Page One

Today 

Today is Monday, May 6, the 126th day of 2002. There are 239 days left in the year. 

Highlight in History 

On May 6, 1937, the hydrogen-filled German dirigible Hindenburg burned and crashed in Lakehurst, N.J., killing 35 of the 97 people on board and a Navy crewman on the ground. 

On this date 

In 1861, Arkansas seceded from the Union. 

In 1889, the Paris Exposition formally opened, featuring the just-completed Eiffel Tower. 

In 1910, Britain’s King Edward VII died. 

In 1935, the Works Progress Administration began operating. 

In 1942, during World War II, some 15,000 Americans and Filipinos on Corregidor surrendered to the Japanese. 

In 1954, medical student Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute mile during a track meet in Oxford, England, in 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds. 

In 1960, Britain’s Princess Margaret married Anthony Armstrong Jones, a commoner, at Westminster Abbey. (They divorced in 1978.) 

In 1962, in the first test of its kind, the submerged submarine USS Ethan Allen fired a Polaris missile armed with a nuclear warhead that detonated above the Pacific Ocean. 

In 1987, CIA Director William J. Casey died at age 74. 

In 1996, the body of former CIA director William E. Colby was found washed up on a riverbank in southern Maryland, eight days after he’d disappeared. 

Ten years ago 

Former Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev delivered a speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Mo., where Winston Churchill had spoken of the “Iron Curtain.” Gorbachev said the world was still divided, between North and South, rich and poor. Actress Marlene Dietrich died at her Paris home at age 90. 

Five years ago 

President Clinton wrapped up his visit to Mexico as he and Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo pledged closer cooperation on immigration and drug smuggling. 

Army Staff Sgt. Delmar G.Simpson was sentenced to 25 years in prison for raping six trainees at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. World chess champion Garry Kasparov and IBM’s Deep Blue computer played to a draw in game three of their six-game match. 

One year ago 

John Paul II, during his visit to Syria, became the first pope to enter a mosque as he called for brotherhood between Christians and Muslims. American businessman Dennis Tito ended the world’s first paid space vacation as he returned to Earth aboard a Russian capsule. 

Today’s Birthdays 

Baseball Hall-of-Famer Willie Mays is 71. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., is 68. Rock singer Bob Seger is 57. Singer Jimmie Dale Gilmore is 57. Actor Ben Masters is 55. Actor Gregg Henry is 50. British Prime Minister Tony Blair is 49. TV game show host Tom Bergeron is 47. Actor George Clooney is 41. Actor Clay O’Brien is 41. Actress Roma Downey is 39. Rock singer-musician Tony Scalzo (Fastball) is 38. Rock musician Mark Bryan (Hootie and the Blowfish) is 35.