Saturday, May 8, 2021

Today is the 128th day of 2021 and the 50th day of spring.

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1877, the first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show was held in New York City.

In 1902, Mount Pelee erupted on the island of Martinique, destroying the city of Saint-Pierre and killing an estimated 30,000 people.

In 1945, Victory in Europe Day (or V-E Day) was celebrated as the Allies accepted Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender, ending World War II in Europe.

In 1973, a 10-week standoff in Wounded Knee, South Dakota, between federal authorities and American Indian Movement activists ended.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Harry S. Truman (1884- 1972), 33rd U.S. president; David Attenborough (1926- ), TV personality/environmentalist; Don Rickles (1926- 2017), comedian/actor; Thomas Pynchon (1937- ), author; Ricky Nelson (1940- 1985), singer-songwriter; Toni Tennille (1940- ), singer-songwriter; Mike D’Antoni (1951- ), basketball coach; Bill Cowher (1957- ), football coach/analyst; Lovie Smith (1958- ), football coach; Enrique Iglesias (1975- ), singer-songwriter; Stephen Amell (1981- ), actor; Adrian Gonzalez (1982- ), baseball player.

TODAY’S FACT: Pharmacist John Pemberton sold the first Coca-Cola soft drink on this day in 1886.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1978, Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler became the first climbers to ascend Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “Not all readers become leaders. But all leaders must be readers.” -- Harry Truman

TODAY’S NUMBER: 418,500 -- total U.S. military and civilian deaths in World War II, according to the National WWII Museum.

TODAY’S MOON: Between last quarter moon (May 3) and new moon (May 11).

Sunday, May 9, 2021

Today is the 129th day of 2021 and the 51st day of spring.

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson issued the first presidential proclamation calling for a national Mother’s Day holiday.

In 1974, the U.S. House of Representatives opened impeachment hearings against President Richard Nixon.

In 2001, 126 soccer fans died in a stampede at the Accra Sports Stadium in Ghana.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: John Brown (1800-1859), abolitionist; J.M. Barrie (1860-1937), author/ playwright; Howard Carter (1874-1939), archaeologist; Mike Wallace (1918-2012), journalist; James L. Brooks (1940- ), director/producer; Candice Bergen (1946- ), actress; Billy Joel (1949- ), singer-songwriter/pianist; Tony Gwynn (1960-2014), baseball player; Rosario Dawson (1979- ), actress; Prince Fielder (1984- ), baseball player.

TODAY’S FACT: When Federal Communications Commission Chairman Newton Minow described network TV programming as a “vast wasteland” during a speech on this day in 1961, the top-rated shows in the United States were “Gunsmoke,” “Wagon Train” and “Have Gun Will Travel.”

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1984, the Chicago White Sox finally defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 7-6 in a 25-inning game that had been suspended from the day before. It was the longest timed game in Major League Baseball history to date, at 8 hours and 6 minutes.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “Dreams do come true, if only we wish hard enough. You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it.” -- J.M. Barrie, “Peter Pan”

TODAY’S NUMBER: 27 -- current member nations in the European Union. Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey are candidates for membership.

TODAY’S MOON: Between last quarter moon (May 3) and new moon (May 11).

Monday, May 10, 2021

Today is the 130th day of 2021 and the 52nd day of spring.

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: John Wilkes Booth (1838- 1865), actor/assassin; 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- ), singer-songwriter; Bono (1960- ), singer-songwriter; Linda Evangelista, (1965- ), supermodel; Kenan Thompson (1978- ), actor; Odette Annable (1985- ), actress; Salvador Perez (1990- ), baseball player.

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: “To be one, to be united is a great thing. But to respect the right to be different is maybe even greater.” -- Bono

TODAY’S NUMBER: 140,000 -- miles of freight railroad track currently in operation in the United States.

TODAY’S MOON: Between last quarter moon (May 3) and new moon (May 11).