TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS SATURDAY, MAY 4, the 124th day of 2013. There are 241 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On May 4, 1776, Rhode Island declared its freedom from England, two months before the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
In 1626, Dutch explorer Peter Minuit landed on present-day Manhattan Island.
In 1862, after a monthlong siege, Union forces prepared to unleash a massive bombardment against Confederate troops at Yorktown, Va., only to discover the Confederates had slipped away during the night. In 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago, a labor demonstration for an eight-hour work day turned into a deadly riot when a bomb exploded.
In 1904, the United States took over construction of the Panama Canal.
In 1916, responding to a demand from President Woodrow Wilson, Germany agreed to limit its submarine warfare. (However, Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare the following year.)
In 1932, mobster Al Capone, convicted of income-tax evasion, entered the federal penitentiary in Atlanta. (Capone was later transferred to Alcatraz Island.)
In 1942, the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first naval clash fought entirely with carrier aircraft, began in the Pacific during World War II. (The outcome was considered a tactical victory for Imperial Japan, but ultimately a strategic one for the Allies.)
In 1959, the first Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Domenico Modugno won Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)”; Henry Mancini won Album of the Year for “The Music from Peter Gunn.” In 1961, the first group of “Freedom Riders” left Washington, D.C., to challenge racial segregation on interstate buses and in bus terminals.
In 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire during an anti-war protest at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others.
In 1980, Marshal Josip Broz Tito, president of Yugoslavia, died three days before his 88th birthday. In 1998, Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski was given four life sentences plus 30 years by a federal judge in Sacramento, Calif., under a plea agreement that spared him the death penalty. TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: The former president of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, is 85. Opera singer Roberta Peters is 83. Katherine Jackson, matriarch of the Jackson musical family, is 83. Jazz musician Ron Carter is 76. Rock musician Dick Dale is 76. Pop singer Peggy Santiglia (The Angels) is 69. Actor Richard Jenkins is 66. Irish musician Darryl Hunt (The Pogues) is 63. Singer Jackie Jackson (The Jacksons) is 62. Singer-actress Pia Zadora is 61. Rhythm-and-blues singer Oleta Adams is 60. Rhythm-and-blues singer Sharon Jones is 57. Actress Mary McDonough is 52. Comedian Ana Gasteyer is 46. Actor Will Arnett is 43. Rock musician Mike Dirnt (Green Day) is 41. Contemporary Christian singer Chris Tomlin is 41. Actor Alexander Gould is 19. Actress Amara Miller is 13.