TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

May 14, 1955

Representatives from eight Communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, signed the Warsaw Pact in Poland. ALSO ON THIS DATE

1643

Louis XIV became King of France at age 4 upon the death of his father, Louis XIII.

1796

English physician Edward Jenner inoculated 8-year-old James Phipps against smallpox by using cowpox matter.

1804

The Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the Louisiana Territory as well as the Pacific Northwest left camp near present-day Hartford, Illinois.

1925

The Virginia Woolf novel “Mrs Dalloway” was first published in England and the United States.

1940

The Netherlands surrendered to invading German forces during World War II.

1948

According to the current-era calendar, the independent state of Israel was proclaimed in Tel Aviv by David BenGurion, who became its first prime minister; U.S. President Harry S. Truman immediately recognized the new nation.

1968

John Lennon and Paul McCartney held a news conference in New York to announce the creation of the Beatles’ latest business venture, Apple Corps.

1973

The United States launched Skylab 1, its first manned space station. The National Right to Life Committee was incorporated.

2001

The Supreme Court ruled 8-0 that there is no exception in federal law for people to use marijuana for medical purposes.

2004

Britain’s Daily Mirror newspaper published a front-page apology after photographs supposedly showing British forces abusing Iraqi prisoners turned out to be fakes.