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Today in history: May 15

Celebrity birthdays, highlights in history, plus more facts about this day
/ Source: The Associated Press

Today is Sunday, May 15, the 135th day of 2005. There are 230 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:
Seventy-five years ago, on May 15, 1930, Ellen Church, the first airline stewardess, went on duty aboard a United Airlines flight between San Francisco and Cheyenne, Wyo.

On this date:
In 1602, Cape Cod, Mass., was discovered by English navigator Bartholomew Gosnold.

In 1886, poet Emily Dickinson died in Amherst, Mass.

In 1905, 100 years ago, actor Joseph Cotten was born in Petersburg, Va.

In 1911, the Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of Standard Oil Co., ruling it was in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

In 1918, U.S. airmail began service between Washington, Philadelphia and New York.

In 1940, nylon stockings went on general sale for the first time in the United States.

In 1942, gasoline rationing went into effect in 17 states, limiting sales to three gallons a week for non-essential vehicles.

In 1963, astronaut L. Gordon Cooper blasted off aboard Faith 7 on the final mission of the Project Mercury space program.

In 1970, Phillip Lafayette Gibbs and James Earl Green, two black students at Jackson State University in Mississippi, were killed when police opened fire during student protests.

In 1972, George C. Wallace was shot by Arthur Bremer and left paralyzed while campaigning in Laurel, Md., for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Ten years ago: Dow Corning Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing potentially astronomical expenses from liability lawsuits.

Five years ago: By a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out a key provision of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, saying that rape victims could not sue their attackers in federal court. United Press International was sold to the parent company of The Washington Times.

One year ago: A 40-ton steel girder dropped from a freeway overpass construction site into morning traffic in Golden, Colo., crushing one car and killing a family of three. Col. Robert Morgan, commander of the famed Memphis Belle B-17 bomber that flew combat missions over Europe during World War II, died in Asheville, N.C., at age 85. Kentucky Derby winner “Smarty Jones” posted a record 11½-length victory in the Preakness (however, the horse did not go on to win the Belmont Stakes).

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Constance Cummings is 95. Singer Eddy Arnold is 87. Actor Joseph Wiseman is 87. Playwright Sir Peter Shaffer (“Equus”) is 79. Actress-singer Anna Maria Alberghetti is 69. Counterculture icon Wavy Gravy is 69. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is 68. Singer Trini Lopez is 68. Singer Lenny Welch is 67. Actress-singer Lainie Kazan is 65. Actor-director Paul Rudd (“Knots Landing”) is 65. Country singer K.T. Oslin is 63. Singer-songwriter Brian Eno is 57. Actor Nicholas Hammond (“The Sound of Music”) is 55. Actor Chazz Palminteri is 54. Baseball Hall-of-Famer George Brett is 52. Musician-composer Mike Oldfield (“Tubular Bells”) is 52. Actor Lee Horsley is 50. Singer-rapper Prince Be (PM Dawn) is 35. Actor Brad Rowe is 35. Actor David Charvet is 33. Rock musician Ahmet Zappa is 31. Olympic gold-medal gymnast Amy Chow is 27. Actor David Krumholtz (“Numb3rs”) is 27. Actress Jamie-Lynn DiScala is 24.

Thought for Today: “Faults are thick where love is thin.” — Danish proverb.