TODAY IN HISTORY

ON MAY 10... In 1774

Louis XVI ascended the throne of France.

In 1775

Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys captured the British-held fortress at Ticonderoga, N.Y.

In 1818

American patriot Paul Revere died in Boston; he was 83.

In 1838

actor John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, was born near Bel Air, Md.

In 1865

Union forces captured Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Irwinville, Ga.

In 1869

a golden spike was driven at Promontory Summit,

Utah, marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States.

In 1899

Frederick Austerlitz, who became better known as entertainer Fred Astaire, was born in Omaha.

In 1908

the nation's first Mother's Day observances were held in Philadelphia and Grafton, W.Va.

In 1909

“Mother” Maybelle Carter, singer and guitarist who would become matriarch of a country music dynasty that included daughter June Carter Cash, was born near Nickelsville, Va.

In 1924

J. Edgar Hoover was named director of the FBI. (He retained the post until his death in 1972.)

In 1933

the Nazis staged massive public book burnings in Germany.

In 1940

British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned, and Winston Churchill formed a new government.

In 1960

Bono, lead singer for the rock band U2, was born Paul Hewson in Dublin.

In 1968

preliminary Vietnam peace talks began in Paris.

In 1977

actress Joan Crawford died in New York; she was 69.

In 1978

Britain's Princess Margaret and the Earl of Snowdon announced they were divorcing after 18 years of marriage.

In 1994

serial killer John Wayne Gacy, 52, was executed by lethal injection at Stateville Prison near Joliet. (His death came 14 years after he was convicted of murdering 33 young men and boys.) Also in 1994 Nelson Mandela took the oath of office to become South Africa's first black president.

In 1995

Terry Nichols was charged in the Oklahoma City bombing.

In 2001

Boeing Co. chose Chicago as the site for its new headquarters, replacing Seattle.

Also in 2001

the World Wrestling Federation announced it would fold the upstart XFL football league.

In 2004

President George W. Bush reacted with “deep disgust and disbelief'“during a Pentagon visit as he examined new photos and video clips of American soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners. Also in 2004 Citigroup agreed to pay $2.65 billion to settle a lawsuit brought by WorldCom investors who had lost billions when the company went bankrupt in an accounting scandal.

In 2005

a federal bankruptcy judge approved United Airlines' plan to terminate its employees' pension plans.

In 2006

former New York Times executive editor A.M. Rosenthal died; he was 84. In

2012

JPMorgan Chase announced it lost about $2 billion tied to credit securities. (The figure later grew to $6 billion).

In 2013

a crane lifted the final piece of the spire at One World Trade Center in New York. Measured to the top of the spire, the tower at the 9/11 attack site is 1,776 feet tall — tallest in the Western Hemisphere.

In 2014

the St. Louis Rams selected linebacker Michael Sam in the seventh round of the NFL draft, making him the first openly gay player in league history.