Yesterday in History

Tuesday, May 27, was the 148th day of 2008. There are 218 days left in the year.

Yesterday's Highlight in History:
On May 27, 1937, the newly completed Golden Gate Bridge connecting San Francisco and Marin County, Calif., was opened to pedestrian traffic. (Vehicular traffic began crossing the bridge the next day.)

On this date:
~In 1818, American reformer Amelia Jenks Bloomer, who popularized the garment that bears her name — "bloomers" — was born in Homer, N.Y.
~In 1935, the Supreme Court, in Schechter Poultry Corporation v. United States, struck down the National Industrial Recovery Act.
~Ten years ago: Michael Fortier, the government's star witness in the Oklahoma City bombing case, was sentenced to 12 years in prison after apologizing for not warning anyone about the deadly plot.

Today's Birthdays: Novelist Herman Wouk is 93. Actor Christopher Lee is 86. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is 85. Actress Lee Meriwether is 73. Musician Ramsey Lewis is 73. Actor Louis Gossett Jr. is 72. Rhythm-and-blues singer Raymond Sanders (The Persuasions) is 69. Country singer Don Williams is 69. Actor Bruce Weitz is 65. Singer Cilla Black is 65. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn. is 64. Singer Bruce Cockburn is 63. Singer-actress Dee Dee Bridgewater is 58. Actor Richard Schiff is 53. Singer Siouxsie Sioux (The Creatures, Siouxsie and the Banshees) is 51. Rock singer-musician Neil Finn (The Finn Brothers) is 50. Actress Peri Gilpin is 47. Actress Cathy Silvers is 47. Comedian Adam Carolla is 44. Actor Todd Bridges is 43. Rock musician Sean Kinney (Alice In Chains) is 42. Actor Dondre Whitfield is 39. Actor Paul Bettany is 37. Rock singer-musician Brian Desveaux (Nine Days) is 37. Country singer Jace Everett is 36. Rapper Andre 3000 (Outkast) is 33. Rapper Jadakiss is 33. TV chef Jamie Oliver is 33. Actor Ethan Dampf is 14.

Thought for Today: "Great wisdom is generous; petty wisdom is contentious. Great speech is impassioned, small speech cantankerous." — Chuang-Tzu, Chinese essayist (c.369 B.C.-c.286 B.C.).