May 25th

Today's Highlight in History:
On May 25th, 1787, the Constitutional Convention was convened in Philadelphia after enough delegates had shown up for a quorum.

On this date:
In 1810, Argentina began its revolt against Spain.

In 1895, playwright Oscar Wilde was convicted of a morals charge in London; he was sentenced to prison.

In 1935, Babe Ruth hit the 714th and final home run of his career, for the Boston Braves, in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In 1946, Transjordan (now Jordan) became a kingdom as it proclaimed its new monarch, King Abdullah Ibn Ul-Hussein.

In 1961, President Kennedy asked the nation to work toward putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade.

In 1963, the Organization of African Unity was founded, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

In 1968, the Gateway Arch, part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, was dedicated.

In 1976, US Representative Wayne L. Hays (Democrat, Ohio) admitted to a "personal relationship" with Elizabeth Ray, a committee staff member who claimed she'd received her job in order to be Hays' mistress.

In 1979, 275 people died when an American Airlines DC-10 crashed on takeoff from Chicago's O'Hare airport.

In 1992, Jay Leno made his debut as full-time host of NBC's "Tonight Show," succeeding Johnny Carson.

Ten years ago: A congressional report cast doubts on the US Navy's official finding that a troubled sailor probably had caused the blast that killed 47 servicemen aboard the battleship USS "Iowa."

Five years ago: NATO warplanes struck Bosnian Serb headquarters. (Serbs answered with swift defiance, storming UN weapons depots, attacking safe areas and taking peacekeepers as hostages.)

One year ago: A bipartisan congressional report said China's two-decade effort to steal US weapons technology continued well into the Clinton administration; President Clinton responded that his administration was already "moving aggressively to tighten security." Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr decided against re-prosecuting Whitewater figure Susan McDougal and Julie Hiatt Steele, a witness in the Monica Lewinsky investigation, after both their trials ended with hung juries.

"Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else."

-- Sir James Barrie, Scottish dramatist (1860-1937).