TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

May 15, 1968

Two days of tornado outbreaks began in 10Midwestern and Southern states; twisters were blamed for 72deaths, including 45in Arkansas and 18in Iowa.

ALSO ON THIS DATE

1567

Mary, Queen of Scots, married her third husband, James Hepburn, the Earl of Bothwell, who had been implicated in the death of Mary’s second husband, Lord Darnley.

1776

Virginia authorized its delegation to the Continental Congress to support independence from Britain.

1862

President Abraham Lincoln signed an act establishing the Department of Agriculture.

1928

The Walt Disney cartoon character Mickey Mouse made his debut in the silent animated short “Plane Crazy.”

1948

Hours after declaring its independence, the new state of Israel was attacked by Transjordan, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.

1972

Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace was shot and left paralyzed while campaigning for president in Laurel, Maryland, by Arthur H. Bremer, who served 35years for attempted murder.

1975

U.S. forces invaded the Cambodian island of Koh Tang and captured the American merchant ship Mayaguez, which had been seized by the Khmer Rouge.

1988

The Soviet Union began the process of withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan, more than eight years after Soviet forces entered the country.

2008

California’s Supreme Court declared same-sex couples in the state could marry.