Today’s highlight: On May 14, 1955, representatives from eight Communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, signed the Warsaw Pact in Poland. (The Pact was dissolved in 1991.)
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 1925, the Virginia Woolf novel “Mrs Dalloway” was first published in England and the United States.
In 1973, the United States launched Skylab 1, its first manned space station. (Skylab 1 remained in orbit for six years before burning up during re-entry in 1979.) The National Right to Life Committee was incorporated.
In 2001, the Supreme Court ruled 8-0 that there is no exception in federal law for people to use marijuana for medical purposes.
Today’s birthdays: Photo-realist artist Richard Estes is 87. Actress Dame Sian Phillips is 86. Former Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., is 77. Movie producer George Lucas is 75. Guitarist Gene Cornish is 75. Actress Meg Foster is 71. Movie director Robert Zemeckis is 68. Rock singer David Byrne is 67. Actor Tim Roth is 58. Actress Amber Tamblyn is 36. Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg is 35. Actress Lina Esco is 34. Retired NFL player Rob Gronkowski is 30.
Thought for today: “The family you come from isn’t as important as the family you’re going to have.” — Ring Lardner, American humorist (1885-1933).
— Associated Press
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