Local History

50 years ago: Joyce Ganske was chosen to represent the New Ulm American Legion Auxiliary at Girls’ State at St. Paul.

10 years ago: The New Ulm Sertoma Club honored life-long New Ulm residents Florian and Rosemary Dittrich with its annual “Service to Mankind Award.”

5 years ago: Student Council President Abby Berg gave the farewell address during Cathedral High School’s Commencement Program at St. Mary’s Church in New Ulm.

One year ago: The 452nd General Supply Company held its 50th Anniversary Reunion at Best Western Plus in New Ulm.

And elsewhere…

Today is Sunday, May 19, the 139th day of 2019. There are 226 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight:

On May 19, 1649, England was declared a republic by Parliament following the execution of King Charles I. (The monarchy was restored in 1660.)

On this date:

In 1536, Anne Boleyn, the second wife of England’s King Henry VIII, was beheaded after being convicted of adultery.

In 1913, California Gov. Hiram Johnson signed the Webb-Hartley Law prohibiting “aliens ineligible to citizenship” from owning farm land, a measure targeting Asian immigrants, particularly Japanese.

In 1921, Congress passed, and President Warren G. Harding signed, the Emergency Quota Act, which established national quotas for immigrants.

In 1943, in his second wartime address to the U.S. Congress, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill pledged his country’s full support in the fight against Japan; that evening, Churchill met with President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House, where the two leaders agreed on May 1, 1944 as the date for the D-Day invasion of France (the operation ended up being launched more than a month later).

In 1962, actress Marilyn Monroe sang “Happy Birthday to You” to President John F. Kennedy during a Democratic fundraiser at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

In 1993, the Clinton White House set off a political storm by abruptly firing the entire staff of its travel office; five of the seven staffers were later reinstated and assigned to other duties.

In 1994, former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis died in New York at age 64.

In 2017, former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., whose penchant for sexting strangers ended his political career, pleaded guilty in Manhattan to a sex charge, tearfully apologizing for communications with a 15-year-old girl. (Weiner received a 21-month prison sentence.)

Ten years ago: President Barack Obama asked consumers to back his plan for higher efficiency standards for cars and trucks, saying drivers would make up the higher cost of cleaner vehicles at the gas pump.

Five years ago: The U.S. charged five Chinese military officials with hacking into U.S. companies’ computers to steal vital trade secrets, intensifying already rising tensions.

One year ago: Britain’s Prince Harry wed American actress Meghan Markle.

Today’s Birthdays: Rock singer-composer Pete Townshend (The Who) is 74. Country/rock singer Shooter Jennings is 40. Actor Drew Fuller is 39. Actor-comedian Michael Che (TV: “Saturday Night Live”) is 36. aRock musician James Richardson (MGMT) is 36. Actor Eric Lloyd is 33. Pop singer Sam Smith is 27. Actor Nolan Lyons is 18.

Thought for Today: “The most exciting happiness is the happiness generated by forces beyond your control.” — Ogden Nash, American poet (born in 1902, died this date in 1971).