SUNDAY IN HISTORY

Today is Sunday, May 14, the 134th day of 2017. There are 231 days left in the year. This is Mother’s Day.

Highlight in History:

OnMay 14, 1787, delegates began gathering at the State House in Philadelphia to draw up the United States Constitution. However, only delegates from Virginia and Pennsylvania had arrived by this time, and the convention did not achieve a quorum of seven states until May 25.

On this date:

In 1643, Louis XIV became King of France at age four upon the death of his father, Louis XIII.

In 1796, English physician Edward Jenner inoculated 8-year-old James Phipps against smallpox by using cowpox matter.

In 1804, the Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the Louisiana Territory as well as the Pacific Northwest left camp near present-day Hartford, Illinois.

In 1948, according to the current-era calendar, the independent state of Israel was proclaimed in Tel Aviv.

In 1955, representatives from eight Communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, signed the Warsaw Pact in Poland.

In 1961, Freedom Riders were attacked by violent mobs in Anniston and Birmingham, Ala.

In 1973, the United States launched Skylab 1, its first manned space station. (Skylab 1 remained in orbit for six years before burning up during re-entry in 1979.)

Ten years ago: DaimlerChrysler said it was selling almostallofChrysler toprivate equity firm Cerberus Capital Management for $7.4 billion.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama sought to tarnish Republican Mitt Romney as a corporate titan who got rich by cutting rather than creating jobs; Romney’s campaign responded that the former Massachusetts governor alone helped spur more public and private jobs than Obama had.

One year ago: Hundreds of climateactivistsmarchedtothe site of two refineries in northwest Washington state to call for a break fromfossil fuels.

Today’s Birthdays: Movie producer George Lucas is 73. Movie director Robert Zemeckis is 66. Actor Tim Roth is 56. Actress Cate Blanchett is 48. Movie writer-director SofiaCoppola is 46. Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg is 33. Actress MirandaCosgrove is 24.

Thought for Today: “A mother becomesa true grandmother the day she stops noticing the terrible things her children do because she is so enchanted with thewonderful things her grandchildren do.” — Lois Wyse, American advertising executive, author and columnist (1926-2007).