellie Kemper is 39. Actor Robert Buckley is 38. Actor Gaius Charles is 36. Pop singer Lily Rose Cooper is 34. Olympic gold medal figure skater Sarah Hughes is 34. Actor Thomas McDonell is 33. Actress Kay Panabaker is 29. NBA All-Star Paul George is

29. Princess Charlotte of Cambridge is 4.