Thursday, May 24, is the 145th day of 2012. There are 221 days left in the year.

Today’s birthdays: Comedian Tommy Chong is 74. Singer Bob Dylan is 71. Actor Gary Burghoff is 69. Singer Patti LaBelle is 68. Actress Priscilla Presley is 67. Country singer Mike Reid is 65. Actor Jim Broadbent is 63. Actor Alfred Molina is 59. Singer Rosanne Cash is 57. Actress Kristin Scott Thomas is 52. Rock musician Jimmy Ashhurst (Buckcherry) is 49. Rock musician Vivian Trimble is 49. Actor John C. Reilly is 47. Actor Eric Close is 45. Rock musician Rich Robinson is 43. Actor Bryan Greenburg is 34. Actor Billy L. Sullivan is 32. Actor-rapper Jerod Mixon (a.k.a. Big Tyme) is 31. Rock musician Cody Hanson (Hinder) is 30. Country singer Billy Gilman is 24. Actor Cayden Boyd (“Mystic River”) is 18.

In 1775, John Hancock was elected president of the Continental Congress, succeeding Peyton Randolph.

In 1844, Samuel F.B. Morse transmitted the message ‘‘What hath God wrought’’ from Washington to Baltimore as he formally opened America’s first telegraph line.

In 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge, was dedicated by President Arthur and New York Governor Grover Cleveland.

In 1935, the first major league game to be played at night took place at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field as the Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1.

In 1937, in a set of rulings, the US Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Social Security Act of 1935.

In 1941, the German battleship Bismarck sank the HMS Hood, killing all but three of the 1,418 men on board.

In 1961, Freedom Riders were arrested after arriving at a bus terminal in Jackson, Miss., charged with breaching the peace for entering white-designated areas. (They ended up serving 60 days in jail.)

In 2001, 23 people were killed when the floor of a Jerusalem wedding hall collapsed beneath dancing guests.

In 2002, President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a landmark nuclear arms reduction treaty in Moscow. US Olympic Committee president Sandra Baldwin resigned, a day after she admitted lying about her academic credentials.