Today in History

Today is Sunday, May 14, the 134th day of 2023. There are 231 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 14, 1940, the Netherlands surrendered to invading German forces during World War II.

On this date:

In 1643, Louis XIV became King of France at age 4 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 1948, according to the current-era calendar, the independent state of Israel was proclaimed in Tel Aviv by David Ben-Gurion, who became its first prime minister; U.S. President Harry S. Truman immediately recognized the new nation.

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 1988, 27 people, mostly teens, were killed when their church bus collided with a pickup truck going the wrong direction on a highway near Carrollton, Kentucky. (Truck driver Larry Mahoney served 9 1/2 years in prison for manslaughter.)

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.

In 2001, the Supreme Court ruled 8-0 that there is no exception in federal law for people to use marijuana for medical purposes.

In 2003, more than 100 immigrants were abandoned in a locked trailer at a Texas truck stop; 19 of them died. (Truck driver Tyrone Williams was later sentenced to nearly 34 years in prison for his role in the deaths.)

In 2008, the Interior Department declared the polar bear a threatened species because of the loss of Arctic sea ice.

In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned doctors about a serious rare inflammatory condition in children linked with the coronavirus.

Ten years ago: In an op-ed appearing in The New York Times, Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie said she'd undergone a preventive double mastectomy after learning she carried a gene that made it extremely likely she would get breast cancer. Flamboyant huckster Billie Sol Estes died in DeCordova Bend, Texas, at age 88.

Five years ago: Israel and the U.S. held a festive inauguration ceremony for the new American Embassy in Jerusalem; just a few miles away, Israeli forces shot and killed nearly 60 Palestinians and wounded hundreds of others during mass protests along the Gaza border that were the culmination of weekly demonstrations aimed at breaking a border blockade. The Supreme Court cleared the way for states coast to coast to legalize betting on sports. Writer Tom Wolfe, who chronicled the space race in "The Right Stuff" before turning his satiric wit to such novels as "The Bonfire of the Vanities," died in New York at the age of 88.

One year ago: A gunman wearing body armor opened fire in a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, killing at least 10 people before being taken into custody. Russian troops began withdrawing from around Ukraine's second-largest city after bombarding it for weeks, as Kyiv and Moscow's forces engaged in a grinding battle for the country's eastern industrial heartland. Bernard Bigot, a French scientist leading a vast international effort to demonstrate that nuclear fusion could be a viable source of energy, died at age 72.

Today's Birthdays: Photo-realist artist Richard Estes is 91. Actor Dame Sian Phillips is 90. Former Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., is 81. Movie producer George Lucas is 79. Guitarist Gene Cornish is 79. Actor Meg Foster is 75. Movie director Robert Zemeckis is 72. Rock singer David Byrne is 71. Actor Tim Roth is 62. Rock singer Ian Astbury (The Cult) is 61. Rock musician C.C. (aka Cecil) DeVille is 61. Actor Danny Huston is 61. Rock musician Mike Inez (Alice In Chains) is 57. Fabrice Morvan (ex-Milli Vanilli) is 57. R&B singer Raphael Saadiq is 57. Actor Cate Blanchett is 54. Singer Danny Wood (New Kids on the Block) is 54. Movie writer-director Sofia Coppola is 52. Former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen is 51. Actor Gabriel Mann is 51. Singer Natalie Appleton (All Saints) is 50. Singer Shanice is 50. Actor Carla Jimenez is 49. Rock musician Henry Garza (Los Lonely Boys) is 45. Alt-country musician-singer Ketch Secor is 45. Rock singer-musician Dan Auerbach is 44. Rock musician Mike Retondo (Plain White T's) is 42. Actor Amber Tamblyn is 40. Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg is 39. Actor Lina Esco is 38. NFL player Rob Gronkowski is 34. Actor Miranda Cosgrove is 30.