Today in History

Today is Thursday, May 24, the 145th day of 2012. There are 221 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 24, 1962, astronaut Scott Carpenter became the second American to orbit the Earth as he flew aboard Aurora 7.

On this date:

In 1775, John Hancock was elected President of the Continental Congress, succeeding Peyton Randolph.

In 1844, Samuel F.B. Morse transmitted the message "What hath God wrought" from Washington to Baltimore as he formally opened America's first telegraph line.

In 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge, linking Brooklyn and Manhattan, was dedicated by President Chester Alan Arthur and New York Gov. Grover Cleveland.

In 1918, Bela Bartok's one-act opera "Bluebeard's Castle" had its premiere in Budapest.

In 1935, the first major league baseball game to be played at night took place at Cincinnati's Crosley Field as the Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1.

In 1937, in a set of rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Social Security Act of 1935.

In 1941, the German battleship Bismarck sank the British battle cruiser HMS Hood in the North Atlantic, killing all but three of the 1,418 men on board.

In 1959, former U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles died in Washington, D.C. at age 71.

In 1961, a group of Freedom Riders was arrested after arriving at a bus terminal in Jackson, Miss., charged with breaching the peace for entering white-designated areas. (They ended up serving 60 days in jail.)

In 1976, Britain and France opened trans-Atlantic Concorde supersonic transport service to Washington.

In 1980, Iran rejected a call by the World Court in The Hague to release the American hostages.

In 2001, 23 people were killed when the floor of a Jerusalem wedding hall collapsed beneath dancing guests, sending them plunging several stories into the basement.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a landmark nuclear arms reduction treaty in Moscow. U.S. Olympic Committee president Sandra Baldwin resigned, a day after she admitted lying about her academic credentials.

Five years ago: Bowing to President George W. Bush, Congress passed an emergency war spending bill that did not include a provision ordering troops home from Iraq beginning in the fall of 2007. Ohio death row inmate Christopher Newton was executed by injection; it took him 16 minutes to die, more than twice the usual amount of time, once chemicals began flowing into his veins, which the execution team had trouble locating.

One year ago: Egyptian authorities ordered former President Hosni Mubarak tried on charges of corruption and conspiracy in the deadly shooting of protesters who'd driven him from power. President Barack Obama was honored with a state dinner in London as he continued his visit to Britain. Oprah Winfrey taped the final episode of her long-running talk show.

Today's Birthdays: Comedian Tommy Chong is 74. Singer Bob Dylan is 71. Actor Gary Burghoff is 69. Singer Patti LaBelle is 68. Actress Priscilla Presley is 67. Country singer Mike Reid is 65. Actor Jim Broadbent is 63. Actor Alfred Molina is 59. Singer Rosanne Cash is 57. Actress Kristin Scott Thomas is 52. Rock musician Jimmy Ashhurst (Buckcherry) is 49. Rock musician Vivian Trimble is 49. Actor John C. Reilly is 47. Actor Eric Close is 45. Rock musician Rich Robinson is 43. Actor Bryan Greenburg is 34. Actor Billy L. Sullivan is 32. Actor-rapper Jerod Mixon (aka Big Tyme) is 31. Rock musician Cody Hanson (Hinder) is 30. Country singer Billy Gilman is 24. Actor Cayden Boyd is 18.

Thought for Today: "Responsibility educates." -- Wendell Phillips, American abolitionist (1811-1884).

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.