TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Thursday, May 12, the 132nd day of 2022.
Today’s highlight in history
On May 12, 1949, the Soviet Union lifted the Berlin Blockade, which the Western powers had succeeded in circumventing with their Berlin Airlift.
On this date
In 1780, during the Revolutionary War, the besieged city of Charleston, S.C., surrendered to British forces.
In 1932, the body of Charles Lindbergh Jr., the 20-monthold kidnapped son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh, was found in a wooded area near Hopewell, N.J.
In 1933, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Agricultural Adjustment Administration were established to provide help for the needy and farmers.
In 1943, Axis forces in North Africa surrendered. The twoweek Trident Conference,
headed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, opened in Washington.
In 1958, the U.S. and Canada signed an agreement to create the North American Air Defense Command (later the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD).
In 1970, the Senate voted unanimously to confirm Harry A. Blackmun as a Supreme Court justice.
In 1975, the White House announced the new Cambodian government had seized an American merchant ship, the
Mayaguez, in international waters. (U.S. Marines gained control of the ship three days after its seizure, not knowing the 39 civilian members of the crew had already been released by Cambodia.)
In 1982, in Fatima, Portugal, security guards overpowered a Spanish priest armed with a bayonet who attacked Pope John Paul II. (In 2008, the pope’s longtime private secretary revealed that the pope was slightly wounded in the assault.) In 1986, “Top Gun,” starring Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis, had its world premiere in New York. The movie was filmed throughout San Diego County. In 2008, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake in China’s Sichuan province left more than 87,000 people dead or missing.
Ten years ago: Miami’s LeBron James became the eighth player in NBA history to receive the MVP award three times.
Today’s birthdays
Composer Burt Bacharach is 94. Actor Millie Perkins is 86. Singer Jayotis Washington is 81. Singer Billy Swan is 80. Actor Linda Dano is 79. Actor Lindsay Crouse is 74. Singer-musician Steve Winwood is 74. Actor Gabriel Byrne is 72. Actor Bruce Boxleitner is 72. Singer Billy Squier is 72. Musician Guy Davis is 70. Actor Kim Greist is 64. Musician Eric Singer (KISS) is 64. Actor Ving Rhames is 63. Actor Emilio Estevez is 60. Actor Vanessa A. Williams is 59. Actor Stephen Baldwin is 56. Actor Scott Schwartz is 54. Actor Kim Fields is 53. Actor Samantha Mathis is 52. Actor Rhea Seehorn is 50. Actor Malin Akerman is 44. Actor Jason Biggs is 44. Actor Rami Malek is 41. Actor Emily VanCamp is 36.