SUNDAY IN HISTORY

From the Pages of the

Oneida Dispatch

May 8, 1867: A new stock of spring and summer goods had just arrived at the Seely & Armitage general store in the Merchants Exchange.

May 8, 1908: Arbor Day was observed in the public schools of Oneida with appropriate exercises.

May8,1930: MinnieSmith was elected president of the Oneida Women’s Christian TemperanceUnion.

Today is Sunday, May 8, the 129th day of 2016. There are 237 days left in the year. This is Mother’s Day.

Highlight in History:

On May 8, 1846, the first major battle of the MexicanAmerican War was fought at Palo Alto, Texas.

On this date:

In 1541, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River.

In 1794, Antoine Lavoisier, the father of modern chemistry, was executed on the guillotine during France’s Reign of Terror.

In 1886, Atlanta pharmacist John Pemberton began selling the original version of Coca-Cola, which he’d invented.

In 1915, Regret became the first filly to win the Kentucky Derby.

In 1945, President Harry S. Truman announced on radio that Nazi Germany’s forces had surrendered, and that “the flags of freedom fly all over Europe.”

In 1973, militant American Indians who’d held the South Dakota hamlet of Wounded Knee for ten weeks surrendered.

In 1996, South Africa took another step fromapartheid to democracy by adopting a constitution that guaranteed equal rights for blacks and whites.

Ten years ago: Iranian President Mahmoud Ah mad inej ad wrote to President George W. Bush, proposing “new solutions” to their differences in the first letter from an Iranian head of state to an American president in 27 years.

Five years ago: Relations between Egypt’s Muslims and Christians reached a new low after overnight riots left 12 people dead and a church burned.

Oneyearago: PresidentBarack O ba ma visited Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, where he made a pitch for a Trans-Pacific agreement that would open up commerce among the U.S. and 11 other Pacific Rim countries.

Today’s Birthdays: Comedian Don Rickles is 90. Naturalist Sir David Attenborough is 90. NewYork CityMayor Bill de Blasio is 55. Singer Enrique Iglesias is 41.

Thought for Today: “What you see is news, what you know is background, what you feel is opinion.” — Lester Markel, American editor (1894-1977).