Today is Saturday, May 10, the 130th day of 2014. There are 235 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On May 10, 1994, Nelson Mandela took the oath of office in Pretoria to become South Africa’s first black
president.
On this date:
In 1611, Sir Thomas Dale arrived in the Virginia Colony, where, as deputy governor, he instituted harsh
measures to restore order.
In 1775, Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, along with Col. Benedict Arnold, captured the
British-held fortress at Ticonderoga, N.Y.
In 1863, during the Civil War, Confederate Lt. Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson died of
pneumonia, a complication resulting from being hit by friendly fire eight days earlier during the Battle
of Chancellorsville in Virginia.
In 1869, a golden spike was driven in Promontory, Utah, marking the completion of the first
transcontinental railroad in the United States.
In 1924, J. Edgar Hoover was named acting director of the Bureau of Investigation (later known as the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI).
In 1933, the Nazis staged massive public book burnings in Germany.
In 1939, the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church South and the Methodist
Protestant Church merged to form the Methodist Church.
In 1941, Adolf Hitler’s deputy, Rudolf Hess, parachuted into Scotland on what he claimed was a peace
mission. (Hess ended up serving a life sentence at Spandau Prison until 1987, when he apparently
committed suicide.)
In 1960, the nuclear-powered submarine USS Triton completed its submerged navigation of the globe.
In 1984, the International Court of Justice said the United States should halt any actions to blockade
Nicaragua’s ports (the U.S. had already said it would not recognize World Court jurisdiction on this
issue).
In 1994, the state of Illinois executed serial killer John Wayne Gacy, 52, for the murders of 33 young
men and boys.
One year ago: U.S government scientists said worldwide levels of carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas
blamed for global warming, had hit a milestone, reaching an amount never before encountered by humans.
The Internal Revenue Service apologized for what it acknowledged was "inappropriate" targeting
of conservative political groups during the 2012 election to see if they were violating their tax-exempt
status.