May 24th

Today's Highlight in History:
On May 24th, 1844, Samuel F.B. Morse transmitted the message, "What hath God wrought!" from Washington to Baltimore as he formally opened America's first telegraph line.

On this date:
In 1819, Queen Victoria was born in London.

In 1830, the first passenger railroad in the United States began service between Baltimore and Elliott's Mills, Maryland.

In 1881, some 200 people died when the Canadian ferry "Princess Victoria" sank near London, Ontario.

In 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge, linking Brooklyn and Manhattan, was opened to traffic.

In 1935, the first major league baseball game to be played at night took place at Cincinnati's Crosley Field as the Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-to-1.

In 1941, the German battleship "Bismarck" sank the British dreadnought "Hood" in the North Atlantic.

In 1962, astronaut Scott Carpenter became the second American to orbit the Earth as he flew aboard "Aurora Seven."

In 1976, Britain and France opened transatlantic Concorde service to Washington.

In 1977, in a surprise move, the Kremlin ousted Soviet President Nikolai Podgorny from the Communist Party's ruling Politburo.

In 1980, Iran rejected a call by the World Court in The Hague to release the American hostages.

Ten years ago: Two members of the militant environmental group Earth First! were injured when a pipe bomb exploded in their car in Oakland, California (the two were initially accused by authorities of carrying the bomb, but no charges were filed). The Edmonton Oilers won their fifth Stanley Cup as they defeated the Boston Bruins, four games to one.

Five years ago: "Hollywood Madam" Heidi Fleiss was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 15-hundred dollars for running a call-girl ring that catered to the rich and famous. Former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson died in London at age 79.

One year ago: A sharply divided Supreme Court ruled, five to four, that schools can be sued when officials fail to stop students from sexually harassing each other. The Supreme Court ruled that police violate people's privacy rights when they bring TV camera crews or other journalists into homes during arrests or searches. Mike Tyson walked out of a Rockville, Maryland, jail after serving three and a-half months behind bars for assaulting two motorists after a fender-bender.

"What makes us discontented with our condition is the absurdly exaggerated idea we have of the happiness of others."

-- Anonymous.