Welcome to Today In History for Saturday, May 17, 2008.

On this day in history ...

• 0218 - 7th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
• 0352 - Liberius begins his reign as Catholic Pope replacing Julius I
• 0884 - St Adrian III begins his reign as Catholic Pope
• 1525 - Battle at Zabern: duke of Lutherans beats rebels
• 1527 - P nfilo de Narvaéz departs to explore Florida
• 1536 - Anne Boleyns 4 "lovers" executed
• 1544 - Scot earl Matthew van Lennox signs secret treaty with Henry VIII
• 1579 - Artois/Henegouwen/French-Flanders sign Treaty/Peace of Parma recognizing Spanish duke van Parma as land guardian
• 1620 - 1st merry-go-round seen at a fair (Philippapolis, Turkey)
• 1630 - Italian Jesuit Niccolo Zucchi, 1st to see 2 belts on Jupiter surface
• 1631 - Earl Johann Tilly attacks Maagdenburg
• 1648 - Emperor Ferdinand III defeats Maximilian I of Bavaria
• 1672 - Frontenac becomes governor of New France (Canada)
• 1673 - Louis Joliet & Jacques Marquette begin exploring Mississippi
• 1678 - King Charles II & Louis XIV sign secret treaty
• 1712 - Maximilian Emanuel of Bavaria honored as "sovereign of Netherlands"
• 1733 - England passes Molasses Act, putting high tariffs on rum & molasses imported to the colonies from a country other than British possessions
• 1742 - Frederick great (Emperor of Prussia) beats Austrians
• 1744 - French army takes Austrian Netherlands
• 1750 - -18] Tax revolt in Gorinchem
• 1756 - Britain declares war on France (7 Years' or French & Indian War)
• 1787 - English slave ship Sisters, from Africa to Cuba, capsizes
• 1792 - 24 merchants form NY Stock Exchange at 70 Wall Street
• 1794 - Hard frost in southern New England
• 1803 - John Hawkins & Richard French patent the Reaping Machine
• 1804 - Lewis & Clark begin exploration of Louisiana Purchase
• 1809 - Papal States annexed by France
• 1814 - Denmark cedes Norway to Sweden (Natl Day)
• 1814 - Norwegian constitution passed by constitutent assembly at Eidsvoll
• 1837 - Royal Decides installs the Weapon of Belgium firm(ly)
• 1845 - Rubber band patents
• 1846 - Saxophone is patents by Antoine Joseph Sax
• 1848 - Premier earl Schimmelpenninck resigns
• 1849 - Fire destroy Centrum in St Louis Missouri
• 1853 - Thorbeckes liberals win 2nd-Parliamentary election
• 1862 - Battle of Princeton WV, ends, about 128 casualities
• 1863 - Battle of Big Black River Bridge, MS
• 1864 - Battle of Adairsville Georgia, Union forces Confederates to retreat
• 1871 - Indians fighter Gen Sherman escapes in ambulance vs Comanches
• 1872 - Bohemian Club incorporated
• 1875 - 1st Kentucky Derby: Oliver Lewis aboard Aristides wins in 2:37.75
• 1876 - 7th US Cavalry under Custer leaves Ft Lincoln
• 1877 - Edwin T Holmes installs 1st telephone switchboard burglar alarm
• 1881 - 7th Kentucky Derby: Jim McLaughlin aboard Hindoo wins in 2:40
• 1881 - Frederick Douglass appointed recorder of deeds for Wash DC
• 1881 - Revised version of New Testament
• 1883 - Buffalo Bill Cody's 1st wild west show premieres in Omaha
• 1884 - Alaska becomes a US territory
• 1890 - Clyde Fitch's "Beau Brummel," premieres in NYC
• 1890 - Comic Cuts, 1st weekly comic paper, published in London
• 1890 - Pietro Costanzi's opera "Rustic Chivalry," premieres in Rome
• 1894 - 19th Preakness: Fred Taral aboard Assignee wins in 1:49¬
• 1895 - W G Grace completes his 100th 100 v Somerset at Bristol
• 1898 - Camp Merritt forms in Presidio [see 0503]
• 1899 - Victoria & Albert Museum foundation laid England
• 1900 - British troops relieve Mafeking (Cape Colony)
• 1903 - Cleve Indians beat NY Highlanders 9-2 in Columbus Ohio
• 1904 - Maurice Ravel's "Shéhérazade," premieres in Paris
• 1905 - Waseda U of Tokyo defeats LA High School 5-3 in baseball
• 1906 - Switzerland's Simpion Tunnel open to rail traffic
• 1909 - White firemen on Georgia RR strike to protest hiring blacks
• 1910 - Canada sets the designs for the 1›-50› coins
• 1911 - 36th Preakness: Eddie Dugan aboard Watervale wins in 1:51
• 1915 - 40th Preakness: Douglas Hoffman aboard Rhine Maiden wins in 1:58
• 1915 - Cubs George "Zip" Zabel relieves with 2 outs in 1st & winds up with 4-3 19-inning win over Brooklyn in longest relief job ever
• 1915 - Last liberal British govt of Asquith falls
• 1915 - National Baptist Convention chartered
• 1916 - British Summer Time (Daylight Savings), 1st introduced
• 1920 - 1st De Havilland double-decker flight (London) lands in Schiphol
• 1920 - 1st flight by Dutch airlines KLM (Koninklijke-Luchtvaart-Maatschappij)
• 1921 - Belgian-Luxembourg sign customs union
• 1921 - President Harding opens (via telephone) 1st Valencia Orange Show
• 1923 - Fire during closing day ceremonies at Grover Cleveland School (SC)
• 1924 - 50th Kentucky Derby: John Mooney aboard Black Gold wins in 2:05.2
• 1925 - Cleveland Indian Tris Speaker gets his 3,000th hit
• 1926 - Chiang Kai-shek is made supreme war lord in Canton
• 1926 - German govt of Marx takes power
• 1927 - Chicago Cubs beat Boston Braves, 4-3, in 22 innings
• 1928 - 9th modern Olympic games opens in Amsterdam
• 1930 - 56th Kentucky Derby: Earl Sande aboard Gallant Fox wins in 2:07.6
• 1932 - Congress changes name "Porto Rico" to "Puerto Rico"
• 1937 - Juan Negrin succeeds Largo Caballero as Spain's premier
• 1938 - Congress approves Vinson Naval Act, which funds a two-ocean navy
• 1938 - Radio quiz show "Information Please!" debuts on NBC Blue Network
• 1939 - 1st sports telecast-Columbia vs Princeton-college baseball
• 1940 - Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium & begins invasion of France
• 1940 - Nazi's bombs Middelburg/B IJzerdrat begins illegal defiance
• 1941 - Pennsylvania declares legal holiday to honor A's manager Connie Mack
• 1942 - Dutch SS vows loyalty to Hitler
• 1944 - -18] Allied air raid on Surabaja, Java
• 1944 - Chinese/US arm forces take Myitkyina Airport, Burma
• 1944 - General Eisenhower sets D-Day for June 5th
• 1944 - Operation Straightline: Allies land in Neth New-Guinea
• 1945 - 2 US P-47 Thunderbolts bomb Kiushu
• 1946 - KVP Labor/Communists win 1st post-WW2 Dutch parliamentary elections
• 1946 - Pres Truman seizes control of nation's railroads to delay a strike
• 1947 - "Street Scene" closes at Adelphi Theater NYC after 148 performances
• 1948 - Israel liberates Acre, Nebi Yusha & Telel-Kadi
• 1948 - Soviet Union recognized Israel
• 1949 - British government recognizes Republic of Ireland
• 1952 - 78th Preakness: Conn McCreary aboard Blue Man wins in 1:57.4
• 1953 - Patty Berg wins LPGA Reno Golf Open
• 1953 - Yanks & Browns use record 41 players in a game
• 1954 - Supreme Court unanimously rules on Brown v Topeka Board of Education reversed 1896 "separate but equal" Plessy Vs Ferguson decision
• 1955 - Dutch Govt of Drees resigns
• 1957 - Prayer Pilgrimage, biggest civil rights demonstration to date (DC)
• 1957 - School desegregation law, Brown v Board of education
• 1958 - 84th Preakness: Ismael Valenzuela aboard Tim Tam wins in 1:57.2
• 1958 - Emergency crisis proclaimed in Algeria
• 1959 - Sam Snead sets PGA record for 36 holes at 122
• 1960 - 1st atomic reactor system patents, J W Flora of Canoga Park CA
• 1961 - Castro offers to exchange Bay of Pigs prisoners for 500 bulldozers
• 1962 - Marin County withdraws from BART district
• 1963 - Bruno Sammartino beats Buddy Rogers in NY, to become WWF champ
• 1963 - Houston Colt .45's Don Notterbart no-hits Phillies, 4-1
• 1963 - US performs nuclear Test at Nevada Test Site
• 1964 - Mickey Wright wins LPGA Muskogee Civitan Golf Open Invitational
• 1964 - Phillies triple play Houston Colt .45s
• 1966 - KFDO (now KVIJ) TV channel 8 in Sayre, OK (ABC) begins broadcasting
• 1967 - Dylan's 1965 UK Tour is released as film "Don't Look Back"
• 1968 - European Space Research Org launches 1st satellite
• 1968 - Frank Howard belts record 8th HR in 5th straight game
• 1968 - US performs nuclear Test at Nevada Test Site
• 1969 - "My Wife, My Dog, My Cat," by Maskman & The Agents hits #92
• 1969 - 95th Preakness: Bill Hartack aboard Majestic Prince wins in 1:55.6
• 1969 - Balt, Cleve & Pitts agree to go from NFC to AFC in NFL
• 1969 - Russian probe Venera 6 landed on Venus
• 1970 - Hank Aaron becomes 9th player to get 3,000 hits
• 1970 - Shirley Englehorn wins LPGA Johnny Londoff Chevrolet Golf Tournament
• 1970 - Thor Heyerdahl crosses Atlantic on reed raft Ra
• 1971 - Stephen Schwartz' musical "Godspell," premieres off-Broadway
• 1971 - Washington State bans sex discrimination
• 1972 - Neth & China PR exchange ambassadors
• 1972 - Tottenham Hotspur wins 1st UEFA Cup in London
• 1973 - "Nash at Nine" opens at Helen Hayes Theater NYC for 21 performances
• 1973 - Joe Ferguson, hits the 6,000th Dodger home run
• 1973 - Senate Watergate Committee begins its hearings
• 1973 - Stevie Wonder releases "You are the Sunshine of my Love"
• 1973 - US performs 3 nuclear tests at Rifle Colorado
• 1973 - Angels outfielder Bobby Valentine breaks his leg trying to scale wall to prevent a Dick Green home run during a 5-4 loss to the A's
• 1974 - Bayern München wins 20th Europe Cup 1 at Brussels
• 1974 - Dmitri Shostakovitch completes his 15th String quartet
• 1975 - "Funky Gibbon" by The Goodies hits #79
• 1975 - 101st Preakness: Darrel McHargue aboard Master Derby wins in 1:56.4
• 1975 - 10cc releases "I'm Not in Love"
• 1975 - Mick Jagger punches a restaurant window, gets 20 stitches
• 1975 - NBC paid $5M for rights to show "Gone with the Wind" one time
• 1976 - 28th Emmy Awards: Mary Tyler Moore Show, Jack Albertson & M Learned
• 1976 - Earthquake in Uzbekistan: 1000's killed
• 1977 - Menahem Begins Likoed-party wins election in Israel
• 1978 - Lee Lacy hits record 3rd consecutive pinch-hit home run
• 1979 - -12°F (-11°C), on top of Mauna Kea, Hawaii (state record)
• 1979 - Emmy 6th Daytime Award presentation
• 1979 - Phillies beat Cubs, 23-22, on 50 hits with 11 HRs
• 1980 - 106th Preakness: Angel Cordero Jr aboard Codex wins in 1:54.2
• 1980 - Kumar Anandan balanced on one foot for 33 hours
• 1980 - Major race riot in Miami Florida - 16 killed, 300 injured
• 1980 - Paul & Linda McCartney appear on Saturday Night Live
• 1981 - "Inacent Black" closes at Biltmore Theater NYC after 14 performances
• 1981 - Islanders score 5 power play goals against Flyers in a playoff
• 1981 - Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Coca-Cola Golf Classic
• 1983 - Israel & Lebanon sign a peace treaty
• 1983 - Stanley Cup: NY Islanders sweep Edmonton Oilers in 4 games
• 1984 - Cincinnati Reds Mario Soto throws 4 strikeouts in one inning
• 1984 - Mai Shanley, 21, (NM), crowned 33rd Miss USA
• 1985 - Les Anderson, catches record 97 lb 4 oz Chinook Salmon, off Alaska
• 1986 - "Chicken Song" by Spitting Image hit #1 on the UK pop chart
• 1986 - 112th Preakness: Alex Solis aboard Snow Chief wins in 1:54.8
• 1987 - "Stardust" closes at Biltmore Theater NYC after 102 performances
• 1987 - Ayako Okamoto wins LPGA Chrysler-Plymouth Golf Classic
• 1987 - USS Stark hit by Iraqi missiles, 37 sailors die
• 1989 - Longest Cab Ride Ever: 14,000 miles cost $16,000!
• 1989 - Napoli wins 18th UEFA Cup in Stuttgart
• 1989 - Nelson Mandela receives a BA from U of S Africa
• 1989 - Vincent Van Gogh's "Portrait of Dr Gachet" auctioned for $825M
• 1990 - Cheers' star Kelsey Grammer sentenced to jail for 30 days for DWI
• 1990 - Dow Jones avg hits a record 2,831.71
• 1990 - European court rules pension rights for both men & women
• 1990 - WIBC Bowling Queens won by Patty Ann
• 1991 - Lupita Jones, 23, of Mexico, crowned 40th Miss Universe
• 1992 - 38th Mazda LPGA Championship won by Betsy King
• 1992 - Expos Gary Carter is 3rd to catch 2,000 games (joins Boone & Fisk)
• 1993 - Intel's new Pentium processor is unveiled
• 1994 - Bakili Muluzi's UDF wins Malawi presidents/parliamentary election
• 1996 - Alicia Machado, 18, of Venezuela crowned 45th Miss Universe
• 1996 - Habib & Whitaker make 320 for 5th Cricket wkt, Leics v Worcs
• 1997 - 123rd Preakness: Gary Stevens aboard Silver Charm wins in 1:54
• 1997 - Sylvester Stallone weds Jennifer Flavin in London
• 1997 - WIBC Bowling Queens won by Sandra Jo Shiery-Odom
• 1998 - 44th McDonald's LPGA Championship