Page One
History
Today is Saturday, May 11, the 131st day of 2002. There are 234 days left in the year.
Highlight:
On May 11, 1946, the first CARE packages arrived in Europe, at Le Havre, France.
On this date:
In 1858, Minnesota became the 32nd state of the Union.
In 1888, songwriter Irving Berlin was born Israel Baline in Temun, Russia.
In 1910, Glacier National Park in Montana was established.
In 1943, during World War II, U.S. forces landed on the Aleutian island of Attu, which was held by the Japanese; the Americans took the island 19 days later.
In 1949, Israel was admitted to the United Nations as the world body’s 59th member.
In 1949, Siam changed its named to Thailand.
In 1973, charges against Daniel Ellsberg for his role in the “Pentagon Papers” case were dismissed by Judge William M. Byrne, who cited government misconduct.
In 1981, reggae artist Bob Marley, 36, died in a Miami hospital.
In 1985, more than 50 people died when a flash fire swept a jam-packed soccer stadium in Bradford, England.
In 1996, an Atlanta-bound ValuJet DC-9 caught fire shortly after takeoff from Miami and crashed into the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 people on board.
Ten years ago: Twelve European countries recalled their ambassadors from Serb-dominated Yugoslavia to protest Serb involvement in Bosnia’s ethnic war.
Five years ago:
The “Deep Blue” IBM computer demolished an overwhelmed Garry Kasparov and won the six-game chess match between man and machine in New York.
One year ago:
Attorney General John Ashcroft delayed Timothy McVeigh’s execution from May 16 to June 11 because of FBI mishandling of documents. A jury in Pittsburgh sentenced Richard Baumhammers to death for killing five people in a racially motivated shooting rampage. Miss Puerto Rico Denise Quinones August was crowned Miss Universe. Douglas Adams, author of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” died in Santa Barbara, Calif., at age 49.
Today’s Birthdays:
Comedian Mort Sahl is 75. Rock singer Eric Burdon (The Animals; War) is 61. Actress Frances Fisher is 50. Actor Boyd Gaines is 49. Country musician Mark Herndon (Alabama) is 47. Actress Martha Quinn is 43. Actress Natasha Richardson is 39. Country singer-musician Tim Raybon (The Raybon Brothers) is 39. Actor Coby Bell (“Third Watch”) is 27. Actor Austin O’Brien is 22. Actor Jonathan Jackson is 20.
