Today in History: May 15

Today is Wednesday, May 15, the 136th day of 2024. There are 230 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On May 15, 1948, hours after declaring its independence, the new state of Israel was attacked by Transjordan, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.

On this date:

In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed an act establishing the Department of Agriculture.

In 1928, the Walt Disney cartoon character Mickey Mouse appeared for the first time in front of a public audience in a test screening of the short “Plane Crazy.” (Mickey made his formal screen debut with the release of “Steamboat Willie” six months later.)

In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court, in its unanimous In re Gault decision, ruled that juveniles accused of crimes were entitled to the same due process afforded adults.

In 1970, just after midnight, Phillip Lafayette Gibbs and James Earl Green, two Black students at Jackson State College in Mississippi, were killed as police opened fire during student protests.

In 1972, Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace was shot and left paralyzed while campaigning for president in Laurel, Maryland, by Arthur H. Bremer, who served 35 years for attempted murder.

In 1975, U.S. forces invaded the Cambodian island of Koh Tang and captured the American merchant ship Mayaguez, which had been seized by the Khmer Rouge. (All 39 crew members had already been released safely by Cambodia; some 40 U.S. servicemen were killed in connection with the operation.)

In 1988, the Soviet Union began the process of withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan, more than eight years after Soviet forces entered the country.

In 2000, by a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out a key provision of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, saying that rape victims could not sue their attackers in federal court.

In 2007, the Rev. Jerry Falwell, who built the Christian right into a political force, died in Lynchburg, Virginia, at age 73.

In 2009, General Motors told about 1,100 dealers their franchises would be terminated.

In 2012, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving was named the NBA’s Rookie of the Year.

In 2015, a jury sentenced Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death for the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three and left more than 250 wounded.

In 2018, Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano was suspended for 80 games for violating baseball’s drug agreement, becoming one of the most prominent players disciplined under the sport’s anti-doping rules.

In 2020, President Donald Trump formally unveiled a coronavirus vaccine program he called “Operation Warp Speed,” to speed development of COVID-19 vaccines and quickly distribute them around the country. Comedic actor Fred Willard, whose films included “Best In Show” and “Anchorman,” died at 86.

In 2022, Police said the white 18-year-old who shot and killed 10 people at a Buffalo supermarket a day earlier had researched the local demographics while looking for places with a high concentration of Black residents.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor-singer Anna Maria Alberghetti is 88. Counterculture icon Wavy Gravy is 88. Singer Lenny Welch is 86. Actor-singer Lainie Kazan is 82. Actor Gunilla Hutton is 82. Actor Chazz Palminteri is 78. Former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is 76. Singer-songwriter Brian Eno is 76. Actor Nicholas Hammond (Film: “The Sound of Music”) is 74. Baseball Hall of Famer George Brett is 71. Musician-composer Mike Oldfield is 71. Actor Lee Horsley is 69. TV personality Giselle Fernández is 63. Rapper Grandmaster Melle Mel is 63. Actor Brenda Bakke is 61. Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith is 55. Actor Brad Rowe is 54. Actor David Charvet is 52. Actor Russell Hornsby is 50. Rock musician Ahmet Zappa is 50. Olympic gold medal gymnast Amy Chow is 46. Actor David Krumholtz is 46. Rock musician David Hartley (The War on Drugs) is 44. Actor Jamie-Lynn Sigler is 43. Actor Alexandra Breckenridge is 42. Rock musician Brad Shultz (Cage the Elephant) is 42. Rock musician Nick Perri is 40. Tennis player Andy Murray is 37.