TODAY IN HISTORY

1904

The United States took over construction of the Panama Canal from the French.

1932

Mobster Al Capone, convicted of income-tax evasion, entered the federal penitentiary in Atlanta.

1942

The Battle of the Coral Sea, the first naval clash fought entirely with carrier aircraft, began in the Pacific during World War II.

1945

During World War II, German forces in the Netherlands, Denmark and northwest Germany agreed to surrender.

1961

The first group of “Freedom Riders” left Washington, D.C., to challenge racial segregation on interstate buses and in bus terminals.

1970

Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire during an anti-war protest at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others.

1998

Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski was given four life sentences plus 30 years by a federal judge in Sacramento, California, under a plea agreement that spared him the death penalty.

Birthdays

Pulitzer Prize-winning political commentator George Will is 81. Actor Will Arnett is 52. Rock musician Mike Dirnt is 50. Christian singer Chris Tomlin is 50. Actor Alexander Gould is 28.