Today is Tuesday, May 23, the 143rd day of 2006. There are 222 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On May 23, 1934, bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were shot to death in a police ambush in Bienville Parish, La.
On this date:
In 1533, the marriage of England’s King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon was declared null and void.
In 1701, Captain William Kidd was hanged in London after he was convicted of piracy and murder.
In 1788, South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the United States Constitution.
In 1906, Norwegian playwright and poet Henrik Ibsen died in Christiania, Norway, at age 78.
In 1937, industrialist John D. Rockefeller died in Ormond Beach, Fla.
In 1944, during World War II, Allied forces bogged down in Anzio began a major breakout offensive.
In 1945, Nazi official Heinrich Himmler committed suicide while imprisoned in Luneburg, Germany.
In 1960, Israel announced it had captured former Nazi official Adolf Eichmann in Argentina. (Eichmann was tried in Israel, found guilty of crimes against humanity, and hanged in 1962.)
In 1977, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the appeals of former Nixon White House aides H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman and former Attorney General John N. Mitchell in connection with their Watergate convictions.
In 1994, funeral services were held at Arlington National Cemetery for former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
Ten years ago: The House approved, by a vote of 281-144, election-year legislation to raise the minimum wage by 90 cents an hour.
Five years ago: The Senate passed an 11-year, $1.35 trillion tax cut bill.
One year ago: Afghan President Hamid Karzai met at the White House with President Bush, who declined to promise Karzai more control over thousands of American troops in Afghanistan. A string of car bombs and suicide attacks in Iraq killed dozens of people. A Russian-made plane crashed shortly after takeoff near Bunyakiri, Congo, killing 26 people.
Today’s Birthdays: Actress Betty Garrett is 87. Pianist Alicia de Larrocha is 83. Bluegrass singer Mac Wiseman is 81. Actor Nigel Davenport is 78. Actress Barbara Barrie is 75. Actress Joan Collins is 73. Actor Charles Kimbrough is 70. Rhythm-and-blues singer General Johnson (Chairmen of the Board) is 63. Actress Lauren Chapin is 61. Country singer Misty Morgan is 61. Country singer Judy Rodman is 55. Singer Luka Bloom is 51. Actor-comedian Drew Carey is 48. Country singer Shelly West is 48. Actor Linden Ashby is 46. Actress-model Karen Duffy is 45. Rock musician Phil Selway (Radiohead) is 39. Singer Lorenzo is 34. Country singer Brian McComas is 34. Singer Maxwell is 33. Singer Jewel is 32. Actor Adam Wylie is 22.
Thought for Today: “We do not usually look for allies when we love. Indeed, we often look on those who love with us as rivals and trespassers. But we always look for allies when we hate.” — Eric Hoffer, American author and philosopher (1902-1983).