May 14th

Today's Highlight in History:
On May 14th, 1980, President Carter inaugurated the Department of Health and Human Services.

On this date:
In 1643, Louis the 14th became King of France at age four upon the death of his father, Louis the 13th.

In 1804, the Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the Louisiana Territory left St. Louis.

In 1904, the first Olympic games to be held in the United States opened in St. Louis.

In 1942, Aaron Copland's "Lincoln Portrait" was first performed by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

In 1942, the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps was established.

In 1948, the independent state of Israel was proclaimed in Tel Aviv.

In 1955, representatives from eight Communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, signed the Warsaw Pact in Poland.

In 1973, the United States launched Skylab One, its first manned space station.

In 1975, US forces raided the Cambodian island of Koh Tang and recaptured the American merchant ship Mayaguez. All 40 crew members were released safely by Cambodia, but some 40 US servicemen were killed in the military operation.

In 1998, singer-actor Frank Sinatra died at a Los Angeles hospital at age 82.

Ten years ago: In separate decrees, Soviet President Gorbachev declared that the republics of Estonia and Latvia had no legal basis for moving toward independence.

Five years ago: Myrlie Evers-Williams was sworn in to head the NAACP, pledging to lead the civil rights group away from its recent troubles and restore it as a political and social force.

One year ago: His previous calls rebuffed, President Clinton finally got through to Chinese President Jiang Zemin; Clinton expressed hope the two countries could repair the damage to their relations since the US bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade.

"A mother never realizes that her children are no longer children."

-- Holbrook Jackson, British critic and historian (1874-1948).