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Record
Today is Tuesday, May 7, the 127th day of 2002. There are 238 days left in the year.
Highlight
On May 7, 1945, Germany signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters in Rheims, France.
On this date:
In 1789, the first inaugural ball was held in New York in honor of President and Mrs. George Washington.
In 1812, poet Robert Browning was born in London.
In 1847, the American Medical Association was founded in Philadelphia.
In 1915, nearly 1,200 people died when a German torpedo sank the British liner Lusitania off the Irish coast.
In 1939, Germany and Italy announced a military and political alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis.
In 1941, Glenn Miller and His Orchestra recorded “Chattanooga Choo Choo” for RCA Victor.
In 1954, the 55-day Battle of Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam ended with Vietnamese insurgents overrunning French forces.
In 1963, the United States launched the Telstar 2 communications satellite.
In 1975, President Ford formally declared an end to the “Vietnam era.” In Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, the Viet Cong celebrated its takeover.
In 1994, Norway’s most famous painting, “The Scream” by Edvard Munch, was recovered almost three months after it was stolen from an Oslo museum.
Ten years ago:
President Bush visited riot-scarred Los Angeles. The space shuttle Endeavour blasted off on its maiden voyage. A 203-year-old proposed constitutional amendment barring Congress from giving itself a midterm pay raise received enough votes for ratification as Michigan became the 38th state to approve it.
Five years ago:
The Army accused its top enlisted man, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Gene McKinney, of sexual misconduct. (At his court-martial, McKinney was acquitted of sexual misconduct, but found guilty of obstruction of justice.) Chrysler Corp. and United Auto Workers agreed to a new contract, ending a damaging 28-day engine-plant strike.
One year ago:
“Great Train Robber” Ronnie Biggs, who had eluded capture for decades following his prison escape in 1965, returned to Britain, where he was arrested and jailed to complete the 28 remaining years of his sentence. California electricity grid operators ordered statewide rolling power blackouts.
Today’s Birthdays:
Actor Darren McGavin is 80. Singer Teresa Brewer is 71. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., is 70. Football Hall-of-Famer Johnny Unitas is 69. Singer Jimmy Ruffin is 63. Singer Johnny Maestro is 63. Actress Robin Strasser is 57. Singer-songwriter Bill Danoff is 56. NBC newsman Tim Russert is 52. Actor Robert Hegyes is 51. Movie writer-director Amy Heckerling is 48. Actor Michael E. Knight is 43. Rock musician Phil Campbell (Motorhead) is 41. Rock singer-musician Chris O’Connor (Primitive Radio Gods) is 37. Actress Traci Lords is 33.
