TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Tuesday, May 16, the 136th day of 2023.
Today’s highlight in history
On May 16, 1943, the nearly monthlong Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ended as German forces crushed the Jewish resistance and blew up the Great Synagogue.
On this date
In 1770, Marie Antoinette, 14, married the future King Louis XVI of France, who was 15.
In 1866, Congress authorized minting of the first five-cent piece, also known as the “Shield nickel.”
In 1929, the first Academy Awards were presented. “Wings” won “best production,” while Emil Jannings and Janet Gaynor were named best actor and best actress.
In 1939, the federal government began its first food stamp program in Rochester, N.Y.
In 1957, federal agent Eliot Ness, who organized “The Untouchables” team that took on gangster Al Capone, died in Coudersport, Pa., at age 54.
In 1960, the first working laser was demonstrated at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu by physicist Theodore
Maiman.
In 1966, China launched the Cultural Revolution, a radical as well as deadly reform movement aimed at purging the country of “counter-revolutionaries.”
In 1975, Japanese climber Junko Tabei became the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
In 1990, entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. died in Los Angeles at age 64 and “Muppets” creator Jim Henson died in New York at age 53.
In 1997, President Bill Clinton publicly apologized for the notorious Tuskegee experiment, in which government
scientists deliberately allowed Black men to weaken and die of treatable syphilis.
In 2007, anti-war Democrats in the Senate failed in an attempt to cut off funds for the Iraq War.
In 2016, President Barack Obama called on the nation to support law enforcement officers as he bestowed the Medal of Valor on 13 who risked their lives.
Ten years ago: “The Office” aired its final episode after nine seasons on the air on NBC.
Five years ago: Officials at Michigan State University said they had agreed to pay $500 million to settle claims from more than 300 women and girls who said they were assaulted by sports doctor Larry Nassar.
One year ago: The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 hit 1 million. Baby formula maker Abbott reached an agreement with U.S. health regulators to restart production at its largest domestic factory amid a national shortage.
Today’s birthdays
Former U.S. Sen. Lowell Weicker is 92. Former Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats is 80. Musician Billy Cobham is 79. Actor Danny Trejo is 79. Actor Bill Smitrovich is 76. Actor Pierce Brosnan is 70. Actor Debra Winger is 68. Gymnast Olga Korbut is 67. Runner Joan Benoit Samuelson is 65. Actor Mare Winningham is 64. Musician Boyd Tinsley is 59. Musician Krist Novoselic (Nirvana) is 58. Singer Janet Jackson is 57. Singer Ralph Tresvant (New Edition) is 55. Actor David Boreanaz is 54. Political commentator Tucker Carlson is 54. Actor Tracey Gold is 54. Tennis Hall of Famer Gabriela Sabatini is 53. Actor Tori Spelling is 50. Actor Melanie Lynskey is 46. Actor Joseph Morgan is 42. Actor Megan Fox is 37. Actor Jermaine Fowler is 35. Actor Thomas BrodieSangster is 33. Figure skater Ashley Wagner is 32.