Today in History

Today in History

Today is Sunday, May 14, the 134th day of 2017. There are 231 days left in the year. This is Mother's Day.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 14, 1787, delegates began gathering at the State House in Philadelphia to draw up the United States Constitution. However, only delegates from Virginia and Pennsylvania had arrived by this time, and the convention did not achieve a quorum of seven states until May 25.

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

In 1942, Aaron Copland's "Lincoln Portrait" was first performed by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

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

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

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 1987, actress Rita Hayworth died in New York at age 68.

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: DaimlerChrysler said it was selling almost all of Chrysler to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management for $7.4 billion, backing out of a troubled 1998 takeover. The trial of suspected al-Qaida operative Jose Padilla opened in Miami. (Padilla and two co-defendants were convicted of terrorism conspiracy and material support after a three-month trial; Padilla was originally sentenced to 17 years in prison, but that sentence was lengthened in 2014 to 21 years.)

Five years ago: President Barack Obama sought to tarnish Republican Mitt Romney as a corporate titan who got rich by cutting rather than creating jobs; Romney's campaign responded that the former Massachusetts governor alone helped spur more public and private jobs than Obama had.

One year ago: A charter bus headed to a casino in rainy conditions crashed north of Laredo, Texas, killing eight people and injuring 44 others. Hundreds of climate activists marched to the site of two refineries in northwest Washington state to call for a break from fossil fuels, while a smaller group continued to block railroad tracks leading to the facilities for a second day.

Today's Birthdays: Photo-realist artist Richard Estes is 85. Actress Sian Phillips is 84. Former Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., is 75. Movie producer George Lucas is 73. Actress Meg Foster is 69. Movie director Robert Zemeckis is 66. Rock singer David Byrne is 65. Actor Tim Roth is 56. Rock singer Ian Astbury (The Cult) is 55. Rock musician C.C. (aka Cecil) DeVille is 55. Actor Danny Huston is 55. Rock musician Mike Inez (Alice In Chains) is 51. Fabrice Morvan (ex-Milli Vanilli) is 51. Rhythm-and-blues singer Raphael Saadiq is 51. Actress Cate Blanchett is 48. Singer Danny Wood (New Kids on the Block) is 48. Movie writer-director Sofia Coppola (KOH'-pah-lah) is 46. Actor Gabriel Mann is 45. Singer Natalie Appleton (All Saints) is 44. Singer Shanice is 44. Actress Carla Jimenez is 43. Rock musician Henry Garza (Los Lonely Boys) is 39. Alt-country musician-singer Ketch Secor is 39. Rock singer-musician Dan Auerbach is 38. Rock musician Mike Retondo (Plain White T's) is 36. Actress Lina Esco is 32. Actress Amber Tamblyn is 34. Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg is 33. Actress Miranda Cosgrove is 24.

Thought for Today: "A mother becomes a true grandmother the day she stops noticing the terrible things her children do because she is so enchanted with the wonderful things her grandchildren do." -- Lois Wyse, American advertising executive, author and columnist (1926-2007).