TODAY IN HISTORY

On May 14, 1796, physician Edward Jenner inoculated 8-year-old James Phipps against smallpox by using cowpox matter.

In 1940, the Netherlands surrendered to invading

German forces during World War II.

In 1955, representatives from eight Communist bloc countries signed the Warsaw Pact in Poland.

In 1961, Freedom Riders were attacked by violent mobs in Anniston and Birmingham, Alabama.

In 1998, singer-actor Frank Sinatra died at a Los Angeles

hospital at age 82. Also, the hit sitcom “Seinfeld” aired its final episode.

In 2003, more than 100 immigrants were abandoned in a locked trailer at a Texas truck stop; 19 of them died.

In 2008, the Interior Department declared the polar bear a threatened species because of the loss of Arctic sea ice.