Today in history

On May 26, 1521, Martin Luther was banned by the Edict of Worms because of his religious beliefs and writings.

In 1805 Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned King of Italy in Milan. In 1864 the Montana Territory was organized. In 1865 arrangements were made in New Orleans for the surrender of Confederate forces west of the Mississippi.

In 1868 the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson ended with his acquittal on all remaining charges.

In 1886 Asa Yoelson, who would become known as entertainer Al Jolson, was born in Srednike, Russia.

In 1907 Marion Morrison, who would become known as actor John Wayne, was born in Winterset, Iowa.

In 1913 Actors’ Equity Association, the entertainers union, was organized.

In 1940 the evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk, France, began during World War II. In 1960 U.N. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge accused the Soviets of hiding a microphone inside a wood carving of the Great Seal of the United States that had been presented to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.

In 1969 the Apollo 10 astronauts returned to Earth after a successful eight-day dress rehearsal for the first manned moon landing.

In 1977 George Willig scaled the outside of the south tower of New York’s World Trade Center; he was arrested at the top of the 110-story building.

In 1978 the first legal casino in the eastern United States opened in Atlantic City.

In 1981 14 people were killed when a Marine jet crashed onto the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz off Florida.

In 1988 the National Hockey League’s Edmonton Oilers completed a four-game sweep of the Boston Bruins to capture their fourth Stanley Cup in five seasons.

In 1991 a Lauda Air Boeing 767 crashed in Thailand, killing all 223 people aboard.

In 1992 the White House announced that the Coast Guard was returning a group of Haitian refugees picked up at sea to their homeland under a new executive order signed by President George H.W. Bush. In 1994 President Bill Clinton renewed trade privileges for China and announced his administration would no longer link China’s trade status with its human rights record. Also in 1994 Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley were married in the Dominican Republic. (The marriage, however, ended in 1996.)

In 1995, in the tobacco industry’s largest recall ever, Philip Morris U.S.A. halted sales of several cigarette brands, including some versions of top-selling Marlboro, because some filters were contaminated. In 1996 Buddy Lazier won the Indianapolis 500.

In 1998 the Supreme Court made it far more difficult for police to be sued by people hurt during high-speed chases. Also in 1998 the Supreme Court ruled that Ellis Island — historic gateway for millions of immigrants — is mainly in New Jersey, not New York.

In 2001 Republicans and moderate Democrats drove a sweeping $1.35 trillion, 10-year tax cut through Congress, handing President George W. Bush a political triumph.

In 2002 Alvaro Uribe was elected Colombia’s president. Also in 2002 Roman Polanski’s film “The Pianist” won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

AP FILE