May 12
1780 - During the Revolutionary War, the besieged city of Charleston, South Carolina, surrendered to British forces.
1870 - Manitoba became a province of Canada.
1932 - The body of Charles and Anne Lindbergh's kidnapped baby was found in a wooded area near Hopewell, New Jersey.
1933 - The Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Agricultural Adjustment Administration were established to provide help for the needy and farmers.
1937 - Britain's King George VI was crowned at Westminster Abbey in London.
1943 - Axis forces in North Africa surrendered during World War II.
1949 - The Soviet blockade that prompted the Berlin Airlift was ended.
1958 - The United States and Canada signed an agreement to create the North American Air Defense Command (later the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD).
1970 - The U.S. Senate voted unanimously to confirm Harry A. Blackmun as a Supreme Court justice.
1975 - The White House announced the new Cambodian government had seized an American merchant ship, the Mayaguez, in international waters. (U.S. Marines gained control of the ship three days after its seizure, not knowing the 39 civilian members of the crew had already been released by Cambodia.)
1982 - In Fatima, Portugal, security guards overpowered a Spanish priest armed with a bayonet who attacked Pope John Paul II. (In 2008, the pope's longtime private secretary revealed that the pontiff was slightly wounded in the attack.)
2002 - Former President Jimmy Carter became the first U.S. president, in or out of office, to visit Fidel Castro's Cuba.
2008 - Tens of thousands were killed when a 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck the Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan Provinces in China.
2009 - Five Miami men were convicted in a plot to blow up FBI buildings and Chicago's Sears Tower; one man was acquitted.
2009 - Suspected Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk was deported from the United States to Germany. (On this date in 2011, Demjanjuk, who maintained his innocence, would be convicted by a German court of being an accessory to the murder of tens of thousands of Jews; he died in March 2012 at age 91.)
2011 - CEOs of the five largest oil companies went before the Senate Finance Committee, where Democrats challenged the executives to justify tax breaks at a time when people were paying $4 a gallon for gas.
2013 - Pope Francis gave the Catholic Church new saints, including hundreds of 15th-century martyrs who were beheaded for refusing to convert to Islam, as he led his first canonization ceremony before tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square.
2022 - Finland's leaders came out in favor of applying to join NATO in part of a historic realignment on the continent 2 ½ months after Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine sent a shiver of fear through Moscow's neighbors. The Kremlin reacted by warning it will be forced to take retaliatory "military-technical" steps. (Finland would be admitted into NATO in 2023).
Birthdays
25 - Cuban Doll (rapper)
26 - Odeya Rush (actress)
28 - Sullivan Sweeten (actor)
31 - Malcolm David Kelley (actor)
37 - Emily VanCamp (actress)
37 - Cara Maria Sorbello (actress)
39 - Clare Bowen (actress/singer)
42 - Rami Malek (actor)
45 - Jason Biggs (actor)
45 - Malin Ackerman (actress)
46 - Rebecca Herbst (actress)
50 - Mackenzie Astin (actress)
51 - Rhea Seehorn (actress)
51 - Christian Campbell (actor)
53 - Samantha Mathis (actress)
54 - Kim Fields (actress)
55 - Scott Schwartz (actor)
57 - Stephen Baldwin (actor)
61 - April Grace (actress)
61 - Emilio Estevez (actor)
64 - Ving Rhames (actor)
65 - Kim Greist (actress)
68 - Kix Brooks (singer)
73 - Billy Squier (singer)
73 - Gabriel Byrne (actor)
75 - Steve Winwood (singer)
75 - Lindsay Crouse (actress)
80 - Linda Dano (actress)
81 - Billy Swan (singer)
87 - Millie Perkins (actress)
====================================
Today in Sports History - May 12
1950 - The American Bowling Congress abolished its white males-only membership restriction after 34 years.
1970 - Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs hit his 500th career home run.
1972 - The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-3, in 22 innings. The game was actually completed on May 13.
1973 - The Indiana Pacers defeat the Kentucky Colonels in seven games to win the ABA championship.
1974 - The Boston Celtics defeat the Milwaukee Bucks in seven games to win the NBA championship.
1982 - The United States Football League (USFL) was formed.
1985 - The New York Knicks won the first NBA Draft Lottery.
1997 - Larry Bird was announced as the new head coach of the Indiana Pacers.
1998 - Indiana Pacers head coach Larry Bird became only the third rookie head coach to win the NBA Coach of the Year award.
1998 - St. Louis Cardinal manager Tony LaRussa recorded his 1,500th victory.
2013 - Serena Williams kept her No. 1 ranking and added career title No. 50 as she beat Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-4 in the final of the Madrid Open.
1780 - During the Revolutionary War, the besieged city of Charleston, South Carolina, surrendered to British forces.
1870 - Manitoba became a province of Canada.
1932 - The body of Charles and Anne Lindbergh's kidnapped baby was found in a wooded area near Hopewell, New Jersey.
1933 - The Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Agricultural Adjustment Administration were established to provide help for the needy and farmers.
1937 - Britain's King George VI was crowned at Westminster Abbey in London.
1943 - Axis forces in North Africa surrendered during World War II.
1949 - The Soviet blockade that prompted the Berlin Airlift was ended.
1958 - The United States and Canada signed an agreement to create the North American Air Defense Command (later the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD).
1970 - The U.S. Senate voted unanimously to confirm Harry A. Blackmun as a Supreme Court justice.
1975 - The White House announced the new Cambodian government had seized an American merchant ship, the Mayaguez, in international waters. (U.S. Marines gained control of the ship three days after its seizure, not knowing the 39 civilian members of the crew had already been released by Cambodia.)
1982 - In Fatima, Portugal, security guards overpowered a Spanish priest armed with a bayonet who attacked Pope John Paul II. (In 2008, the pope's longtime private secretary revealed that the pontiff was slightly wounded in the attack.)
2002 - Former President Jimmy Carter became the first U.S. president, in or out of office, to visit Fidel Castro's Cuba.
2008 - Tens of thousands were killed when a 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck the Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan Provinces in China.
2009 - Five Miami men were convicted in a plot to blow up FBI buildings and Chicago's Sears Tower; one man was acquitted.
2009 - Suspected Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk was deported from the United States to Germany. (On this date in 2011, Demjanjuk, who maintained his innocence, would be convicted by a German court of being an accessory to the murder of tens of thousands of Jews; he died in March 2012 at age 91.)
2011 - CEOs of the five largest oil companies went before the Senate Finance Committee, where Democrats challenged the executives to justify tax breaks at a time when people were paying $4 a gallon for gas.
2013 - Pope Francis gave the Catholic Church new saints, including hundreds of 15th-century martyrs who were beheaded for refusing to convert to Islam, as he led his first canonization ceremony before tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square.
2022 - Finland's leaders came out in favor of applying to join NATO in part of a historic realignment on the continent 2 ½ months after Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine sent a shiver of fear through Moscow's neighbors. The Kremlin reacted by warning it will be forced to take retaliatory "military-technical" steps. (Finland would be admitted into NATO in 2023).
Birthdays
25 - Cuban Doll (rapper)
26 - Odeya Rush (actress)
28 - Sullivan Sweeten (actor)
31 - Malcolm David Kelley (actor)
37 - Emily VanCamp (actress)
37 - Cara Maria Sorbello (actress)
39 - Clare Bowen (actress/singer)
42 - Rami Malek (actor)
45 - Jason Biggs (actor)
45 - Malin Ackerman (actress)
46 - Rebecca Herbst (actress)
50 - Mackenzie Astin (actress)
51 - Rhea Seehorn (actress)
51 - Christian Campbell (actor)
53 - Samantha Mathis (actress)
54 - Kim Fields (actress)
55 - Scott Schwartz (actor)
57 - Stephen Baldwin (actor)
61 - April Grace (actress)
61 - Emilio Estevez (actor)
64 - Ving Rhames (actor)
65 - Kim Greist (actress)
68 - Kix Brooks (singer)
73 - Billy Squier (singer)
73 - Gabriel Byrne (actor)
75 - Steve Winwood (singer)
75 - Lindsay Crouse (actress)
80 - Linda Dano (actress)
81 - Billy Swan (singer)
87 - Millie Perkins (actress)
====================================
Today in Sports History - May 12
1950 - The American Bowling Congress abolished its white males-only membership restriction after 34 years.
1970 - Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs hit his 500th career home run.
1972 - The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-3, in 22 innings. The game was actually completed on May 13.
1973 - The Indiana Pacers defeat the Kentucky Colonels in seven games to win the ABA championship.
1974 - The Boston Celtics defeat the Milwaukee Bucks in seven games to win the NBA championship.
1982 - The United States Football League (USFL) was formed.
1985 - The New York Knicks won the first NBA Draft Lottery.
1997 - Larry Bird was announced as the new head coach of the Indiana Pacers.
1998 - Indiana Pacers head coach Larry Bird became only the third rookie head coach to win the NBA Coach of the Year award.
1998 - St. Louis Cardinal manager Tony LaRussa recorded his 1,500th victory.
2013 - Serena Williams kept her No. 1 ranking and added career title No. 50 as she beat Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-4 in the final of the Madrid Open.
