Today In History

Today is Thursday, May 21, the 142nd day of 2020. There are 224 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

› 1927: Charles A. Lindbergh landed his Spirit of St. Louis monoplane near Paris, completing the first solo airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 33 1/2 hours.

ON THIS DATE

› 1881: Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross.

› 1892: The opera “Pagliacci,” by Ruggero Leoncavallo, premiered in Milan, Italy.

› 1910: A year-old Jewish settlement near the port city of Jaffa adopted the name Tel Aviv (Hebrew for “Hill of Spring”).

› 1932: Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean as she landed in Northern Ireland, about 15 hours after leaving Newfoundland.

› 1972: Michelangelo’s Pieta, on display at the Vatican, was damaged by a hammer-wielding man who shouted he was Jesus Christ.

› 1979: Former San Francisco City Supervisor Dan White was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the slayings of Mayor George Moscone and openly gay Supervisor

Harvey Milk; outrage over the verdict sparked rioting. (White was sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison; he ended up serving five years and took his own life in 1985.)

› 2018: Syria’s military captured an enclave in southern Damascus from Islamic State militants after a monthlong battle, bringing the entire capital and its suburbs under full government control for the first time since the civil war began in 2011.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

R&B singer Ron Isley (The Isley Brothers) is

79. Rock musician Hilton Valentine (The Animals) is 77. Musician Bill Champlin is 73. Singer Leo Sayer is 72. Actress Carol Potter is 72. Former Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., is 69. Actor Mr. T is 68. Music producer Stan Lynch is 65. Actor Judge Reinhold is 63. Actor-director Nick Cassavetes is 61. Actress Lisa Edelstein is 54. Actress Fairuza Balk is 46. Rock singer-musician Mikel Jollett (Airborne Toxic Event) is 46. Rapper Havoc (Mobb Deep) is

46. Rock musician Tony LoGerfo (Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real) is 37. Actor Sunkrish Bala is 36. Actor David Ajala is 34. Actress Ashlie Brillault is

33. Actress Sarah Ramos is 29.