TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Thursday, May 21, the 142nd day of 2020. There are 224 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On May 21, 1927, Charles A. Lindbergh landed his Spirit of St. Louis monoplane near Paris, completing the first solo airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 33 ½ hours. On this date: In 1471, King Henry VI of England died in the Tower of London at age 49.
In 1542, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto died while searching for gold along the Mississippi River.
In 1868, Ulysses S. Grant was nominated for president by the Republican national convention in Chicago.
In 1881, Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross.
In 1892, the opera “Pagliacci,” by Ruggero Leoncavallo, premiered in Milan, Italy.
In 1910, a year-old Jewish settlement near the port city of Jaffa adopted the name Tel Aviv (Hebrew for “Hill of Spring”).
In 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean as she landed in Northern Ireland, about 15 hours after leaving Newfoundland.
In 1941, a German U-boat sank the American merchant steamship SS Robin Moor in the South Atlantic after the ship’s passengers and crew were allowed to board lifeboats.
In 1972, Michelangelo’s Pieta, on display at the Vatican, was damaged by a hammer-wielding man who shouted he was Jesus Christ.
In 1979, former San Francisco City Supervisor Dan White was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the slayings of Mayor George Moscone (mahs-KOH’-nee) and openly gay Supervisor Harvey Milk; outrage over the verdict sparked rioting. (White was sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison; he ended up serving five years and took his own life in 1985.)
In 1991, former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated during national elections by a suicide bomber.
In 2018, Syria’s military captured an enclave in southern Damascus from Islamic State militants after a monthlong battle, bringing the entire capital and its suburbs under full government control for the first time since the civil war began in 2011.