TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Tuesday, May 10.
Today’s highlight:
On May 10, 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.
On this date:
In 1775, Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, along with Col. Benedict Arnold, captured the British-held fortress at Ticonderoga, New York.
In 1818, American patriot Paul Revere, 83, died in Boston.
In 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis was captured by Union forces in Irwinville, Georgia.
In 1869, a golden spike was driven in Promontory, Utah, marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States.
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 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 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, 104 miners were killed in an elevator accident in Orkney, South Africa.
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 2013, the Internal Revenue Service apologized for what it acknowledged was “inappropriate” targeting of conservative political groups during the 2012 election to see if they were violating their tax-exempt status.
In 2014, Michael Sam was picked by the St. Louis Rams in the seventh round of the NFL draft, becoming the first openly gay player drafted by a pro football team. (Sam retired after an unsuccessful stint with the Rams and the Dallas Cowboys.)
Ten years ago: Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney apologized for “stupid” high school pranks that might have gone too far and moved quickly to stamp out any notion that he’d bullied schoolmates because they were gay.
Five years ago: All but ignoring the unfurling drama over Russia and the U.S. election, President Donald Trump sought to advance prospects for cooperation between the former Cold War foes in Syria and elsewhere in a rare Oval Office meeting with Vladimir Putin’s top diplomat, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
One year ago: Eleven days of fierce fighting between Israel and Hamas broke out when Hamas fired a barrage of long-range rockets toward Jerusalem in response to what it said were Israeli provocations; Israel quickly responded with a series of airstrikes. U.S. regulators expanded the use of Pfizer’s COVID19 vaccine to children as young as 12.