Today in History

Today is Saturday, May 26, the 146th day of 2018. There are 219 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 26, 1868, the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson ended with his acquittal on the remaining charges.

On this date:

In 1647, Alse Young was hanged in Hartford, Connecticut, in the first recorded execution of a "witch" in the American colonies.

In 1805, Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned king of Italy in Milan.

In 1897, the Gothic horror novel "Dracula" by Bram Stoker was first published in London.

In 1918, the Democratic Republic of Georgia declared its independence. (Georgia was invaded by the Soviet Union in 1921, and did not reclaim its independence until 1991.)

In 1938, the House Un-American Activities Committee was established by Congress.

In 1940, Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of some 338,000 Allied troops from Dunkirk, France, began during World War II.

In 1954, explosions rocked the aircraft carrier USS Bennington off Rhode Island, killing 103 sailors. (The initial blast was blamed on leaking catapult fluid ignited by the flames of a jet.)

In 1960, U.N. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge accused the Soviets during a meeting of the Security Council of hiding a microphone inside a wood carving of the Great Seal of the United States that had been presented to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.

In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in Moscow. (The U.S. withdrew from the treaty in 2002.)

In 1978, Resorts Casino Hotel, the first legal U.S. casino outside Nevada, opened in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

In 1981, 14 people were killed when a Marine jet crashed onto the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz off Florida.

In 1998, the U.S. Supreme Court made it far more difficult for police to be sued by people hurt during high-speed chases. The Supreme Court ruled that Ellis Island, historic gateway for millions of immigrants, was mainly in New Jersey, not New York.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush paid a Memorial Day tribute to America's fighting men and women who died in battle, saying national leaders must have "the courage and character to follow their lead" in preserving peace and freedom. Chinese officials said they would waive their one-child policy for families with a child who was killed, severely injured or disabled in the country's devastating earthquake. Oscar-winning movie director Sydney Pollack died in Los Angeles at age 73. Composer Earle H. Hagen, who wrote the themes for "The Andy Griffith Show," ''I Spy," ''The Mod Squad" and other TV shows, died in Rancho Mirage, California, at age 88.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama visited tornado-devastated Moore, Oklahoma, consoling people staggered by the loss of life and property and promising that the government will be behind them "every step of the way." A Nigerian tugboat carrying 12 crew members capsized and sank in about 100 feet of water; a sole survivor (Harrison Odjegba Okene) was miraculously rescued three days later. Tony Kanaan won the Indianapolis 500. Ten fans were injured during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway won by Kevin Harvick when a nylon rope supporting a FOX Sports overhead television camera fell from the grandstands onto the track surface. The lesbian romance "Blue is the Warmest Color: The Life of Adele" won the Palme d'Or at the 66th Cannes Film Festival.

One year ago: President Donald Trump, attending a G-7 meeting in Sicily, vowed to crush "evil organizations of terror" following an attack on Coptic Christians that killed at least 28 people near Cairo, Egypt. Two men were stabbed to death aboard a light-rail train in Portland, Oregon; police said the victims were trying to protect two women who were the target of a man's anti-Muslim rant. (A suspect faces trial.) President Jimmy Carter's national security adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski, died in Falls Church, Virginia, at age 89. Hall of Fame pitcher and former U.S. senator Jim Bunning, 85, died in Fort Thomas, Kentucky.

Today's Birthdays: Sportscaster Brent Musberger is 79. Rock musician Garry Peterson (Guess Who) is 73. Singer Stevie Nicks is 70. Actress Pam Grier is 69. Actor Philip Michael Thomas is 69. Country singer Hank Williams Jr. is 69. British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is 69. Actress Margaret Colin is 60. Country singer-songwriter Dave Robbins is 59. Actor Doug Hutchison is 58. Actress Genie Francis is 56. Comedian Bobcat Goldthwait is 56. Singer-actor Lenny Kravitz is 54. Actress Helena Bonham Carter is 52. Distance runner Zola Budd is 52. Rock musician Phillip Rhodes is 50. Actor Joseph Fiennes (FYNZ) is 48. Singer Joey Kibble (Take 6) is 47. Actor-producer-writer Matt Stone is 47. Contemporary Christian musician Nathan Cochran is 40. Actress Elisabeth Harnois is 39. Actor Hrach Titizian is 39.

Thought for Today: "The moment we begin to fear the opinions of others and hesitate to tell the truth that is in us, and from motives of policy are silent when we should speak, the divine floods of light and life no longer flow into our souls." -- Elizabeth Cady Stanton, American feminist (1815-1902).