May 12
1780 - During the Revolutionary War, the besieged city of Charleston, South Carolina, surrendered to British forces.
1820 - Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, was born in Florence, Italy.
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).
1965 - West Germany and Israel established diplomatic relations.
1970 - The 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 - Pope John Paul II was assaulted by a knife-wielding Spanish priest while visiting the shrine of Fatima in Portugal. (In 2008, the pope's longtime private secretary revealed that the pontiff had been lightly wounded.)
1986 - The military action-drama film “Top Gun,” starring Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis and released by Paramount Pictures, had its world premiere in New York.
2002 - Former President Jimmy Carter became the first U.S. president (sitting or former) to visit Fidel Castro's Cuba.
2003 - Suicide bombers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killed 26 people, including nine U.S. citizens.
2003 - Fifty-nine Texas House Democrats fled to Oklahoma to prevent passage of a congressional redistricting bill.
2008 - Tens of thousands are killed and thousands more injured when a 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck Sichuan, Gansu ad the Yunnan Provinces in western China.
2009 - Five Miami men were convicted in a plot to blow up FBI buildings and Chicago's Sears Tower.
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 - A German court convicted retired U.S. autoworker John Demjanjuk of being an accessory to the murder of tens of thousands of Jews as a Nazi death camp guard. (Demjanjuk, who maintained his innocence, died in 2012.)
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.
2017 - Pope Francis urged Catholics to “tear down all walls” and spread peace during a visit to Fatima, Portugal, as he marked the 100th anniversary of one of the most unique events of the 20th-century Catholic Church: the visions of the Virgin Mary reported by three illiterate shepherd children.
2021 - Republicans dumped Rep. Liz Cheney from her House leadership post for her persistent repudiation of Donald Trump’s election falsehoods, underscoring the hold that Trump retained on his party.
2021 - Jay-Z, Foo Fighters and the Go-Go’s were elected to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame their first time on the ballot, leading a class that also included Tina Turner, Carole King and Todd Rundgren.
Birthdays
25 - Odeya Rush (actress)
27 - Sullivan Sweeten (actor)
27 - Luke Benward (actor)
30 - Malcolm David Kelley (actor)
36 - Emily VanCamp (actress)
38 - Clare Bowen (actress/singer)
41 - Rami Malek (actor)
44 - Jason Biggs (actor)
44 - Malin Akerman (actress)
45 - Rebecca Herbst (actress)
49 - Mackenzie Astin (actress)
50 - Rhea Seehorn (actress)
50 - Christian Campbell (actor)
51 - Jamie Luner (actress)
52 - Samantha Mathis (actress)
53 - Kim Fields (actress)
54 - Scott Schwartz (actor)
56 - Stephen Baldwin (actor)
59 - Vanessa A. Williams (actress)
60 - April Grace (actress)
60 - Emilio Estevez (actor)
63 - Ving Rhames (actor)
64 - Kim Greist (actress)
67 - Kix Brooks (singer)
72 - Billy Squier (singer)
72 - Bruce Boxleitner (actor)
72 - Gabriel Byrne (actor)
74 - Steve Winwood (singer)
74 - Lindsay Crouse (actress)
79 - Linda Dano (actress)
80 - Billy Swan (singer)
86 - Millie Perkins (actress)
94 - Burt Bacharach (composer)
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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 defeated the Kentucky Colonels in seven games to win the ABA championship.
1974 - the Boston Celtics defeated 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 - The Atlanta Braves tied a national league record when they hit a home run in their 24th consecutive game.
1998 - St. Louis Cardinal manager Tony LaRussa recorded his 1,500th victory.
2012 - LeBron James of the Miami Heat became just the eighth player in NBA history to win the MVP award three times.
1780 - During the Revolutionary War, the besieged city of Charleston, South Carolina, surrendered to British forces.
1820 - Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, was born in Florence, Italy.
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).
1965 - West Germany and Israel established diplomatic relations.
1970 - The 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 - Pope John Paul II was assaulted by a knife-wielding Spanish priest while visiting the shrine of Fatima in Portugal. (In 2008, the pope's longtime private secretary revealed that the pontiff had been lightly wounded.)
1986 - The military action-drama film “Top Gun,” starring Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis and released by Paramount Pictures, had its world premiere in New York.
2002 - Former President Jimmy Carter became the first U.S. president (sitting or former) to visit Fidel Castro's Cuba.
2003 - Suicide bombers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killed 26 people, including nine U.S. citizens.
2003 - Fifty-nine Texas House Democrats fled to Oklahoma to prevent passage of a congressional redistricting bill.
2008 - Tens of thousands are killed and thousands more injured when a 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck Sichuan, Gansu ad the Yunnan Provinces in western China.
2009 - Five Miami men were convicted in a plot to blow up FBI buildings and Chicago's Sears Tower.
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 - A German court convicted retired U.S. autoworker John Demjanjuk of being an accessory to the murder of tens of thousands of Jews as a Nazi death camp guard. (Demjanjuk, who maintained his innocence, died in 2012.)
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.
2017 - Pope Francis urged Catholics to “tear down all walls” and spread peace during a visit to Fatima, Portugal, as he marked the 100th anniversary of one of the most unique events of the 20th-century Catholic Church: the visions of the Virgin Mary reported by three illiterate shepherd children.
2021 - Republicans dumped Rep. Liz Cheney from her House leadership post for her persistent repudiation of Donald Trump’s election falsehoods, underscoring the hold that Trump retained on his party.
2021 - Jay-Z, Foo Fighters and the Go-Go’s were elected to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame their first time on the ballot, leading a class that also included Tina Turner, Carole King and Todd Rundgren.
Birthdays
25 - Odeya Rush (actress)
27 - Sullivan Sweeten (actor)
27 - Luke Benward (actor)
30 - Malcolm David Kelley (actor)
36 - Emily VanCamp (actress)
38 - Clare Bowen (actress/singer)
41 - Rami Malek (actor)
44 - Jason Biggs (actor)
44 - Malin Akerman (actress)
45 - Rebecca Herbst (actress)
49 - Mackenzie Astin (actress)
50 - Rhea Seehorn (actress)
50 - Christian Campbell (actor)
51 - Jamie Luner (actress)
52 - Samantha Mathis (actress)
53 - Kim Fields (actress)
54 - Scott Schwartz (actor)
56 - Stephen Baldwin (actor)
59 - Vanessa A. Williams (actress)
60 - April Grace (actress)
60 - Emilio Estevez (actor)
63 - Ving Rhames (actor)
64 - Kim Greist (actress)
67 - Kix Brooks (singer)
72 - Billy Squier (singer)
72 - Bruce Boxleitner (actor)
72 - Gabriel Byrne (actor)
74 - Steve Winwood (singer)
74 - Lindsay Crouse (actress)
79 - Linda Dano (actress)
80 - Billy Swan (singer)
86 - Millie Perkins (actress)
94 - Burt Bacharach (composer)
===========================================
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 defeated the Kentucky Colonels in seven games to win the ABA championship.
1974 - the Boston Celtics defeated 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 - The Atlanta Braves tied a national league record when they hit a home run in their 24th consecutive game.
1998 - St. Louis Cardinal manager Tony LaRussa recorded his 1,500th victory.
2012 - LeBron James of the Miami Heat became just the eighth player in NBA history to win the MVP award three times.
