Today in History: Monday, May 05, 2014

AP Highlight in History: On May 5, 1961, astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. became America's first space traveler as he made a 15-minute suborbital flight in a capsule launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla. Shepard reports to Mission Control after the launch AP Photo
On this date in: 1818 Political philosopher Karl Marx was born in Prussia. AP Photo 1821 Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile on the island of St. Helena. 1891 Carnegie Hall (then named Music Hall) opened in New York City. 1892 Congress extended the Chinese Exclusion Act for 10 years. 1893 Panic hit the New York Stock Exchange; by year's end, the country was in the throes of a severe depression. 1904 Cy Young of the Boston Americans pitched the first perfect game in modern major league baseball history in a 3-0 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics. 1925 John T. Scopes was arrested in Tennessee for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution. 1955 West Germany became a sovereign state. 1981 Irish Republican Army hunger-striker Bobby Sands died in prison in Northern Ireland on his 66th day without food. 1985 President Ronald Reagan attended a wreath-laying ceremony at a military cemetery in Bitburg, West Germany. The visit drew worldwide condemnation because 49 members of the Waffen SS were buried there. 2002 French President Jacques Chirac was re-elected in a landslide victory over extreme-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen. 2010 Preliminary plans for a mosque and cultural center near ground zero in New York were unveiled, setting off a national debate over whether the project was disrespectful to 9/11 victims and whether opposition to it exposed anti-Muslim biases.		Video HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS DAY IN HISTORY Today's Birthdays: Soul singer Adele turns 26 years old today. AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill Name Profession Age Pat Carroll Actress 87 John Sweeney Former AFL-CIO president 80 Michael Palin Actor, comedian (Monty Python) 71 Roger Rees Actor, director 70 John Rhys-Davies Actor 70 Kurt Loder Music journalist (MTV) 69 Kyan Douglas TV personality ("Queer Eye for the Straight Guy") 44 Tina Yothers Actress ("Family Ties") 41 Vincent Kartheiser Actor ("Mad Men") 35 Craig David Rock singer 33 Chris Brown R&B singer 25 NBC News anchor Brian Williams turns 55 years old today. AP Photo/Evan Agostini