TODAY IN HISTORY

Wednesday, May  02, 2012 AP Highlight in History:  On May 2, 2011, al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, was killed in a firefight with elite American forces at his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, then quickly buried at sea.   AP Photo/Anjum Naveed
On this date in: 1519 Artist Leonardo da Vinci died. 1670 The Hudson Bay Co. was chartered by England's King Charles II. 1863 Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was accidentally wounded by his own men at Chancellorsville, Va. He died eight days later. 1890 The Oklahoma Territory was organized. 1895 Broadway lyricist Lorenz Hart was born in New York City. 1932 Jack Benny's first radio show debuted on the NBC Blue Network. 1939 New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig's streak of 2,130 consecutive games played came to an end when the ailing slugger removed himself from the lineup. AP Photo 1941 General Mills began shipping a new cereal called "Cheerioats" to six test markets. (The cereal was later renamed "Cheerios.") 1945 The Soviet Union announced the fall of Berlin and the Allies announced the surrender of Nazi troops in Italy and parts of Austria. 1957 Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, R-Wis., died at age 48. 1972 J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI for 48 years, died at age 77. 1982 The Weather Channel debuted. 1994 Nelson Mandela claimed victory in South Africa's first democratic elections. 1997 Tony Blair became, at age 44, Britain's youngest prime minister in 185 years. 2010 European governments and the International Monetary Fund committed to pulling Greece back from the brink of default, agreeing on nearly $1 trillion in emergency loans.		Video Highlights of This Day in History Today's Birthdays: Actress Christine Baranski ("The Good Wife") turns 60 years old today. AP Photo/Evan Agostini Name Profession Age Theodore Bikel Actor 88 Engelbert Humperdinck Singer 76 Bianca Jagger Actress 67 Lesley Gore Singer 66 David Suchet Actor 66 Larry Gatlin Country singer 64 Lou Gramm Rock singer (Foreigner) 62 Dwayne Johnson Actor, wrestler 40 Gaius Charles Actor ("Friday Night Lights") 29 Lily Allen Singer 27 Sarah Hughes Figure skater 27 Kay Panabaker Actress ("No Ordinary Family"" 22 Soccer player David Beckham turns 37 years old today. AP Photo/Dan Steinberg