TODAY IN HISTORY

Monday, May  21, 2012 AP Highlight in History:  On May 21, 1927, Charles Lindbergh landed his Spirit of St. Louis near Paris, completing the first solo airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean.   AP Photo
On this date in: 1832 The first Democratic National Convention got under way, in Baltimore. 1840 New Zealand was declared a British colony. 1881 Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross. 1892 The opera "I Pagliacci" by Ruggiero Leoncavallo was first performed, in Milan, Italy. 1924 Nathan Leopold Jr. and Richard Loeb, two students at the University of Chicago, killed a 14-year-old boy in a "thrill killing." AP Photo 1956 The United States exploded the first airborne hydrogen bomb, over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific. 1959 The musical "Gypsy" starring Ethel Merman opened on Broadway. 1979 Former San Francisco City Supervisor Dan White was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting deaths of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. 1980 "The Empire Strikes Back," the second movie in the "Star Wars" series, was released. 1991 Former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a suicide bomber. 1999 Susan Lucci, star of the ABC soap opera "All My Children," won her first Daytime Emmy Award for best actress in the 19th straight year she was nominated. 2008 David Cook won the seventh season of "American Idol."		Video Highlights of This Day in History Today's Birthdays: Actress Lisa Edelstein ("House M.D.") turns 46 years old today. AP Photo/Evan Agostini Name Profession Age Ron Isley R&B singer (The Isley Brothers) 71 Leo Sayer Singer 64 Mr. T Actor ("The A Team") 60 Judge Reinhold Actor ("Beverly Hills cop" movies) 55 Nick Cassavetes Actor, director 53 Ricky Williams Football player 35 Josh Hamilton Baseball player 31 Sarah Ramos Actress ("Parenthood") 21 Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., turns 61 years old today. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite