DAILY ALMANAC
Today is Wednesday, May 10, the 130th day of 2023. 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.
1818: American patriot Paul Revere, 83, died in Boston.
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: More than 100 miners were killed in an elevator accident 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.
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 an unsuccessful stint with the Rams and the Dallas Cowboys.)
2022: Authorities said they would not file criminal charges against former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson after he was recorded on video punching a fellow first-class passenger aboard a plane at San Francisco International Airport.
Singer Henry Fambrough of The Spinners is 85. Actor David Clennon (“thirtysomething”) is 80. Filmmaker
Jim Abrahams (“The Naked Gun,” “Airplane!”) is 79. Singer Donovan is 77. Singer Graham Gouldman of 10cc is 77. Singer Dave Mason is 77. Sports anchor
Chris Berman is 68. Actor Bruce Penhall (“CHIPS”) is 65. Actor
Victoria Rowell (“The Young and the Restless”) is 64. Singer Bono of U2 is 63. Drummer Danny Carey of Tool is 62. Actor
Darryl M. Bell (“A Different World”) is 60. Model Linda Evangelista is 58. Rapper Young MC is 56. Actor Erik Palladino (“ER”) is 55. Singer
Richard Patrick of Filter is 55. Actor
Lenny Venito (“Kevin Can Wait”) is 54. Actor Dallas Roberts (“Dallas Buyers Club,” “The Good Wife”) is 53. Actor Leslie Stefanson is 52.