Today in History

Today is Tuesday, May 12, the 132nd day of 2015. There are 233 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 12, 1975, the White House announced the new Cambodian government had seized an American merchant ship, the Mayaguez, in international waters. (U.S. Marines gained control of the ship three days after its seizure, not knowing the 39 civilian members of the crew had already been released by Cambodia.)

On this date:

In 1780, during the Revolutionary War, the besieged city of Charleston, South Carolina, surrendered to British forces.

In 1870, an act creating the Canadian province of Manitoba was given royal assent, to take effect in July.

In 1922, a 20-ton meteor crashed near Blackstone, Virginia.

In 1932, the body of Charles Lindbergh Jr., the kidnapped son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh, was found in a wooded area near Hopewell, New Jersey.

In 1937, Britain's King George VI was crowned at Westminster Abbey; his wife, Elizabeth, was crowned as queen consort.

In 1949, the Soviet Union lifted the Berlin Blockade, which the Western powers had succeeded in circumventing with their Berlin Airlift.

In 1955, Manhattan's last elevated rail line, the Third Avenue El, ceased operation.

In 1965, West Germany and Israel exchanged letters establishing diplomatic relations. The Rolling Stones recorded the final version of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" at RCA Studios in Hollywood.

In 1970, the Senate voted unanimously to confirm Harry A. Blackmun as a Supreme Court justice.

In 1982, in Fatima, Portugal, security guards overpowered a Spanish priest armed with a bayonet who attacked Pope John Paul II. (In 2008, the pope's longtime private secretary revealed that the pontiff was slightly wounded in the assault.)

In 1985, Amy Eilberg was ordained in New York as the first woman rabbi in the Conservative Jewish movement.

In 1994, British Labor Party leader John Smith died at age 55.

Ten years ago: The Foreign Relations Committee voted 10-8 along party lines to advance John Bolton's nomination to be U.N. ambassador without the customary recommendation that the Senate approve it. Microsoft officially unveiled its Xbox 360 video game console.

Five years ago: An Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A330 jetliner plunged into the Libyan desert less than a mile from the runway in Tripoli after a flight from Johannesburg; a 9-year-old Dutch boy was the sole survivor of the crash that killed 103 people. An attacker hacked seven children and two adults to death in a rampage at a kindergarten in northwest China before taking his own life. Republicans chose Tampa, Florida, as the site of their 2012 presidential convention. Bowler Kelly Kulick, the first woman to win a PBA Tour title when she beat the men in the Tournament of Champions, won the U.S. Women's Open for her second women's major victory in 15 days.

One year ago: Scientists expressed concern during a NASA news conference over a pair of studies which said the huge West Antarctic ice sheet was starting a glacially slow collapse in an unstoppable way, a melt that could eventually add 4 to 12 feet to current sea levels.

Today's Birthdays: Baseball Hall-of-Famer Yogi Berra is 90. Critic John Simon is 90. Composer Burt Bacharach is 87. Actress Millie Perkins is 77. Rhythm-and-blues singer Jayotis Washington is 74. Country singer Billy Swan is 73. Actress Linda Dano is 72. Actress Lindsay Crouse is 67. Singer-musician Steve Winwood is 67. Actor Gabriel Byrne is 65. Actor Bruce Boxleitner is 65. Singer Billy Squier is 65. Blues singer-musician Guy Davis is 63. Country singer Kix Brooks is 60. Actress Kim Greist is 57. Rock musician Eric Singer (KISS) is 57. Actor Ving Rhames is 56. Rock musician Billy Duffy is 54. Actor Emilio Estevez is 53. Actress April Grace is 53. Actress Vanessa A. Williams is 52. TV personality/chef Carla Hall is 51. Country musician Eddie Kilgallon is 50. Actor Stephen Baldwin is 49. Actor Scott Schwartz is 47. Actress Kim Fields is 46. Actress Samantha Mathis is 45. Actress Jamie Luner is 44. Actor Christian Campbell is 43. Actress Rhea Seehorn is 43. Actor Mackenzie Astin is 42. Country musician Matt Mangano (The Zac Brown Band) is 39. Actress Rebecca Herbst is 38. Actress Malin Akerman is 37. Actor Jason Biggs is 37. Actor Rami Malek is 34. Actress-singer Clare Bowen is 31. Actress Emily VanCamp is 29. Actor Malcolm David Kelley is 23. Actor Sullivan Sweeten (TV: "Everybody Loves Raymond") is 20.

Thought for Today: "We are taught you must blame your father, your sisters, your brothers, the school, the teachers -- but never blame yourself. It's never your fault. But it's always your fault, because if you wanted to change you're the one who has got to change." -- Katharine Hepburn, American actress (born this date in 1907, died 2003).

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