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UPI Almanac for Friday, May 29, 2020

On May 29, 1977, Janet Guthrie became the first woman to compete in the Indianapolis 500. She completed 27 laps before her car became disabled.

By United Press International
Janet Guthrie was the first woman to drive in the Indianapolis 500 in 1977. She is seen here when she first qualified for the Indy 500. File Photo courtesy of INDYCAR/Indianapolis Motor Speedway
1 of 3 | Janet Guthrie was the first woman to drive in the Indianapolis 500 in 1977. She is seen here when she first qualified for the Indy 500. File Photo courtesy of INDYCAR/Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Today is Friday, May 29, the 150th day of 2020 with 216 to follow.

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

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Those born on this date are under the sign of Gemini. They include King Charles II of England in 1630; patriot Patrick Henry in 1736; Ebenezer Butterick, inventor of the tissue paper dress pattern, in 1826; English novelist G.K. Chesterton in 1874; entertainer Bob Hope in 1903; writer T.H. White in 1906; John F. Kennedy, 35th president of the United States, in 1917; physicist Peter Higgs in 1929 (age 91); actor Anthony Geary in 1947 (age 73); singer Rebbie Jackson in 1950 (age 70); musician Danny Elfman in 1953 (age 67); singer La Toya Jackson in 1956 (age 64); actor Annette Bening in 1958 (age 62); actor Rupert Everett in 1959 (age 61); actor Adrian Paul in 1959 (age 61); singer Melissa Etheridge in 1961 (age 59); actor/singer Lisa Whelchel in 1963 (age 57); musician Noel Gallagher in 1967 (age 53); actor Laverne Cox in 1972 (age 48); comedian Daniel Tosh in 1975 (age 45); singer Melanie Brown in 1975 (age 45); basketball player Carmelo Anthony in 1984 (age 36); actor Riley Keough in 1989 (age 31); actor Maika Monroe in 1993 (age 27).

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On this date in history:

In 1660, Charles II was restored to the English throne.

In 1790, Rhode Island became the last of the original 13 states to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

In 1914, the Canadian Pacific Transatlantic liner Empress of Ireland sank in the early-morning hours following a collision with the liner Storstadt, a much smaller vessel, in Canada's Gulf of St. Lawrence. More than 1,000 people died in what is the largest maritime accident in Canadian peacetime history.

In 1953, Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal became the first humans to reach the top of Mount Everest.

In 1977, Janet Guthrie became the first woman to compete in the Indianapolis 500. She completed 27 laps before her car became disabled. On the same day in 2005, Danica Patrick became the first woman to lead during the same race.

In 1985, British soccer fans attacked Italian fans preceding the European Cup final in Brussels. The resulting stadium stampede killed 38 people and injured 400.

In 1990, renegade Communist Boris Yeltsin was elected president of Russia.

In 1996, in Israel's first selection of a prime minister by direct vote, Benjamin Netanyahu defeated Shimon Peres. The margin of victory was less than 1 percent.

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In 1997, Zaire rebel leader Laurent Kabila was sworn in as president of what was again being called the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In 2004, the National World War II memorial was dedicated on the National Mall in Washington. Thousands of veterans of the war, which ended nearly 59 years earlier, attended the ceremony.

In 2009, U.S. music producer Phil Spector was sentenced to 19 years to life in prison for the 2003 slaying of actress Lana Carlson.

In 2010, two mosques of a religious minority in Pakistan were attacked by intruders firing weapons and throwing grenades. Officials put the death toll at 98.

In 2018, a Harvard study determined at least 4,645 people in Puerto Rico died as a result of Hurricane Maria, a sharp contrast to the official government death toll of 64.

In 2019, special counsel Robert Mueller released his first public statement, saying that while there's no evidence President Donald Trump colluded with Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, there were several "episodes" in which he obstructed justice.


A thought for the day: "If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich." -- President John F. Kennedy

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