Today in History

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 15, 1911, in Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that Standard Oil was a monopoly in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, and ordered its breakup.

On this date:

In 1602, English navigator Bartholomew Gosnold and his ship, the Concord, arrived at present-day Cape Cod, which he's credited with naming.

In 1776, Virginia endorsed American independence from Britain.

In 1886, poet Emily Dickinson died in Amherst, Mass., at age 55.

In 1930, registered nurse Ellen Church, the first airline stewardess, went on duty aboard an Oakland-to-Chicago flight operated by Boeing Air Transport (a forerunner of United Airlines).

In 1942, wartime gasoline rationing went into effect in 17 Eastern 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, just after midnight, Phillip Lafayette Gibbs and James Earl Green, two black students at Jackson State College in Mississippi, were killed as 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.

In 1975, U.S. forces invaded the Cambodian island of Koh Tang and recaptured the American merchant ship Mayaguez. (All 40 crew members had already been released safely by Cambodia; some 40 U.S. servicemen were killed in the operation.)

In 1991, Edith Cresson was appointed by French President Francois Mitterrand (frahn-SWAH' mee-teh-RAHN') to be France's first female prime minister.

Ten years ago: Tens of thousands of Palestinians packed town squares in the West Bank town of Ramallah as they marked what they called the day of "catastrophe" in 1948, when they were uprooted and the state of Israel created. A celebratory mood took hold of Japan after the palace formally announced that Crown Princess Masako was pregnant. (Princess Aiko was born the following December.) A runaway freight train rolled about 70 miles through Ohio with no one aboard before a railroad employee jumped onto the locomotive and brought it to a stop.

Five years ago: In an Oval Office address, President George W. Bush said he would order as many as 6,000 National Guard troops to secure the U.S. border with Mexico, and he urged Congress to give millions of illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship. A defiant Saddam Hussein refused to enter a plea at his trial, insisting he was still Iraq's president as a judge formally charged him with crimes against humanity. The Pentagon disclosed the names of everyone detained at the Guantanamo Bay prison since its opening four years earlier. The U.S. removed Libya from its list of terrorist states and said it would restore normal diplomatic relations.

One year ago: Jessica Watson, a 16-year-old Australian who'd spent seven months at sea in her pink yacht, became the youngest sailor to circle the globe solo, nonstop and unassisted as she arrived in Sydney. Lookin at Lucky, ridden by new jockey Martin Garcia, won the Preakness.

Today's Birthdays: Playwright Sir Peter Shaffer is 85. Actress-singer Anna Maria Alberghetti is 75. Counterculture icon Wavy Gravy is 75. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is 74. Singer Trini Lopez is 74. Singer Lenny Welch is 73. Actress-singer Lainie Kazan is 71. Actress Gunilla Hutton is 69. Country singer K.T. Oslin is 69. Singer-songwriter Brian Eno is 63. Actor Nicholas Hammond ("The Sound of Music") is 61. Actor Chazz Palminteri is 59. Baseball Hall-of-Famer George Brett is 58. Musician-composer Mike Oldfield ("Tubular Bells") is 58. Actor Lee Horsley is 56. TV personality Giselle Fernandez is 50. Football Hall-of-Famer Emmitt Smith is 42. Singer-rapper Prince Be (PM Dawn) is 41. Actor Brad Rowe is 41. Actor David Charvet is 39. Rock musician Ahmet Zappa is 37. NFL player Ray Lewis is 36. Olympic gold-medal gymnast Amy Chow is 33. Actor David Krumholtz is 33. Actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler is 30. Rock musician Nick Perri is 27.

Thought for Today: "Behavior is what a man does, not what he thinks, feels, or believes." - Emily Dickinson (1830-1886).

(Above Advance for Use Sunday, May 15)

Copyright 2011, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.