TODAY HISTORY IN
Today is Monday, May 10, the 130th day of 2021. There are 235 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On May 10, 1869, a golden spike was driven in Promontory, Utah, marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States.
On this date:
• In 1774, Louis XVI acceded to the throne of France.
• In 1775, Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, along with Col. Benedict Arnold, captured the Britishheld fortress at Ticonderoga, New York.
• In 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis was captured by Union forces in Irwinville, Georgia.
• In 1924, J. Edgar Hoover was named acting director of the Bureau of Investigation (later known as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI).
• In 1933, the Nazis staged massive public book burnings in Germany.
• In 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.
• In 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.)
• In 1977, Academy Award-winning film star Joan Crawford died in New York.
• In 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.
• In 1995, former President George H.W. Bush’s office released his letter of resignation from the National Rifle Association in which Bush expressed outrage over an NRA fund-raising letter’s reference to federal agents as “jack-booted thugs.” (NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre apologized a week later.)
• In 2002, A tense 39-dayold 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.
• In 2010, President Barack Obama introduced Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, billing her as a unifying force for a fractured court.
Ten years ago: The bulging Mississippi River rolled into the Mississippi Delta after cresting before daybreak at Memphis, Tennessee, causing widespread damage. In a one-two punch against Moammar Gadhafi’s forces, NATO warplanes struck a command center in Tripoli and pounded targets around the besieged port of Misrata.
Five years ago: With his White House dreams fading, Bernie Sanders added another state to his tally against Hillary Clinton with a win in West Virginia; Republican Donald Trump also won there and in Nebraska, a week after he cleared the field of his remaining rivals. Stephen Curry became the first unanimous NBA MVP, earning the award for the second straight season after leading the defending champion Warriors to a record-setting season.
One year ago: Vice President Mike Pence was said to be self-isolating at home, two days after his press secretary, Katie Miller, tested positive for the coronavirus. American families celebrated Mother’s Day amid the social distancing restrictions caused by the coronavirus.