Today in History: May 3, Margaret Thatcher elected
Today in History
Today is Tuesday, May 3, the 123rd day of 2022. There are 242 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On May 3, 1979, Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher was chosen to become Britain’s first female prime minister as the Tories ousted the incumbent Labour government in parliamentary elections.
On this date:
In 1802, Washington, D.C., was incorporated as a city.
In 1937, Margaret Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel, “Gone with the Wind.”
In 1947, Japan’s postwar constitution took effect.
In 1948, the Supreme Court, in Shelley v. Kraemer, ruled that covenants prohibiting the sale of real estate to Blacks or members of other racial groups were legally unenforceable.
In 1960, the Harvey Schmidt-Tom Jones musical “The Fantasticks” began a nearly 42-year run at New York’s Sullivan Street Playhouse.
In 1987, The Miami Herald said its reporters had observed a young woman spending “Friday night and most of Saturday” at a Washington townhouse belonging to Democratic presidential candidate Gary Hart. (The woman was later identified as Donna Rice; the resulting controversy torpedoed Hart’s presidential bid.)
In 2006, a federal jury in Alexandria, Virginia, rejected the death penalty for al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui (zak-uh-REE’-uhs moo-SOW’-ee), deciding he should spend life in prison for his role in 9/11; as he was led from the courtroom, Moussaoui taunted, “America, you lost.”
In 2009, Mexican President Felipe Calderon told state television that a nationwide shutdown and an aggressive informational campaign appeared to have helped curtail an outbreak of swine flu in Mexico.
In 2011, Chicago’s Derrick Rose became at age 22 the NBA’s youngest MVP.
In 2015, two gunmen were shot and killed by a police officer in Garland, Texas, after they opened fire outside a purposely provocative contest for cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad.
In 2016, in a stunning triumph for a political outsider, Donald Trump all but clinched the Republican presidential nomination with a resounding victory in Indiana that knocked rival Ted Cruz out of the race.
In 2018, a federal grand jury in Detroit indicted former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn on charges stemming from the company’s diesel emissions cheating scandal. (Under Germany’s constitution, he could not be extradited to the U.S. to face charges.)
Ten years ago: U.S. officials published online a selection of letters from Osama bin Laden’s last hideaway; the documents portrayed a network that was weak, inept and under siege — and its leader seemingly near wit’s end about the passing of his global jihad’s supposed glory days.
Five years ago: President Donald Trump met at the White House with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas (mahk-MOOD’ ah-BAHS’), promising “to do whatever is necessary” to forge an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.
One year ago: An elevated section of the Mexico City metro collapsed as subway cars were passing over it, killing 26 people; investigations found that the failure was caused by construction defects. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the New York City subways would begin 24-hour service again in mid-May; they’d been shut down for cleaning during overnight hours since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Bill and Melinda Gates said they were divorcing after 27 years of marriage; the Microsoft co-founder and his wife said they would continue to work together at the world’s largest private charitable foundation. Singer-songwriter Lloyd Price, an early rock ‘n roll star and rock Hall of Fame member whose hits included “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” died in suburban New York at the age of 88.
Today’s Birthdays: Singer Frankie Valli is 88. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, is 79. Sports announcer Greg Gumbel is 76. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is 73. Pop singer Mary Hopkin is 72. Singer Christopher Cross is 71. Rock musician David Ball (Soft Cell) is 63. Country singer Shane Minor is 54. Actor Amy Ryan is 54. Actor Bobby Cannavale (ka-nuh-VAL’-ee) is 52. Music and film producer-actor Damon Dash is 51. Country musician John Driskell Hopkins (Zac Brown Band) is 51. Country-rock musician John Neff is 51. Actor Marsha Stephanie-Blake is 47. TV personality Willie Geist (TV: “Today”) is 47. Actor Christina Hendricks is 47. Actor Dule (doo-LAY’) Hill is 47. Country singer Eric Church is 45. Actor Tanya Wright is 44. Dancer Cheryl Burke is 38. Soul singer Michael Kiwanuka is 35. Actor Zoe De Grand Maison is 27. Rapper Desiigner is 25.
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