Today is Saturday, May 8, the 128th day of 2010. There are 237 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On May 8, 1945, President Harry S. Truman announced in a radio address that Nazi Germany’s forces had surrendered in World War II, and that “the flags of freedom fly all over Europe.”
ON THIS DATE
In 1541, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River.
In 1794, Antoine Lavoisier, the father of modern chemistry, was executed on the guillotine during France’s Reign of Terror.
In 1846, the first major battle of the Mexican-American War was fought at Palo Alto, Texas; U.S. forces led by Gen. Zachary Taylor were able to beat back the Mexican forces.
In 1884, the 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, was born in Lamar, Mo.
In 1958, Vice President Richard Nixon was shoved, stoned, booed and spat upon by anti-American protesters in Lima, Peru.
In 1962, the musical comedy “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” opened on Broadway.
In 1970, antiwar protests took place across the United States and around the world; in New York, construction workers broke up a demonstration on Wall Street.
In 1973, militant American Indians who’d held the South Dakota hamlet of Wounded Knee for 10 weeks surrendered.
In 1984, the Soviet Union announced it would boycott the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Associated Press
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
