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History

The Associated Press
Tuesday May 14, 2002

Today is Tuesday, May 14, the 134th day of 2002. There are 231 days left in the year. 

 

Highlight: 

On May 14, 1948 (by the current-era calendar), the independent state of Israel was proclaimed in Tel Aviv. 

 

On this date: 

In 1643, Louis XIV became King of France at age 4 upon the death of his father, Louis XIII. 

In 1804, the Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the Louisiana Territory left St. Louis. 

In 1904, the first Olympic games to be held in the United States opened in St. Louis. 

In 1942, Aaron Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait” was first performed, by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. 

In 1942, the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps was established. 

In 1955, representatives from eight Communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, signed the Warsaw Pact in Poland. 

In 1973, the United States launched Skylab 1, its first manned space station. 

In 1975, U.S. forces raided the Cambodian island of Koh Tang and recaptured the American merchant ship Mayaguez. All 40 crew members were released safely by Cambodia, but some 40 U.S. servicemen were killed in the military operation. 

In 1980, President Carter inaugurated the Department of Health and Human Services. 

In 1998, singer-actor Frank Sinatra died at a Los Angeles hospital at age 82. 

 

Ten years ago:  

Former Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev addressed members of the U.S. Congress, appealing to them to pass a bill aiding the people of the former Soviet Union. Former football player Lyle Alzado died in Portland, Ore., at age 43. 

 

Five years ago:  

Jurors at the Timothy McVeigh trial in Denver saw chilling black-and-white surveillance pictures of a Ryder truck moving toward the Oklahoma City federal building minutes before a bomb blew the place apart. 

 

One year ago:  

The Supreme Court ruled 8-to-0 that there is no exception in federal law for people to use marijuana to ease their pain from cancer, AIDS or other illnesses. Promising to be a “determined adversary” toward gun violence, President Bush announced plans to mobilize federal and local prosecutors who would focus exclusively on gun-related crimes. 

 

Today’s Birthdays:  

Opera singer Patrice Munsel is 77. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., is 60. Rock singer-musician Jack Bruce (Cream) is 59. Movie producer George Lucas is 58. Actress Meg Foster is 54. Actress Season Hubley is 51. Rock singer David Byrne is 50. Movie director Robert Zemeckis is 50. Actor Tim Roth is 41. Rock singer Ian Astbury (The Cult) is 40. Rock musician Cecil DeVille is 40. Rock musician Mike Inez (Alice In Chains) is 36. Fabrice Morvan (ex-Milli Vanilli) is 36. Actress Cate Blanchett is 33. Singer Danny Wood (New Kids on the Block) is 33. Singer Natalie Appleton (All Saints) is 29. Singer Shanice is 29. 

 

- The Associated Press