DAILY ALMANAC
Today is Sunday, May 21, the 141st day of 2023. There are 224 days left in the year. On this date in:
1471: King Henry VI of England died in the Tower of London at age 49.
1881: Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross.
1924: In a case that drew much notoriety, 14-year-old Bobby Franks was murdered in a “thrill killing” carried out by University of Chicago students Nathan Leopold Jr. and Richard Loeb (Bobby’s cousin).
1927: Charles A. Lindbergh landed his Spirit of St. Louis monoplane near Paris, completing the first solo airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 331⁄2 hours.
1932: Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean as she landed in Northern Ireland,
about 15 hours after leaving Newfoundland.
1941: A German U-boat sank the American merchant steamship SS Robin Moor in the South Atlantic after the ship’s passengers and crew were allowed to board lifeboats.
1955: Chuck Berry recorded his first single, “Maybellene,” for Chess Records in Chicago.
1972: Michelangelo’s Pieta, on display at the Vatican, was damaged by a hammer-wielding man who shouted he was Jesus Christ.
1979: Former San Francisco City Supervisor Dan White was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the slayings of Mayor George Moscone and openly gay Supervisor Harvey Milk; outrage over the verdict sparked rioting. (White was sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison; he ended up serving five years and took his own life in 1985.)
1991: Former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated during national elections by a suicide bomber.
2000: Death claimed actor Sir John Gielgud at age 96 and author Dame Barbara Cartland at age 98.
2020: President Donald Trump visited a Ford Motor Co. plant outside Detroit that had been repurposed to manufacture ventilators; he did not publicly wear a face mask but said he had worn one while out of public view.
2022: Australia’s center-left opposition party toppled the conservative government after almost a decade in power, and Prime Minister-elect Anthony Albanese in his victory speech promised sharper reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Singer Ron Isley of the Isley Brothers is 82. Keyboardist Bill Champlin (Chicago) is 76. Singer Leo Sayer is 75. Comedian and former U.S. Senator Al Franken is 72. Actor Mr. T is 71. Drummer Stan Lynch (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) is 68. Actor Judge Reinhold is 66. Actor Lisa Edelstein (“House”) is 57. Drummer Tony Logerfo of Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real is 40. Actor Sunkrish Bala (“Castle”) is 39. Actor David Ajala (“Star Trek: Discovery,” “Black Box”) is 37. Actor Ashlie Brillault (“Lizzie Mcguire”) is 36. Country singer Cody Johnson is 36. Actor Scott Leavenworth (“7th Heaven”) is 33. Actor Sarah Ramos (“Parenthood,” “American Dreams”) is 32.