TODAY’S HISTORY

1837: After months of economic downturn, several New York banks refused to convert paper currency to gold or silver, setting off the Panic of 1837.

1869: A golden spike was driven in Promontory, Utah, in ceremonies marking the symbolic completion of the U.S. transcontinental railroad.

1940: Winston Churchill was appointed prime minister of Great Britain following Germany’s invasion of France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

2013: The spire of One World Trade Center was completed, making it the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS:

Fred Astaire (1899-1987), singer/dancer/actor; David O. Selznick (1902-1965), film producer; T. Berry Brazelton (1918-2018), pediatrician/author; Pat Summerall (19302013), football player/broadcaster; Donovan (1946-), singer-songwriter; Bono (1960-), singer-songwriter; Linda Evangelista (1965-), supermodel; Kenan Thompson (1978-), actor; Odette Annable (1985-), actress.

TODAY’S FACT: When Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s government fell in 1940, King George VI himself summoned Winston Churchill to Buckingham Palace and asked him to form a government.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1970, Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins scored the game-winning goal in sudden-death overtime to give Boston the Stanley Cup title over the St. Louis Blues.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “The hardest job kids face today is learning good manners without seeing any.” — Fred Astaire

TODAY’S NUMBER: 140,000 — miles of freight railroad track currently in operation in the United States.

TODAY’S MOON: Between new moon (May 7) and first quarter moon (May 15).