Today is Sunday, May 29, the 149th day of 2005. There are 216 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On May 29, 1765, Patrick Henry denounced the Stamp Act before Virginia’s House of Burgesses. Responding to a cry of “Treason!” Henry declared, “If this be treason, make the most of it!”
On this date:
In 1790, Rhode Island became the 13th original colony to ratify the United States Constitution.
In 1848, Wisconsin became the 30th state of the union.
In 1903, comedian Bob Hope was born Leslie Townes Hope in Eltham, England.
In 1917, the 35th president of the United States, John F. Kennedy, was born in Brookline, Mass.
In 1932, World War I veterans began arriving in Washington to demand cash bonuses they were not scheduled to receive for another 13 years.
In 1942, actor John Barrymore died in Hollywood at age 60.
In 1943, Norman Rockwell’s portrait of “Rosie the Riveter” appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post.
In 1953, Mount Everest was conquered as Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tensing Norkay of Nepal became the first climbers to reach the summit.
In 1985, 35 people were killed in rioting that erupted between British and Italian spectators at the European Cup soccer final in Brussels, Belgium.
In 1998, Republican elder statesman Barry Goldwater died in Paradise Valley, Ariz., at age 89.
Ten years ago: The last three bodies entombed in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City were recovered. Margaret Chase Smith, the first woman to serve in both the House and the Senate, died in Skowhegan, Maine, at age 97.
Five years ago: President Clinton left Washington for a weeklong European tour. The space shuttle “Atlantis” returned from a repair mission to the international space station. Indonesia’s state prosecutors placed former President Suharto under house arrest (however, Suharto’s trial on corruption charges was abandoned because of health concerns).
One year ago: A shooting rampage by al-Qaida militants at a housing complex in Khobar, Saudi Arabia’s oil hub, killed 22 people, most of them foreign oil industry workers. America dedicated a memorial to its World War II veterans on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Death claimed former Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox at age 92 and Sam Dash, former chief counsel of the Senate Select Committee on Watergate, at age 79.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Clifton James is 84. Former Baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent is 67. Race car driver Al Unser Sr. is 66. CBS Correspondent Bob Simon is 64. Actor Kevin Conway is 63. Actor Helmut Berger is 61. Rock singer Gary Brooker (Procol Harum) is 60. Actor Anthony Geary is 58. Singer Rebbie Jackson is 55. Movie composer Danny Elfman is 52. Rock musician Michael Porcaro is 50. Singer LaToya Jackson is 49. Actress Annette Bening is 47. Actor Rupert Everett is 46. Rock musician Mel Gaynor is 46. Actor Adrian Paul is 46. Singer Melissa Etheridge is 44. Actress Lisa Whelchel is 42. Actress Tracey Bregman is 42. Rock musician Noel Gallagher (Oasis) is 38. Singer Jayski McGowan (Quad City DJ’s) is 38. Rock musician Chan Kinchla (Blues Traveler) is 36. Rock musician Mark Lee (Third Day) is 32. Singer Melanie Brown (Spice Girls) is 30. Rapper Playa Poncho is 30.
Thought for Today: “How much did I hear of religion as a child? Very little, and yet my heart leaped when I heard the name of God. I do believe every soul has a tendency toward God.” — Dorothy Day, American activist (1897-1980).
