Today in History

Today is Thursday, May 3, the 124th day of 2012. There are 242 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 3, 1937, Margaret Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel, "Gone With the Wind."

On this date:

In 1791, Poland adopted a national constitution.

In 1802, Washington, D.C., was incorporated as a city.

In 1911, Wisconsin Gov. Francis E. McGovern signed the first U.S. workers' compensation law to withstand constitutional review.

In 1916, Irish nationalist Padraic Pearse and two others were executed by the British for their roles in the Easter Rising.

In 1933, Nellie T. Ross became the first female director of the U.S. Mint.

In 1948, the Supreme Court ruled that covenants prohibiting the sale of real estate to blacks or members of other racial groups were legally unenforceable.

In 1952, the Kentucky Derby was televised nationally for the first time on CBS; the winner was Hill Gail.

In 1960, the Harvey Schmidt-Tom Jones musical "The Fantasticks" began a nearly 42-year run at New York's Sullivan Street Playhouse.

In 1971, the National Public Radio program "All Things Considered" made its debut.

In 1979, Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher was chosen to become Britain's first female prime minister as the Tories ousted the incumbent Labor government in parliamentary elections.

In 1986, in NASA's first post-Challenger launch, an unmanned Delta rocket lost power in its main engine shortly after liftoff, forcing safety officers to destroy it by remote control.

In 1987, The Miami Herald said its reporters had observed a young woman spending "Friday night and most of Saturday" at a Washington townhouse belonging to Democratic presidential candidate Gary Hart. (The woman was later identified as Donna Rice; the scandal torpedoed Hart's presidential bid.)

Ten years ago: The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston backed out of a settlement with 86 people who had accused defrocked priest John Geoghan of child molestation, saying the deal was becoming too expensive. (The archdiocese later agreed to a $10 million settlement; Geoghan was murdered by a fellow prison inmate in August 2003.) Eight inmates died in a fire at the Mitchell County, N.C., jail. Pipe bombs exploded in six mailboxes in rural parts of Illinois and Iowa, injuring six people. (A suspect, Luke Helder, was later found incompetent to stand trial.)

Five years ago: British girl Madeleine McCann vanished during a family vacation in Portugal days before her fourth birthday; her disappearance remains unsolved. Britain's Queen Elizabeth II arrived in Virginia for the commemoration of Jamestown's 400th anniversary. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem of U.S. concerns about his country's porous border with Iraq in the two nations' first Cabinet-level talks in years. The Florida Legislature gave its final approval to moving the state's 2008 primary from early March to January 29. Ten Republican presidential candidates held their first debate of the 2008 race at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. Astronaut Wally Schirra died in La Jolla, Calif., at age 84.

One year ago: The White House said that Osama bin Laden was unarmed when Navy SEALs burst into his room at his Pakistan compound and shot him to death, a change in the official account that raised questions about whether the U.S. ever planned to capture the terrorist leader alive. Chicago's Derrick Rose became at age 22 the NBA's youngest MVP. Francisco Liriano pitched the major leagues' first no-hitter of the season, throwing his first career complete game in Minnesota's 1-0 victory over Chicago. Actor-director Jackie Cooper died in Santa Monica, Calif., at age 88.

Today's Birthdays: Folk singer Pete Seeger is 93. Actress Ann B. Davis is 86. Actor Alex Cord is 79. Singer Frankie Valli is 78. Sports announcer Greg Gumbel is 66. Pop singer Mary Hopkin is 62. Singer Christopher Cross is 61. Country musician Cactus Moser (Highway 101) is 55. Rock musician David Ball (Soft Cell) is 53. Country singer Shane Minor is 44. Actor Bobby Cannavale is 42. Music and film producer-actor Damon Dash is 41. Country musician John Hopkins (Zac Brown Band) is 41. Country-rock musician John Neff (Drive-By Truckers) is 41. Country singer Brad Martin is 39. Actor Dule Hill is 37. Country singer Eric Church is 35. Dancer Cheryl Burke (TV: "Dancing with the Stars") is 28. Actress Jill Berard is 22.

Thought for Today: "Each day, and the living of it, has to be a conscious creation in which discipline and order are relieved with some play and pure foolishness." -- May Sarton, American poet (born this date in 1912, died in 1995).

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.