DAILY ALMANAC
Today is Tuesday, May 10, the 130th day of 2022. There are 235 days left in the year.
On this date in:
1775: Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, along with Col. Benedict Arnold, captured the British-held fortress at Ticonderoga, New York.
1865: Confederate President Jefferson Davis was captured by Union forces in Irwinville, Georgia.
1869: A golden spike was driven in Promontory, Utah, marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States.
1924: J. Edgar Hoover was named acting director of the Bureau of Investigation (later known as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI).
1933: The Nazis staged massive public book burnings in Germany.
1940: During World War II, German forces began invading the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and France. The same day, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned, and Winston Churchill formed a new government.
1941: Adolf Hitler’s deputy, Rudolf Hess, parachuted into Scotland on what he claimed was a peace mission. (Hess ended up serving a life sentence at Spandau Prison until 1987, when he apparently committed suicide at age 93.)
1994: Nelson Mandela took the oath of office in Pretoria to become South Africa’s first Black president. The state of Illinois executed serial killer John Wayne Gacy, 52, for the murders of 33 young men and boys.
1995: An elevator accident killed 104 miners in Orkney, South Africa.
2002: A tense 39-day-old standoff between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem ended with 13 suspected militants flown into European exile and 26 released into the Gaza Strip.
2013: The Internal Revenue Service apologized for what it acknowledged was “inappropriate” targeting of conservative political groups during the 2012 election to see if they were violating their tax-exempt status.
2014: Michael Sam was picked by the St. Louis Rams in the seventh round of the NFL draft, becoming the first openly gay player drafted by a pro football team. (Sam retired after unsuccessful stints with the Rams and the Dallas Cowboys.)
Singer Henry Fambrough of The Spinners is 84. Singer Donovan is 76. Singer Graham Gouldman of 10cc is 76. Singer Dave Mason is 76. Sports anchor Chris Berman is 67. Singer Bono of U2 is 62. Drummer Danny Carey of Tool is 61. Actor
Dallas Roberts (“Dallas Buyers Club,” “The Good Wife”) is 52. Actor Leslie Stefanson (“The Hunted,” “The General’s Daughter”) is 51. Actor
Todd Lowe (“True Blood,” “Gilmore Girls”) is 50. Actor Andrea Anders (“Joey”) is 47. Bassist Jesse Vest of Tantric and of Days of the New is 45. Actor Kenan Thompson (“Saturday Night Live,” “Kenan and Kel”) is 44.