Today in history: May 25

updated 12:00 a.m. ET May 25, 2006

Today is Thursday, May 25, the 145th day of 2006. There are 220 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:
On May 25, 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 1844, the first telegraphed news dispatch, sent from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore, appeared in the Baltimore Patriot.

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

In 1976, U.S. Rep. Wayne L. Hays, D-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 DC10 crashed on takeoff from Chicago’s O’Hare airport.

In 1986, an estimated 7 million Americans participated in “Hands Across America,” forming a line across the country to raise money for the nation’s hungry and homeless.

Ten years ago: President Clinton, honoring the men and women who died in military service, used his weekly radio address to defend America’s global military role, saying it “is making our people safer and the world more secure.”

Five years ago: A federal appeals court lifted an injunction on publication of “The Wind Done Gone,” Alice Randall’s satirical retelling of “Gone With The Wind” from a black viewpoint.

One year ago: Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owen won Senate confirmation as a federal appeals judge after a ferocious four-year battle. The defense rested in the Michael Jackson child molestation trial without calling the pop star, who ended up being acquitted. Country sweetheart Carrie Underwood won the latest edition of “American Idol.” Ismail Merchant, half of the prestigious Merchant-Ivory filmmaking team, died in London at age 68.

Today’s Birthdays: Lyricist Hal David is 85. Former opera singer Beverly Sills is 77. Former White House news secretary Ron Nessen is 72. Country singer-songwriter Tom T. Hall is 70. Actor Sir Ian McKellen is 67. Actress Dixie Carter is 67. Country singer Jessi Colter is 63. Actress-singer Leslie Uggams is 63. Movie director and Muppeteer Frank Oz is 62. Actress Karen Valentine is 59. Rock singer Klaus Meine (The Scorpions) is 58. Actress Patti D’Arbanville is 55. Actress Connie Sellecca is 51. Rock singer-musician Paul Weller is 48. Actor-comedian Mike Myers is 43. Actor Matt Borlenghi is 39. Actor Joseph Reitman is 38. Rock musician Glen Drover is 37. Actress Anne Heche is 37. Actresses Sidney and Lindsay Greenbush (“Little House on the Prairie”) are 36. Actor-comedian Jamie Kennedy is 36. Actor Justin Henry is 35. Rapper Daz Dillinger is 33. Actress Molly Sims is 33. Singer Lauryn Hill is 31. Actor Ethan Suplee is 30. Rock musician Todd Whitener (Tantric) is 28. Actor Corbin Allred is 27. Actress-singer Lauren Frost is 21.

Thought for Today: “There is nothing final about a mistake, except its being taken as final.” — Phyllis Bottome, English author (1884-1963).

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