TODAY IN HISTORY

1707

The Kingdom of Great Britain was created as a treaty merging England and Scotland took effect.

1866

Three days of racerelated rioting erupted in Memphis, Tennessee, as white mobs targeted Blacks, 46 of whom were killed, along with two whites.

1960

The Soviet Union shot down an American U-2 reconnaissance plane over Sverdlovsk and captured its pilot, Francis Gary Powers.

1991

Nolan Ryan of the

Texas Rangers threw his seventh no-hitter at age 44, shutting out the Toronto Blue Jays 3-0.

1992

On the third day of the Los Angeles riots, a visibly shaken Rodney King appeared in public to appeal for calm, pleading, “Can we all get along?”

2011

President Barack Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden during a U.S. commando operation. (Because of the time difference, it was early May 2in Pakistan, where the al-Qaida leader met his end.)

Birthdays

Singer Judy Collins is

83. Singer Rita Coolidge is 77. Singer-songwriter Ray Parker Jr. is 68. Hall of Fame jockey Steve Cauthen is 62. Country singer Tim McGraw is

55. Movie director Wes Anderson is 53. Actor Darius McCrary is 46. TV personality Abby Huntsman is 36.