Today in History

Today is Sunday, May 20, the 140th day of 2018. There are 225 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 20, 1899, taxi driver Jacob German was pulled over and arrested by a police officer riding a bicycle for speeding down Manhattan's Lexington Avenue in his electric car at 12 miles an hour at a time when the speed limit was 8 mph; it was the first recorded speeding arrest in U.S. history.

On this date:

In 1521, Ignatius of Loyola was wounded by a cannonball while defending Pamplona against the French; during his convalescence he turned to religion, becoming a leader of the Counter-Reformation and the founder of the Jesuits.

In 1712, the original version of Alexander Pope's satirical mock-heroic poem "The Rape of the Lock" was published anonymously in Lintot's Miscellany.

In 1873, Levi Strauss and tailor Jacob Davis received a U.S. patent for men's work pants made with copper rivets.

In 1927, Charles Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field in Long Island, New York, aboard the Spirit of St. Louis on his historic solo flight to France.

In 1932, Amelia Earhart took off from Newfoundland to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. (Because of weather and equipment problems, Earhart set down in Northern Ireland instead of her intended destination, France.)

In 1948, Chiang Kai-shek was inaugurated as the first president of the Republic of China (Taiwan).

In 1959, nearly 5,000 Japanese-Americans had their U.S. citizenships restored after choosing to renounce them during World War II.

In 1961, a white mob attacked a busload of Freedom Riders in Montgomery, Alabama, prompting the federal government to send in U.S. marshals to restore order.

In 1978, Japan's Narita International Airport began operations after years of protests over its construction by local residents.

In 1988, a 30-year-old woman walked into a Winnetka, Illinois, elementary school classroom, where she shot to death 8-year-old Nicholas Corwin and wounded several other children. After wounding a young man at his home, the shooter took her own life.

In 1993, an estimated 93 million people tuned in for the final first-run episode of the sitcom "Cheers" on NBC.

In 1998, the government unveiled the design for the new $20 bill, featuring a larger and slightly off-center portrait of Andrew Jackson.

Ten years ago: Sen. Edward Kennedy was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor; some experts gave the Massachusetts Democrat less than a year to live. (Kennedy died in August 2009.) Candidate Barack Obama defeated Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Oregon primary, moving to within 100 delegates of the total he needed to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination; Clinton won in Kentucky. President Jimmy Carter's White House chief of staff, Hamilton Jordan, died in Atlanta at age 63. Olympic gold medal figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi and her professional dance partner, Mark Ballas, won ABC's "Dancing with the Stars."

Five years ago: An EF5 tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, killing at least 24 people and flattening 1,100 homes. Former general Thein Sein (thayn sayn) became the first president of Myanmar in 47 years to visit the White House, where President Barack Obama said he appreciated the Asian leader's efforts to lead the country in "a long and sometimes difficult" path toward democracy. Ray Manzarek, 74, a founding member of the 1960s rock group the Doors, died in Rosenheim, Germany.

One year ago: President Donald Trump opened a five-stop overseas tour, his first since taking office, receiving a lavish royal welcome in Saudi Arabia. Cloud Computing ran down Classic Empire in the final strides to win the Preakness by a head.

Today's Birthdays: Actor-author James McEachin is 88. Actor Anthony Zerbe is 82. Actor David Proval is 76. Singer-actress Cher is 72. Actor-comedian Dave Thomas is 70. Rock musician Warren Cann is 68. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, is 67. Former New York Gov. David Paterson is 64. Delaware Gov. John Carney is 62. Actor Dean Butler is 62. TV-radio personality Ron Reagan is 60. Rock musician Jane Wiedlin (The Go-Go's) is 60. Actor Bronson Pinchot is 59. Singer Susan Cowsill is 59. Actor John Billingsley is 58. Actor Tony Goldwyn is 58. Singer Nick Heyward is 57. TV personality Ted Allen is 53. Actress Mindy Cohn is 52. Rock musician Tom Gorman (Belly) is 52. Actress Gina Ravera is 52. Actor Timothy Olyphant is 50. Race car driver Tony Stewart is 47. Rapper Busta Rhymes is 46. Actress Daya Vaidya is 45. Rock musician Ryan Martinie is 43. Actor Matt Czuchry is 41. Actress Angela Goethals is 41. Actress-singer Naturi Naughton is 34. Country singer Jon Pardi is 33.

Thought for Today: "I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next." -- Gilda Radner, American actress-comedian (born 1946, died this date in 1989).