Today in History

Today in History

Today is Sunday, May 13, the 133rd day of 2018. There are 232 days left in the year. This is Mother's Day.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 13, 1918, the first U.S. airmail stamp, costing 24 cents and featuring a picture of a Curtiss JN-4 biplane, was publicly issued. (On some of the stamps, the "Jenny" was printed upside-down, making them collector's items.)

On this date:

In 1568, forces loyal to Mary, Queen of Scots were defeated by troops under her half-brother and Regent of Scotland, the Earl of Moray, in the Battle of Langside, thwarting Mary's attempt to regain power almost a year after she was forced to abdicate.

In 1607, English colonists arrived by ship at the site of what became the Jamestown settlement in Virginia (the colonists went ashore the next day).

In 1846, the United States declared that a state of war already existed with Mexico.

In 1917, three shepherd children reported seeing a vision of the Virgin Mary near Fatima, Portugal; it was the first of six such apparitions that the children claimed to have witnessed.

In 1935, T.E. Lawrence (also known as Lawrence of Arabia) was critically injured in a motorcycle accident in Dorset, England; he died six days later.

In 1940, in his first speech as British prime minister, Winston Churchill told Parliament, "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat."

In 1958, Vice President Richard Nixon and his wife, Pat, were spat upon and their limousine battered by rocks thrown by anti-U.S. demonstrators in Caracas, Venezuela.

In 1968, a one-day general strike took place in France in support of student protesters.

In 1973, in tennis' first so-called "Battle of the Sexes," Bobby Riggs defeated Margaret Court 6-2, 6-1 in Ramona, California. (Billie Jean King soundly defeated Riggs at the Houston Astrodome in September.)

In 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot and seriously wounded in St. Peter's Square by Turkish assailant Mehmet Ali Agca.

In 1985, a confrontation between Philadelphia authorities and the radical group MOVE ended as police dropped a bomb onto the group's row house, igniting a fire that killed 11 people and destroyed 61 homes.

In 1994, President Bill Clinton nominated federal appeals Judge Stephen G. Breyer to the U.S. Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice Harry A. Blackmun; Breyer went on to win Senate confirmation.

Ten years ago: An embattled Hillary Rodham Clinton trounced Barack Obama in the West Virginia Democratic primary. Eighty people were killed in coordinated bomb attacks on crowded markets and streets outside Hindu temples in Jaipur, India. LPGA great Annika Sorenstam announced she would retire at the end of the season. Actor John Phillip Law died in Los Angeles at age 70.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama tried to swat down a pair of brewing controversies, denouncing as "outrageous" the targeting of conservative political groups by the IRS but angrily denying any administration cover-up after the deadly attacks in Benghazi, Libya, in September 2012. Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell was convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of three babies who were delivered alive and then killed with scissors at his clinic (Gosnell is serving a life sentence). The Associated Press sent a letter of protest to Attorney General Eric Holder after the Justice Department told the news agency it had secretly obtained two months of telephone records of AP reporters and editors. Psychologist Joyce Brothers, 85, died in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

One year ago: Donald Trump used his first commencement address as president to urge graduates of Liberty University, a Christian school in Lynchburg, Virginia, to follow their convictions, prepare to face criticism and relish the opportunity to be an "outsider," saying, "It's the outsiders who change the world." Pope Francis, during a Mass in Fatima, Portugal, added two shepherd children to the roster of Catholic saints, honoring siblings Francisco and Jacinta Marto, who reported visions of the Virgin Mary 100 years earlier.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Buck Taylor is 80. Actor Harvey Keitel is 79. Author Charles Baxter is 71. Actress Zoe Wanamaker is 70. Actor Franklyn Ajaye is 69. Singer Stevie Wonder is 68. Ohio Gov. John Kasich is 66. Actress Leslie Winston is 62. Producer-writer Alan Ball is 61. Basketball Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman is 57. "Late Show" host Stephen Colbert is 54. Rock musician John Richardson (The Gin Blossoms) is 54. Actor Tom Verica is 54. Singer Darius Rucker (Hootie and the Blowfish) is 52. Actress Susan Floyd is 50. Contemporary Christian musician Andy Williams (Casting Crowns) is 46. Actress Samantha Morton is 41. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., is 41. Former NBA player Mike Bibby is 40. Former MLB player Barry Zito is 40. Rock musician Mickey Madden (Maroon 5) is 39. Actor Iwan Rheon is 33. Actress-writer-director Lena Dunham is 32. Actor Robert Pattinson is 32. Actress Candice Accola King is 31. Actor Hunter Parrish is 31. Folk-rock musician Wylie Gelber (Dawes) is 30. Actress Debby Ryan is 25.

Thought for Today: "It is not until you become a mother that your judgment slowly turns to compassion and understanding." -- Erma Bombeck, American humorist (1927-1996).