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UPI Almanac for Saturday, May 23, 2015

Boy Scouts end ban against gay members, the Isla Vista killing rampage … on this date in history.

By United Press International
Students at UCLA participate in a May 26, 2014, memorial to victims of a stabbing-shooting rampage near UC Santa Barbara in Isla Vista, Calif., three days earlier. The attacker killed six people and wounded more than a dozen others before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A Facebook page about the memorial stated, "Please join us in remembering the tragic loss that affected the lives of so many of our friends. As students of the University of California, we stand in support of those on our sister campus.'' File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
1 of 8 | Students at UCLA participate in a May 26, 2014, memorial to victims of a stabbing-shooting rampage near UC Santa Barbara in Isla Vista, Calif., three days earlier. The attacker killed six people and wounded more than a dozen others before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A Facebook page about the memorial stated, "Please join us in remembering the tragic loss that affected the lives of so many of our friends. As students of the University of California, we stand in support of those on our sister campus.'' File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

Today is Saturday, May 23, the 143rd day of 2014 with 222 to follow.

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

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Those born on this date are under the sign of Gemini. They include Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1707; Austrian physician/hypnotist Franz Mesmer in 1734; social reformer Sarah Margaret Fuller in 1810; U.S. Army Gen. Ambrose Burnside, who later was a U.S. senator and for whom sideburns were named, in 1824; actor Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in 1883; baseball Hall of Fame member Zack Wheat in 1888; musician/actor Scatman Crothers in 1910; clarinetist/bandleader Artie Shaw in 1910; singer Helen O'Connell in 1920; singer Rosemary Clooney in 1928; actor Barbara Barrie in 1931 (age 84); actor Joan Collins in 1933 (age 82); Robert Moog, inventor of the Moog Synthesizer, in 1934; tennis Hall of Fame member John Newcombe in 1944 (age 71); writer Mitch Albom in 1958 (age 57); comedian Drew Carey in 1958 (age 57); singer Jewel Kilcher in 1974 (age 41); "Jeopardy!" champion Ken Jennings in 1974 (age 41).

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On this date in history:

In 1701, Capt. William Kidd was hanged in London for piracy and murder.

In 1829, Cyrill Demian was granted a patent for his musical instrument called the accordion.

In 1900, U.S. Army Sgt. William H. Carney became the first African-American to be awarded the Medal of Honor. He was cited for his efforts during the Civil War battle of Fort Wagner, S.C., in June 1863.

In 1939, the U.S. Navy submarine "Squalus" went down off New Hampshire in 240 feet of water. Twenty-six men died. Thirty-three were saved in a daring rescue with a diving bell.

In 1960, Israeli agents captured Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Argentina and spirited him to Israel. (He was tried, convicted and hanged.)

In 1991, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld federal regulations prohibiting federally funded women's clinics from discussing or advising abortion with patients.

In 1997, Mohammed Khatami, who favored improved economic ties with the West, was elected president of Iran.

In 2009, police said South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, 62, linked to a corruption investigation, died in a leap from a cliff near his home after leaving a suicide note.

In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that California's overcrowded prisons violated the Eighth Amendment banning "cruel and unusual punishment."

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In 2012, U.S. Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan apologized for a prostitution scandal involving 12 of his agents in Colombia but said national security hadn't been compromised. Investigators said the agents, on a security detail in advance of a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama, had taken women to their hotel rooms.

In 2013, the Boy Scouts of America ended a century-old ban on openly gay scouts but still prohibited gay adult scout leaders.

In 2014, authorities said 22-year-old Elliot Rodger went on a stabbing and shooting rampage near UC Santa Barbara in Isla Vista, Calif., killing six people and wounding many others before taking his own life.


A thought for the day: "One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than 50 preaching it." -- Knute Rockne

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