On This Day in History - May 8th - Almanac

Today is Monday, May 8, the 128th day of 2017 with 237 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Taurus. They include Jean-Henri Dunant, Swiss founder of the Red Cross Society/co-founder of the Young Men's Christian Association, in 1828; Harry Truman, 33rd president of the United States, in 1884; Fulton J. Sheen, Roman Catholic bishop/broadcaster, in 1895; Nobel Prize-winning Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek in 1899; cornetist/bandleader Red Nichols in 1905; pianist Mary Lou Williams in 1910; blues guitarist Robert Johnson in 1911; author/broadcaster/naturalist David Attenborough in 1926 (age 91); comedian Don Rickles in 1926; former heavyweight boxing champion Sonny Liston in 1932; actor/singer Rick Nelson in 1940; author Peter Benchley in 1940; singer Toni Tennille in 1940 (age 77); English rock singer Gary Glitter in 1944 (age 73); musician Alex Van Halen in 1953 (age 64); actor David Keith in 1954 (age 63); actor Stephen Furst in 1955 (age 62); actor Melissa Gilbert in 1964 (age 53); Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias in 1975 (age 42).

On this date in history:

In 1541, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto discovered the Mississippi River.

In 1909, President William Howard Taft announced he would continue the conservation policies put in place by his predecessor, President Theodore Roosevelt.

In 1915, reports issued by The Admiralty (Royal Navy) indicated that 703 of the passengers and crew of RMS Lusitania had been rescued, with more than 1,300 believed lost in the previous day's U-boat attack.

In 1945, President Harry S. Truman officially declared V-E Day, the end of World War II in Europe.

In 1970, Let It Be, The Beatles' final original album, was released.

In 1984, the Soviet Union declared it wouldn't take part in the Los Angeles Olympics, citing fears about security for its athletes. The decision came four years after the United States team boycotted the Games in Moscow.

In 1996, South Africa voted for a new Constitution. Its bill of rights included the right to food, housing and education.

In 2002, Cardinal Bernard Law of the Boston Roman Catholic archdiocese said he had known in 1984 about sexual-abuse charges against a former priest but had turned the matter over to aides and never followed up. The ex-priest, John Geoghan, was accused in 86 sexual-abuse cases.

In 2003, more than 100 people were reported killed after the rear door of a cargo jet suddenly opened at 33,000 feet over the Democratic Republic of the Congo and passengers were sucked out of the plane. Many occupants managed to stay in the aircraft until it landed at an airport.

In 2006, Lillian Asplund, the last known U.S. survivor of the 1912 sinking of the Titanic, died of natural causes at her Shrewsbury, Mass., home. She was 99.

In 2007, Northern Ireland installed a new power-sharing government linking Catholic and Protestant parties.

In 2011, a senior al-Qaida suspect being moved from his Baghdad cell for questioning grabbed a jailer's gun and set off a 6-hour battle that left at least 14 people dead, including the inmate.

In 2012, Richard Lugar, a U.S. senator for 36 years, was defeated in Indiana's Republican primary election by conservative Richard Mourdock.

In 2013, Jodi Arias was convicted of first-degree murder in a trial that became a cable TV and tabloid sensation. In April, 2014, she was sentenced to life in prison.

A thought for the day: ""Fame is a vapor, popularity is an accident, riches take wings, those who cheer today may curse tomorrow, and only one thing endures -- character." -- Harry S. Truman