Today In History

Today is Friday, May 6, the 126th day of 2022. There are 239 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT ›

1937: The hydrogenfilled German airship Hindenburg caught fire and crashed while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey; 35 of the 97 people on board were killed along with a crewman on the ground.

ON THIS DATE

› 1882: President Chester Alan Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which barred Chinese immigrants from the U.S. for 10 years (Arthur had opposed an earlier version with a 20-year ban).

› 1910: Britain’s Edwardian era ended with the death of King Edward VII; he was succeeded by George V.

› 1941: Josef Stalin assumed the Soviet premiership, replacing Vyacheslav M. Molotov. Comedian Bob Hope did his first USO show before an audience of servicemen as he broadcast his radio program from March Field in Riverside, California.

› 1954: Medical student Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile during a track meet in Oxford, England, in 3:59.4.

› 2010: A computerized sell order triggered a “flash crash” on Wall Street, sending the Dow Jones industrials to a loss of nearly 1,000 points in less than half an hour.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays is 91. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., is

88. Rock singer Bob Seger is 77. Singer Jimmie Dale Gilmore is 77. Gospel singer-comedian Lulu Roman is 76. Actor Alan Dale is 75. Actor Gregg Henry is 70. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is 69. TV personality Tom Bergeron is 67. Actor Roma Downey is 62. Rock singer John Flansburgh (They Might Be Giants) is 62. Actor Julianne Phillips is 62. Actor-director George Clooney is 61. Actor Clay O’Brien is 61. Rock singer-musician Tony Scalzo (Fastball) is

58. Rock musician Mark Bryan (Hootie and the Blowfish) is 55. Rock musician Chris Shiflett (Foo Fighters) is 51. Actor Stacey Oristano is 43. Model/TV personality Tiffany Coyne is 40. Actor Adrianne Palicki is 39. Actor Gabourey Sidibe is 39. Actor-comedian Sasheer Zamata is 36. Rapper Meek Mill is 35. Houston Astros infielder Jose Altuve is 32. Actor-singer Naomi Scott is 29. Actor Noah Galvin is 28.