Today in History — May 12

updated 12:00 a.m. ET May 11, 2007

Today is Saturday, May 12, the 132nd day of 2007. There are 233 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:
One hundred years ago, on May 12, 1907, actress Katharine Hepburn was born in Hartford, Conn.

On this date:
In 1870, an act creating the Canadian province of Manitoba was given royal assent, to take effect in July.

In 1932, the body of the kidnapped son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh was found in a wooded area of Hopewell, N.J.

In 1937, Britain’s King George VI was crowned at Westminster Abbey.

In 1943, during World War II, Axis forces in North Africa surrendered.

In 1949, the Soviet Union announced an end to the Berlin Blockade.

In 1957, movie director-actor Erich Von Stroheim died in France.

In 1967, English poet laureate John Masefield died.

In 1970, the Senate voted unanimously to confirm Harry A. Blackmun as a Supreme Court justice.

In 1975, the White House announced the new Cambodian government had seized an American merchant ship, the Mayaguez, in international waters.

In 1982, in Fatima, Portugal, security guards overpowered a Spanish priest armed with a bayonet who was trying to reach Pope John Paul II.

Ten years ago: At the Oklahoma City bombing trial of Timothy McVeigh, star prosecution witness Michael Fortier testified that McVeigh had been bent on triggering a “general uprising in America.” Australian Susie Maroney became the first woman to swim all the way from Cuba to Florida, covering the 118-mile distance in 24½ hours.

Five years ago: Jimmy Carter arrived in Cuba, becoming the first U.S. president — in or out of office — to visit since the 1959 revolution that put Fidel Castro in power. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Likud party rejected creation of a Palestinian state.

One year ago: Tony Snow made his debut as White House press secretary. A ruptured gas pipeline in southwestern Nigeria exploded as villagers were collecting fuel, killing up to 200 people. South Korean prosecutors indicted disgraced scientist Hwang Woo-suk on charges of fraud, embezzlement and bioethics violations linked to faked stem cell research.

Today’s Birthdays: Baseball Hall-of-Famer Yogi Berra is 82. Critic John Simon is 82. Composer Burt Bacharach is 79. Talk show host Tom Snyder is 71. Comedian George Carlin is 70. Actress Millie Perkins is 69. Rhythm-and-blues singer Jayotis Washington is 66. Country singer Billy Swan is 65. Actress Linda Dano is 64. Musician Ian McLagan is 62. Actress Lindsay Crouse is 59. Singer-musician Steve Winwood is 59. Actor Gabriel Byrne is 57. Actor Bruce Boxleitner is 57. Singer Billy Squier is 57. Country singer Kix Brooks is 52. Actress Kim Greist is 49. Actor Ving Rhames is 46. Rock musician Billy Duffy is 46. Actor Emilio Estevez is 45. Actress April Grace is 45. Actress Vanessa A. Williams (“Soul Food”) is 44. Country musician Eddie Kilgallon is 42. Actor Stephen Baldwin is 41. Actor Scott Schwartz is 39. Actress Kim Fields is 38. Actress Samantha Mathis is 37. Actress Jamie Luner is 36. Actor Christian Campbell is 35. Actor Mackenzie Astin is 34. Actor Jason Biggs is 29. Actress Emily VanCamp is 21. Actor Malcolm David Kelley (“Lost”) is 15. Actors Sawyer and Sullivan Sweeten (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) are 12.

Thought for Today: “Life is to be lived. If you have to support yourself, you had bloody well better find some way that is going to be interesting. And you don’t do that by sitting around.” — Katharine Hepburn, American actress (1907-2003).

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