NEA DATEBOOK
TODAY’S HISTORY: In 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.
In 1869, a golden spike was driven in Promontory, Utah, in ceremonies marking the symbolic completion of the U.S. transcontinental railroad.
In 1940, Winston Churchill was appointed prime minister of Great Britain following Germany’s invasion of France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
In 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 (1930-2013), football player/broadcaster; Donovan (1946- ), singersongwriter; 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).