Today is Wednesday, May 12, the 132nd day of 2021. There are 233 days left in the year.
Today in history
On May 12, 1949, the Soviet Union lifted the Berlin Blockade, which the Western powers had succeeded in circumventing with their Berlin Airlift.
Also on this date:
In 1780, during the Revolutionary War, the besieged city of Charleston, S.C., surrendered to British forces.
In 1937, Britain’s King George VI was crowned at Westminster Abbey; his wife, Elizabeth, was crowned as queen consort.
In 1943, during World War II, Axis forces in North Africa surrendered. ... The two-week Trident Conference, headed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, opened in Washington.
In 1955, Manhattan’s last elevated rail line, the Third Avenue El, ceased operation.
In 1958, the United States and Canada signed an agreement to create the North American Air Defense Command (later the North American Aerospace Defense Command).
In 1970, the Senate voted unanimously to confirm Harry A. Blackmun as a Supreme Court justice.
In 1997, Australian Susie Maroney became the first woman to swim from Cuba to Florida, covering the 118-mile distance in 24 1/2 hours.
Fun fact
Male honey bees in the hive are called drones.
That’s punny
What do you call a pencil that doesn’t work?
Pointless.
Trending words
“Importunate:” adjective; (im-POR-chuh-nut). Definition: Troublesomely urgent: overly persistent in request or demand, or troublesome.
— Merriam-Webster
Today’s birthdays
Composer Burt Bacharach is 93. Actor Millie Perkins is 85. R&B singer Jayotis Washington is 80. Country singer Billy Swan is 79. Actor Linda Dano is 78. Actor Lindsay Crouse is 73. Singer-musician Steve Winwood is 73. Actor Gabriel Byrne is 71. Actor Bruce Boxleitner is 71. Singer Billy Squier is 71. Blues singer-musician Guy Davis is 69. Country singer Kix Brooks is 66. Actor Kim Greist is 63. Rock musician Eric Singer (KISS) is 63. Actor Ving Rhames is 62. Rock musician Billy Duffy is 60. Actor Emilio Estevez is 59. Actor April Grace is 59. Actor Vanessa A. Williams is 58. TV personality/chef Carla Hall is 57. Actor Stephen Baldwin is 55. Actor Scott Schwartz is 53. Actor Kim Fields is 52. Actor Samantha Mathis is 51. Actor Jamie Luner is 50. Actor Christian Campbell is 49. Actor Rhea Seehorn is 49. Actor Mackenzie Astin is 48. Country musician Matt Mangano (The Zac Brown Band) is 45. Actor Rebecca Herbst is 44. Actor Malin Akerman is 43. Actor Jason Biggs is 43. Actor Rami Malek is 40. Actor-singer Clare Bowen is 37. Actor Emily VanCamp is 35. Actor Malcolm David Kelley is 29. Actor Sullivan Sweeten is 26.
The Edge is compiled by Dallas Marshall. She can be contacted at dmarshall@lmtribune.com.
