Today in History

Today is Thursday, May 14, the 134th day of 2015. There are 231 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 14, 1955, representatives from eight Communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, signed the Warsaw Pact in Poland. (The Pact was dissolved in July 1991.)

On this date:

In 1643, Louis XIV became King of France at age four upon the death of his father, Louis XIII.

In 1796, English physician Edward Jenner inoculated 8-year-old James Phipps against smallpox by using cowpox matter.

In 1804, the Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the Louisiana Territory as well as the Pacific Northwest left camp near present-day Hartford, Illinois.

In 1900, the Olympic games opened in Paris as part of the 1900 World's Fair.

In 1913, the Rockefeller Foundation was founded in New York.

In 1925, the Virginia Woolf novel "Mrs Dalloway" was first published in England and the United States.

In 1940, the Netherlands surrendered to invading German forces during World War II.

In 1948, according to the current-era calendar, the independent state of Israel was proclaimed in Tel Aviv.

In 1961, Freedom Riders were attacked by violent mobs in Anniston and Birmingham, Alabama.

In 1973, the United States launched Skylab 1, its first manned space station. (Skylab 1 remained in orbit for six years before burning up during re-entry in 1979.) The National Right to Life Committee was incorporated.

In 1988, 27 people, mostly teens, were killed when their church bus collided with a pickup truck going the wrong direction on a highway near Carrollton, Kentucky. (Truck driver Larry Mahoney served 9 1/2 years in prison for manslaughter.)

In 1998, singer-actor Frank Sinatra died at a Los Angeles hospital at age 82. The hit sitcom "Seinfeld" aired its final episode after nine years on NBC.

Ten years ago: The U.S. military in Iraq wrapped up Operation Matador, a major offensive in a remote desert region near the Syrian border.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama heatedly condemned what he called a "ridiculous spectacle" of oil executives shifting blame for the BP oil spill in congressional hearings and denounced a "cozy relationship" between their companies and the federal government. Space shuttle Atlantis thundered away on what turned out to be its next-to-last voyage into orbit. NBC canceled the long-running police/courtroom drama "Law & Order" after 20 seasons on the air.

One year ago: A wildfire erupted in the north San Diego suburb of Carlsbad, destroying eight houses, two businesses and an apartment complex. Canadian-born U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz officially renounced his birth country's citizenship amid speculation he could make a run at the White House in 2016.

Today's Birthdays: Opera singer Patrice Munsel is 90. Photo-realist artist Richard Estes is 83. Actress Sian Phillips (TV: "I, Claudius") is 82. Former Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., is 73. Movie producer George Lucas is 71. Actress Meg Foster is 67. Movie director Robert Zemeckis is 64. Rock singer David Byrne is 63. Actor Tim Roth is 54. Rock singer Ian Astbury (The Cult) is 53. Rock musician C.C. (aka Cecil) DeVille is 53. Actor Danny Huston is 53. Rock musician Mike Inez (Alice In Chains) is 49. Fabrice Morvan (ex-Milli Vanilli) is 49. Rhythm-and-blues singer Raphael Saadiq is 49. Actress Cate Blanchett is 46. Singer Danny Wood (New Kids on the Block) is 46. Movie writer-director Sofia Coppola is 44. Actor Gabriel Mann is 43. Singer Natalie Appleton (All Saints) is 42. Singer Shanice is 42. Actress Carla Jimenez is 41. Rock musician Henry Garza (Los Lonely Boys) is 37. Alt-country musician-singer Ketch Secor is 37. Rock singer-musician Dan Auerbach is 36. Rock musician Mike Retondo (Plain White T's) is 34. Actress Amber Tamblyn is 32. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is 31. Actress Miranda Cosgrove is 22.

Thought for Today: "The family you come from isn't as important as the family you're going to have." -- Ring Lardner, American humorist (1885-1933).

Copyright 2015, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.