Page One

Today is Thursday, May 2, the 122nd day of 2002. There are 243 days left in the year. 

Highlight 

On May 2, 1863, Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson was accidentally wounded by his own men at Chancellorsville, Va.; he died eight days later. 

On this date: 

In 1519, artist Leonardo da Vinci died at Cloux, France. 

In 1670, the Hudson Bay Co. was chartered by England’s King Charles II. 

In 1890, the Oklahoma Territory was organized. 

In 1932, Jack Benny’s first radio show made its debut on the NBC Blue Network. 

In 1936, “Peter and the Wolf,” a symphonic tale for children by Sergei Prokofiev, had its world premiere in Moscow. 

In 1945, the Soviet Union announced the fall of Berlin, and the Allies announced the surrender of Nazi troops in Italy and parts of Austria. 

In 1957, Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, the controversial Republican from Wisconsin, died at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. 

In 1960, convicted sex offender and best-selling author Caryl Chessman was executed at San Quentin Prison in California. 

In 1965, the “Early Bird” satellite was used to transmit television pictures across the Atlantic. 

In 1972, after serving 48 years as head of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover died in Washington at age 77. 

Ten years ago:  

Los Angeles began to recover from rioting that had erupted in the wake of the Rodney King-taped beating acquittals; about 2,800 National Guard troops patrolled the city while 3,200 others stood by. Former House Ways and Means Chairman Wilbur D. Mills died in Searcy, Ark., at age 82. 

Five years ago:  

President Clinton and congressional Republicans came to terms on a plan to balance the budget over five years. A new national memorial honoring President Franklin D. Roosevelt was officially opened in Washington, D.C. Tony Blair, whose new Labor Party crushed John Major’s long-reigning Conservatives in a national election, became at age 44 Britain’s youngest prime minister in 185 years. 

One year ago:  

President Bush and Republican congressional leaders clinched a budget deal embracing most of the president’s tax and spending goals. Germany inaugurated its new Chancellery in Berlin amid concerns the building was too grandiose. A landslide destroyed a nine-story apartment building in China, killing at least 79 people. 

Today’s Birthdays:  

Actor Theodore Bikel is 78. Actor Roscoe Lee Browne is 77. Rock musician Link Wray is 67. Bianca Jagger is 57. Country singer R.C. Bannon is 57. Singer Lesley Gore is 56. Singer-songwriter Larry Gatlin is 54. Rock singer Lou Gramm (Foreigner) is 52. Actress Christine Baranski is 50. Actress Elizabeth Berridge is 40. Country singer Ty Herndon is 40. Actress Jenna Von Oy is 25. 

– The Associated Press