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From: Mary Minnich< >
Subject: [FOLKLORE-L] Today in History - May 4th
Date: Tue, 4 May 1999 07:26:28 -0400


Today is Tuesday, May fourth, the 124th day of 1999.
There are 241 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:
On May fourth, 1942, the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first naval clash
fought entirely with carrier aircraft, began during World War Two.

On this date:
In 1626, Dutch explorer Peter Minuit landed on present-day Manhattan Island.

In 1776, Rhode Island declared its freedom from England, two months before
the Declaration of Independence was adopted.

In 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago, a labor demonstration for an
eight-hour work day turned into a riot when a bomb exploded.

In 1916, responding to a demand from President Wilson, Germany agreed to
limit its submarine warfare, thereby averting a diplomatic break with
Washington.

In 1927, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was founded.

In 1932, mobster Al Capone, convicted of income-tax evasion, entered the
federal penitentiary in Atlanta.

In 1961, a group of "Freedom Riders" left Washington for New Orleans to
challenge racial segregation in interstate buses and bus terminals.

In 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on anti-war protesters at Kent
State University, killing four students and wounding nine others.

In 1980, Marshal Josip Broz Tito, president of Yugoslavia, died three days
before his 88th birthday.

Ten years ago: Fired White House aide Oliver North was convicted of
shredding documents and two other crimes and acquitted of nine other charges
stemming from the Iran-Contra affair. (However, the three convictions were
later overturned on appeal.)

Five yeare ago: Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser
Arafat signed a historic accord on Palestinian autonomy that granted
self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.

One year ago: Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski was given four life sentences
plus 30 years by a federal judge in Sacramento, California, under a plea
agreement that spared him the death penalty. In Vatican City, the commander
of the Swiss Guard, Alois Estermann, and his wife were found shot to death
in their apartment; a Vatican inquiry concluded that a corporal, Cedric
Tornay, had shot the couple and then turned the gun on himself.

Today's Birthdays:
The president of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, is 71.
Jazz musician Maynard Ferguson is 71.
Opera singer Roberta Peters is 69.
Jazz musician Ron Carter is 62.
Rock musician Dick Dale is 62.
Singer Tyrone Davis is 61.
Singer-songwriter Nick Ashford is 57.
Actor Paul Gleason ("The Thin Red Line") is 55.
Pop singer Peggy Santiglia (The Angels) is 55.
Country singer Stella Parton is 50.
Actor-turned-clergyman Hilly Hicks is 49.
Singer Jackie Jackson (The Jacksons) is 48.
Country singer Randy Travis is 40.
Actress Mary McDonough is 38.
Rock musician Mike Dirnt (Green Day) is 27.
Rock musician Jose Castellanos (Save Ferris) is 22.
Singer Lance Bass ('N Sync) is 20.

Thought for Today:

"Love is blind; friendship closes its eyes."

-- Anonymous.

(Copyright 1999 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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