Saturday, May 15, 2021

Today is the 135th day of 2021 and the 57th day of spring.

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1918, the United States launched its first regular airmail service.

In 1970, President Richard Nixon appointed Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington the first female U.S. Army generals.

In 1972, Alabama Gov. George Wallace was shot and left permanently paralyzed below the waist while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination in Maryland.

In 1988, Soviet troops began withdrawing from Afghanistan.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: L. Frank Baum (1856-1919), author; Pierre Curie (1859- 1906), physicist; Richard J. Daley (1902-1976), politician; Jasper Johns (1930- ), artist; Madeleine Albright (1937- ), former secretary of state; Roger Ailes (1940-2017), news executive; Brian Eno (1948- ), singer-songwriter/ musician; Chazz Palminteri (1952- ), actor; George Brett (1953- ), baseball player; Dan Patrick (1956- ), sportscaster; Emmitt Smith (1969- ), football player; Ray Lewis (1975- ), football player; Andy Murray (1987- ), tennis player.

TODAY’S FACT: Las Vegas was founded on this day in 1905, when the 110 acres that would eventually become downtown were purchased at auction.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 2004, Smarty Jones won the Preakness Stakes thoroughbred horse race by a record margin of 11 1/2 lengths.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “No thief, however skillful, can rob one of knowledge, and that is why knowledge is the best and safest treasure to acquire.” -- L. Frank Baum, “The Lost Princess of Oz”

TODAY’S NUMBER: 38,198 -- McDonald’s restaurants worldwide in 2020. The first McDonald’s restaurant opened in San Bernardino, California, on this day in 1940.

TODAY’S MOON: Between new moon (May 11) and first quarter moon (May 19).

Sunday, May 16, 2021

Today is the 136th day of 2021 and the 58th day of spring.

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1868, President Andrew Johnson was acquitted in his impeachment trial by one vote in the Senate.

In 1929, the first Academy Awards were presented.

In 1943, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising officially ended as German forces destroyed the Great Synagogue of Warsaw.

In 1966, the Beach Boys and Bob Dylan released their respective seminal records, “Pet Sounds” and “Blonde on Blonde.”

In 1997, President Mobutu Sese Seko relinquished power after 32 years of dictatorial rule in Zaire.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Henry Fonda (1905-1982), actor; Studs Terkel (1912- 2008), author/journalist; Liberace (1919-1987), singer/ pianist; Billy Martin (1928- 1989), baseball player/manager; Danny Trejo (1944- ), actor; Pierce Brosnan (1953- ), actor; Olga Korbut (1955- ), gymnast; Mare Winningham (1959- ), actress; Janet Jackson (1966- ), singer-songwriter; David Boreanaz (1969- ), actor; Megan Fox (1986- ), actress.

TODAY’S FACT: The Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds” ranked No. 2 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, released in 2012. The album peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 chart the year of its release.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1980, rookie point guard Earvin “Magic” Johnson, filling in for injured center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, scored 42 points in Game 6 to clinch a Los Angeles Lakers’ NBA World Championship Series title.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “More and more we are into communications; and less and less into communication.” -- Studs Terkel

TODAY’S NUMBER: 10.4 million -- viewers who watched the Academy Awards in April 2021, according to Nielsen ratings.

TODAY’S MOON: Between new moon (May 11) and first quarter moon (May 19).

Monday, May 17, 2021

Today is the 137th day of 2021 and the 59th day of spring.

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1792, 24 brokers and merchants signed the Buttonwood Agreement, forming what would become the New York Stock Exchange.

In 1954, the Supreme Court, in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, ruled unanimously that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional.

In 1973, televised Senate hearings began in the Watergate scandal.

In 2004, Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriages.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Horace Elgin Dodge (1868- 1920), automobile manufacturer; Dennis Hopper (1936-2010), actor; Bill Paxton (1955-2017), actor; Sugar Ray Leonard (1956- ), boxer; Bob Saget (1956- ), actor/comedian; Jim Nantz (1959- ), sportscaster; Enya (1961- ), singer-songwriter; Craig Ferguson (1962- ), comedian/TV personality; Trent Reznor (1965- ), singer-songwriter/musician; Alistair Overeem (1980- ), martial artist; Tony Parker (1982- ), basketball player; Passenger (1984- ), singersongwriter; Matt Ryan (1985- ), football player.

TODAY’S FACT: Thurgood Marshall served as the NAACP’s chief counsel in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. He was confirmed as the first African American associate justice of the Supreme Court in 1967.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1970, Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves collected his 3,000th hit, becoming the first player with 3,000 hits and 500 home runs.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “Boxing is the ultimate challenge. There’s nothing that can compare to testing yourself the way you do every time you step into the ring.” -- Sugar Ray Leonard

TODAY’S NUMBER: 911 -- length (in feet) of the USS Oriskany, an aircraft carrier that was decommissioned in 1976 and intentionally sunk on this day in 2006 to create an artificial reef off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico.

TODAY’S MOON: Between new moon (May 11) and first quarter moon (May 19).