Today in History
Today is Thursday, May 16, the 137th day of 2024. There are 229 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On May 16, 1943, the nearly month-long Warsaw Ghetto Uprising came to an end as German forces crushed the Jewish resistance and blew up the Great Synagogue.
On this date:
In 1770, Marie Antoinette, age 14, married the future King Louis XVI of France, who was 15.
In 1866, Congress authorized minting of the first five-cent piece, also known as the “Shield nickel.”
In 1929, the first Academy Awards were presented. “Wings” won “best production,” while Emil Jannings (YAHN’-ings) and Janet Gaynor were named best actor and best actress.
In 1939, the federal government began its first food stamp program in Rochester, New York.
In 1957, federal agent Eliot Ness, who organized “The Untouchables” team that took on gangster Al Capone, died in Coudersport, Pennsylvania, at age 54.
In 1960, the first working laser was demonstrated at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California, by physicist Theodore Maiman.
In 1966, China launched the Cultural Revolution, a radical as well as deadly reform movement aimed at purging the country of “counter-revolutionaries.”
In 1975, Japanese climber Junko Tabei became the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
In 1990, death claimed entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. in Los Angeles at age 64 and “Muppets” creator Jim Henson in New York at age 53.
In 1997, President Bill Clinton publicly apologized for the notorious Tuskegee experiment, in which government scientists deliberately allowed Black men to weaken and die of treatable syphilis.
In 2007, anti-war Democrats in the Senate failed in an attempt to cut off funds for the Iraq war.
In 2012, Bosnian Serb Gen. Ratko Mladic (RAHT’-koh MLAH’-dich) went on trial at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in the Netherlands, accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. (Mladic would be convicted on 10 counts and sentenced to life in prison.)
In 2013, “The Office” aired its final episode after nine seasons on the air on NBC.
In 2016, President Barack Obama called on the nation to support law enforcement officers as he bestowed the Medal of Valor on 13 who risked their lives.
In 2018, officials at Michigan State University said they had agreed to pay $500 million to settle claims from more than 300 women and girls who said they were assaulted by sports doctor Larry Nassar.
In 2022, the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 hit 1 million.
Today’s Birthdays: Former Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats is 81. Jazz musician Billy Cobham is 80. Actor Danny Trejo is 80. Actor Bill Smitrovich is 77. Actor Pierce Brosnan is 71. Actor Debra Winger is 69. Olympic gold medal gymnast Olga Korbut is 68. Olympic gold medal marathon runner Joan Benoit Samuelson is 66. Actor Mare Winningham is 65. Rock musician Boyd Tinsley (The Dave Matthews Band) is 60. Rock musician Krist Novoselic (noh-voh-SEL’-ik) is 59. Singer Janet Jackson is 58. Country singer Scott Reeves (Blue County) is 58. Actor Brian (BREE’-un) F. O’Byrne is 57. R&B singer Ralph Tresvant (New Edition) is 56. Actor David Boreanaz is 55. Political commentator Tucker Carlson is 55. Actor Tracey Gold is 55. International Tennis Hall of Famer Gabriela Sabatini is 54. Country singer Rick Trevino is 53. Musician Simon Katz is 53. TV personality Bill Rancic is 53. Actor Khary Payton is 52. Rapper Special Ed is 52. Actor Tori Spelling is 51. Actor Sean Carrigan is 50. Singer-rapper B. Slade (formerly known as Tonex) is 49. Actor Lynn Collins is 47. Actor Melanie Lynskey is 47. Actor Jim Sturgess is 46. Actor Joseph Morgan is 43. DJ Alex Pall (The Chainsmokers) is 39. Actor Megan Fox is 38. Actor Drew Roy is 38. Actor Jacob Zachar is 38. Actor-comedian Jermaine Fowler is 36. Actor Thomas Brodie-Sangster is 34. Actor Marc John Jefferies is 34. Olympic bronze medal figure skater Ashley Wagner is 33. Actor Miles Heizer is 30.