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UPI Almanac for Friday, May 4, 2018

On May 4, 1942, the Battle of the Coral Sea began. It was a turning point for the Allies in World War II.

By Danielle Haynes
The U.S. Navy fleet oiler USS Neosho burns and slowly sinks after an attack by Imperial Japanese Navy dive bombers on May 7, 1942, during the Battle of the Coral Sea. File Photo courtesy of Wikimedia
The U.S. Navy fleet oiler USS Neosho burns and slowly sinks after an attack by Imperial Japanese Navy dive bombers on May 7, 1942, during the Battle of the Coral Sea. File Photo courtesy of Wikimedia

Today is Friday, May 4, the 124th day of 2018 with 241 to follow.

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


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Those born on this date are under the sign of Taurus. They include educator Horace Mann in 1796; English biologist/agnostic Thomas Huxley in 1825; American landscape painter Frederic Church in 1826; former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in 1928 (age 90); actor Audrey Hepburn in 1929; opera singer Roberta Peters in 1930; Katherine Jackson, matriarch of the singing Jackson family, in 1930 (age 88); guitarist Dick Dale in 1937 (age 81); novelist Robin Cook in 1940 (age 78); political commentator George Will in 1941 (age 77); singer Nickolas Ashford in 1941; Sigmund "Jackie" Jackson, member of the Jackson 5, in 1951 (age 67); singer Oleta Adams in 1953 (age 65); actor Pia Zadora in 1953 (age 65); country singer Randy Travis in 1959 (age 59); actor Ana Gasteyer in 1967 (age 51); actor Will Arnett in 1970 (age 48); bassist Mike Dirnt, born Michael Ryan Pritchard, (Green Day) in 1972 (age 46); model/fashion designer Kimora Lee Simmons in 1975 (age 43); sports reporter Erin Andrews in 1978 (age 40); pop singer Lance Bass in 1979 (age 39); professional golfer Rory McIlroy in 1989 (age 29); actor Grace Phipps in 1992 (age 26); actor Alexander Gould in 1994 (age 24); actor Alex Lawther in 1995 (age 23); actor Shameik Moore in 1995 (age 23).

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On this date in history:

In 1494, on his second expedition to the New World, Columbus discovered Jamaica.

In 1886, four police officers were killed when a bomb was thrown during a meeting of anarchists in Chicago's Haymarket Square protesting labor unrest. Four leaders of the demonstration, which became known as the Haymarket Square Riot, were convicted and hanged.

In 1904, construction began on the Panama Canal.

In 1926, the Trade Union Congress called a general strike in response to government plans to change the working conditions for coal miners. More than 2 million workers across Britain went on strike.

In 1942, the Battle of the Coral Sea began. It was a turning point for the Allies in World War II.

In 1945, French author Marcel Conversy wrote of the 15 months he spent as a prisoner at Buchenwald concentration camp, describing it as a "living hell."

In 1953, The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

In 1959, the first Grammy Awards were presented. "Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu (Volare)" by Domenico Modugno won the awards for Record and Song of the Year.

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In 1970, National Guardsmen killed four students at Kent State University in Ohio during a demonstration against the Vietnam War. The shootings set off a nationwide student strike that forced hundreds of schools to temporarily close.

In 1980, President Joseph Broz Tito of Yugoslavia died at age 87.

In 1982, an Argentine jet fighter sank the British destroyer HMS Sheffield during the Falkland Islands war.

In 1990, a faulty electric chair shot flames around convicted killer Jesse Tafero's head as he was executed in Florida, prompting several states to abandon the method of execution and switch to lethal injection.

In 2000, the "I Love You" virus crashed computers around the world.

In 2002, more than 100 people died when an EAS Airlines jet crashed in the northern Nigerian city of Kano.

In 2006, confessed terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui was sentenced to life in prison without parole. The 37-year-old Moroccan implicated himself in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

In 2009, fighting between feuding families broke out at a wedding in southeast Turkey, with combatants using guns and grenades, leading to the deaths of 44 people, including the bride and groom.

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In 2011, rival Palestinian political factions Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation accord, citing as common causes opposition to the Israeli occupation and disillusionment with U.S. peace efforts.

In 2014, Juan Carlos Varela was elected president of Panama.

In 2016, Republican presidential candidate John Kasich became the last of his party's contenders to drop out of the 2016 race, locking in Donald Trump as the GOP nominee.


A thought for the day: Michel de Montaigne said, "There is no conversation more boring than the one where everybody agrees."

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