Today is Wednesday, May 21, the 141st day of 2025 with 224 to follow.
The moon is waning. Morning stars are Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Saturn and Venus. Evening stars are Jupiter and Mars.
Those born on this date are under the sign of Gemini. They include artist Albrecht Durer in 1471; King Philip II of Spain in 1527; writer Alexander Pope in 1688; paleontologist Mary Anning in 1799; musician Fats Waller in 1904; actor Raymond Burr in 1917; Football Hall of Fame member Ara Parseghian in 1923; actor Peggy Cass in 1924; Baseball Hall of Fame member Bobby Cox in 1941 (age 84); musician Ronald Isley in 1941 (age 84); musician Bill Champlin (Chicago) in 1947 (age 78); former U.S. Sen./comedian Al Franken in 1951 (age 74); musician Stan Lynch (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) in 1955 (age 70); actor Judge Reinhold in 1957 (age 68); actor/filmmaker Nick Cassavetes in 1959 (age 66); convicted serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in 1960; actor Mr. T in 1952 (age 73); actor Lisa Edelstein in 1966 (age 59); musician the Notorious B.I.G. in 1972; TV personality/actor Noel Fielding in 1973 (age 52); actor Fairuza Balk in 1974 (age 51); musician Gotye in 1980 (age 45); actor David Ajala in 1986 (age 39); musician Cody Johnson in 1987 (age 38); actor Sarah Ramos in 1991 (age 34); Olympic diver Tom Daley in 1994 (age 31); NFL quarterback Josh Allen in 1996 (age 29); actor Sang Heon Lee in 1996 (age 29); actor Keith L. Williams in 2007 (age 18).
On this date in history:
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In 1832, the first Democratic Party national convention convened in Baltimore.
In 1856, Lawrence, Kan., was burned by pro-slavery forces.
In 1881, Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross.
In 1924, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb kidnapped and killed Bobby Franks, 13, of Chicago, in a "thrill killing" that was often called "the crime of the century." They were given life sentences. Loeb was killed in prison; Leopold was paroled after serving 33 years.
In 1927, Charles Lindbergh landed the Spirit of St. Louis in Paris, completing the first non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic in 33 1/2 hours.
In 1932, five years to the day after Charles Lindbergh ended his historic flight, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic from Newfoundland, Canada, to Ireland. She completed her flight in 13 1/2 hours.
In 1988, Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev, in an effort to consolidate power, sacked the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan after bloody nationalist demonstrations over the disputed region of Nagorno Karabakh.
In 1960, the first of what would become a series of earthquakes that lasted through early June rattled just south of Santiago, Chile. The so-called Valdivia earthquake the next day was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded with a magnitude of between 9.4 and 9.6 on the richter scale. Up to 7,000 people died in the temblors.
In 1991, former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated while campaigning.
In 2003, an earthquake near Algiers, Algeria, killed more than 2,200 people and injured another 10,000.
In 2019, Jokha Alharthi became the first Arabic writer to win the Man Booker International Prize for her novel Celestial Bodies.
In 2020, actor Lori Loughlin and husband fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in connection with a college admissions cheating scandal. They each served jail time.
In 2024, a British passenger flying Singapore Airlines died and 71 more were injured when a flight from London to Singapore encountered severe turbulence. The pilot declared an emergency and diverted the plane to Bangkok.
A thought for the day: Actor and motivational speaker Mr. T said, "For many people it's easy to quit, but don't; that's what separates the winners from the losers, what separates the all-stars from the also-rans."
