Today in History

Today is Monday, May 5, the 125th day of 2014. There are 240 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 5, 1862, Mexican troops defeated French occupying forces in the Battle of Puebla. (The Cinco de Mayo holiday commemorates Mexico's victory.)

On this date:

In 1821, Napoleon Bonaparte, 51, died in exile on the island of St. Helena.

In 1891, New York's Carnegie Hall (then named "Music Hall") had its official opening night.

In 1914, actor Tyrone Power was born in Cincinnati.

In 1925, schoolteacher John T. Scopes was charged in Tennessee with violating a state law that prohibited teaching the theory of evolution. (Scopes was found guilty, but his conviction was later set aside.)

In 1934, the first Three Stooges short for Columbia Pictures, "Woman Haters," was released.

In 1942, wartime sugar rationing began in the United States.

In 1955, West Germany became a fully sovereign state. The baseball musical "Damn Yankees" opened on Broadway.

In 1961, astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. became America's first space traveler as he made a 15-minute suborbital flight aboard Mercury capsule Freedom 7.

In 1964, the Granada TV documentary "Seven Up!," which profiled a group of 7-year-old British children, first aired on Britain's ITV network. (The subjects were revisited every seven years in sequels called "7 Plus Seven," "21 Up," "28 Up," etc., the latest one to date being "56 Up.")

In 1973, Secretariat won the Kentucky Derby, the first of its Triple Crown victories.

In 1981, Irish Republican Army hunger-striker Bobby Sands died at the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland in his 66th day without food.

In 1994, Singapore caned American teenager Michael Fay for vandalism, a day after the sentence was reduced from six lashes to four in response to an appeal by President Bill Clinton, who considered the punishment too harsh.

Ten years ago: Seeking to calm international outrage, President George W. Bush acknowledged mistakes but stopped short of an apology as he condemned the abuse and deaths of Iraqi prisoners at the hands of U.S. soldiers during appearances on two Arabic-language TV networks. (Bush did offer an apology the following day.) Picasso's 1905 painting "Boy with a Pipe" sold for $104 million at Sotheby's in New York, breaking the record at that time for an auctioned painting.

Five years ago: Connie Culp, America's first face transplant recipient, appeared before reporters at the Cleveland Clinic. (Culp underwent the procedure after being shot by her husband in a failed murder-suicide attempt.) Texas health officials confirmed the first death of a U.S. resident with swine flu.

One year ago: In Afghanistan, seven Americans and one German soldier were killed in three separate attacks. Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, seriously wounded in a 2011 shooting at a Tucson, Ariz., shopping mall, received the 2013 Profile in Courage award at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston. LeBron James of the Miami Heat was the overwhelming choice as the NBA's Most Valuable Player. Brett Rumford won the China Open by four strokes to become the first Australian in 41 years to win consecutive European Tour titles.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Pat Carroll is 87. Former AFL-CIO president John J. Sweeney is 80. Saxophonist Ace Cannon is 80. Country singer-musician Roni Stoneman is 76. Actor Michael Murphy is 76. Actor Lance Henriksen is 74. Comedian-actor Michael Palin is 71. Actor John Rhys-Davies is 70. Actor Roger Rees is 70. Rock correspondent Kurt Loder is 69. Rock musician Bill Ward (Black Sabbath) is 66. Actor Richard E. Grant is 57. Former CBS News correspondent John Miller is 56. Rock singer Ian McCulloch (Echo and the Bunnymen) is 55. NBC News anchor Brian Williams is 55. Rock musician Shawn Drover (Megadeth) is 48. TV personality Kyan Douglas is 44. Actress Tina Yothers is 41. Rhythm and blues singer Raheem DeVaughn is 39. Actor Vincent Kartheiser is 35. Singer Craig David is 33. Actress Danielle Fishel is 33. Actor Henry Cavill is 31. Soul singer Adele is 26. Rock singer Skye Sweetnam is 26. Rhythm-and-blues singer Chris Brown is 25.

Thought for Today: "The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority." -- Ralph W. Sockman, American clergyman (1889-1970).

Copyright 2014, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.