A thought for the day: What everyone in the astronaut corps shares in common is not gender or ethnic background, but motivation, perseverance, and desire -- the desire to participate in a voyage of discovery. -- American astronaut Ellen Ochoa

On this date in history:

In 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis was captured by Union troops. He spent the next two years in prison.

In 1869, the golden spike was driven at Promontory, Utah, joining the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific lines to form America's first transcontinental railway.

In 1908, ...Read more

Those born on this date include:

- British statesman/scholar James Bryce in 1838
- Abraham Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth in 1838
- film composer Max Steiner in 1888
- Nazi Gen. Alfred Jodl, who signed WWII surrender, in 1890
- actor/dancer Fred Astaire in 1899
- movie producer David O. Selznick in ...Read more

Today is Friday, May 10, the 131st day of 2024 with 235 to follow.

The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Saturn and Venus. Evening star is Jupiter.

A thought for the day: If a man watches three football games in a row, he should be declared legally dead. -- American humorist Erma Bombeck

On this date in history:

In 1502, Christopher Columbus set sail from Spain on his fourth and final voyage to the New World.

In 1926, U.S. Navy Cmdr. Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett were the first to fly over the North Pole.

In 1961, in a speech to TV executives at the National Association of Broadcasters ...Read more

Those born on this date include:

- Abolitionist John Brown in 1800
- Harriet Lane, niece/first lady of President James Buchanan, in 1830
- Scottish novelist J.M. Barrie in 1860
- Howard Carter, the British Egyptologist who discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen, in 1874
- industrialist Henry J. Kaiser in 1882
...Read more

Today is Thursday, May 9, the 130th day of 2024 with 236 to follow.

The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Saturn and Venus. Evening star is Jupiter.

A thought for the day: I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell. -- U.S. President Harry S. Truman

On this date in history:

In 1541, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto becomes the first European colonizer to discover the Mississippi River.

In 1909, President William Howard Taft announced he would continue the conservation policies put in place by his predecessor, President Theodore Roosevelt.

In 1915, reports ...Read more

Those born on this date include:

- Jean-Henri Dunant, Swiss founder of the Red Cross Society/co-founder of the Young Men's Christian Association, in 1828
- Harry Truman, 33rd president of the United States, in 1884
- Nobel Prize-winning Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek in 1899
- filmmaker Roberto Rossellini in 1906<...Read more

Today is Wednesday, May 8, the 129th day of 2024 with 237 to follow.

The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Saturn and Venus. Evening star is Jupiter.

A thought for the day: Don't limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time. -- writer/musician Rabindranath Tagore

On this date in history:

In 1718, the French established the city of New Orleans on land inhabited by the Chitimacha tribe. The actual date of the city's founding is unknown, but the anniversary is traditionally observed May 7.

In 1789, the first U.S. presidential inaugural ball, celebrating the inauguration of George ...Read more

Those born on this date include:

- Pope Innocent X in 1574
- Scottish philosopher David Hume in 1711
- English poet Robert Browning in 1812
- German composer Johannes Brahms in 1833
- Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1840
- Western actor George Gabby Hayes in 1885
- Yugoslav leader Josip ...Read more

Today is Tuesday, May 7, the 128th day of 2024 with 238 to follow.

The moon is new. Morning stars are Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Saturn and Venus. Evening star is Jupiter.