Today in History

Today is Tuesday, May 20, the 140th day of 2014. There are 225 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 20, 1939, regular trans-Atlantic mail service began as a Pan American Airways plane, the Yankee Clipper, took off from Port Washington, New York, bound for Marseille, France.

On this date:

In 1712, the original version of Alexander Pope's satirical mock-heroic poem "The Rape of the Lock" was published anonymously in Lintot's Miscellany.

In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, which was intended to encourage settlements west of the Mississippi River by making federal land available for farming.

In 1902, the United States ended a three-year military presence in Cuba as the Republic of Cuba was established under its first elected president, Tomas Estrada Palma.

In 1914, the song "By the Beautiful Sea" by Harry Carroll and Harold R. Atteridge was published by Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. Inc., in New York.

In 1927, Charles Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field in Long Island, New York, aboard the Spirit of St. Louis on his historic solo flight to France.

In 1932, Amelia Earhart took off from Newfoundland to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. (Because of weather and equipment problems, Earhart set down in Northern Ireland instead of her intended destination, France.)

In 1942, during World War II, the Office of Civilian Defense was established.

In 1959, nearly 5,000 Japanese-Americans had their U.S. citizenship restored after renouncing it during World War II.

In 1961, a white mob attacked a busload of Freedom Riders in Montgomery, Alabama, prompting the federal government to send in U.S. marshals to restore order.

In 1969, U.S. and South Vietnamese forces captured Ap Bia Mountain, referred to as "Hamburger Hill" by the Americans, following one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War.

In 1970, some 100,000 people demonstrated in New York's Wall Street district in support of U.S. policy in Vietnam and Cambodia.

In 1989, actress-comedian Gilda Radner died in Los Angeles at age 42.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush made a rare visit to Capitol Hill, where he sought to ease Republican lawmakers' concerns over the Iraq campaign. Iraqi police backed by American soldiers raided the home and offices of Ahmad Chalabi, a prominent Iraqi politician once groomed as a possible replacement for Saddam Hussein.

Five years ago: In a rare, bipartisan defeat for President Barack Obama, the Senate voted overwhelmingly, 90-6, to keep the prison at Guantanamo Bay open for the foreseeable future and forbid the transfer of any detainees to facilities in the United States. A commission published a damning report on decades of rapes, humiliation and beatings at Catholic Church-run reform schools in Ireland. Suspended NFL star Michael Vick was released after 19 months in prison for running a dogfighting ring to begin two months' home confinement. An Indonesian C-130 Hercules military plane carrying troops and their families crashed in East Java province, killing 99 people. Kris Allen won the eighth season of "American Idol," defeating fellow finalist Adam Lambert.

One year ago: An EF5 tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, killing at least 24 people and flattening 1,100 homes. Former general Thein Sein became the first president of Myanmar in 47 years to visit the White House, where President Barack Obama said he appreciated the Asian leader's efforts to lead the country in "a long and sometimes difficult" path toward democracy. Ray Manzarek, 74, a founding member of the 1960s rock group the Doors, died in Rosenheim, Germany.

Today's Birthdays: Actor-author James McEachin is 84. Actor Anthony Zerbe is 78. Actor David Proval is 72. Singer Joe Cocker is 70. Singer-actress Cher is 68. Actor-comedian Dave Thomas is 65. Rock musician Warren Cann is 62. Former New York Gov. David Paterson is 60. Actor Dean Butler is 58. TV-radio personality Ron Reagan is 56. Rock musician Jane Wiedlin (The Go-Go's) is 56. Actor Bronson Pinchot is 55. Singer Susan Cowsill is 55. Actor John Billingsley is 54. Actor Tony Goldwyn is 54. Singer Nick Heyward is 53. TV personality Ted Allen is 49. Actress Mindy Cohn is 48. Rock musician Tom Gorman (Belly) is 48. Actress Gina Ravera is 48. Actor Timothy Olyphant is 46. Rapper Busta Rhymes is 42. Actress Daya Vaidya is 41. Rock musician Ryan Martinie is 39. Actor Matt Czuchry is 37. Actress Angela Goethals is 37. Actress-singer Naturi Naughton is 30.

Thought for Today: "I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next." -- Gilda Radner (1946-1989).

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