Today is Monday, May 25, the 145th day of 2009. There are 220 days left in the year. This is the Memorial Day observance.
on this date:
*On May 25, 1979, 273 people died when an American Airlines DC-10 crashed on takeoff from Chicago's O'Hare airport. In addition, 6-year-old Etan Patz disappeared while on his way to a school bus stop in lower Manhattan; his fate has never been determined.
*In 1787, the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia after enough delegates had shown up for a quorum.
*In 1895, Oscar Wilde was convicted of a morals charge in London; he was sentenced to two years in prison.
*In 1935, Babe Ruth hit the 714th and final home run of his career, for the Boston Braves.
*In 1986, an estimated 7 million Americans participated in "Hands Across America" to raise money for the nation's hungry and homeless.
*In 2008, a tornado tore through Parkersburg, Iowa, killing eight people.
The Associated Press
Today's Birthdays: country singer-songwriter Tom T. Hall is 73. Actor Sir Ian McKellen is 70. Actress Dixie Carter is 70. Country singer Jessi Colter is 66. Actress-singer Leslie Uggams is 66. Movie director and muppeteer Frank Oz is 65. actress Karen Valentine is 62. rock singer Klaus Meine (The Scorpions) is 61. actress Patti D'Arbanville is 58. Actress Connie Sellecca is 54. Rock singer-musician Paul Weller is 51. Actor-comedian Mike Myers is 46. Actor Matt Borlenghi is 42. Actor Joseph Reitman is 41. Rock musician Glen Drover is 40. Actress Anne Heche is 40. Actresses Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush ("Little House on the Prairie") are 39. Actor-comedian Jamie Kennedy is 39. Actor Justin Henry is 38. Rapper Daz Dillinger is 36. Actress Molly Sims is 36. Singer Lauryn Hill is 34. Actor Cillian Murphy is 33. Actor Ethan Suplee is 33. Rock musician Todd Whitener is 31. Actor Corbin Allred is 30. San Diego Padres pitcher Chris Young is 30. San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman is 25. Actress-singer Lauren Frost is 24.
Thought for Today: "A historian is a prophet in reverse." -- Friedrich von Schlegel, German diplomat and writer (1772-1829).
