Friday, May 24, is the 144th day of 2013. There are 221 days left in the year.
Today's birthdays: Comedian Tommy Chong is 75. Singer Bob Dylan is 72. Actor Gary Burghoff is 70. Singer Patti LaBelle is 69. Actress Priscilla Presley is 68. Actor Jim Broadbent is 64. Actor Alfred Molina is 60. Singer Rosanne Cash is 58. Actress Kristin Scott Thomas is 53. Actor John C. Reilly is 48. Dancer Mark Ballas is 27.
In 1775, John Hancock was elected President of the Continental Congress.
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.
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In 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was dedicated by President Arthur and New York Governor Grover Cleveland.
In 1935, the first major league game 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 Social Security Act of 1935.
In 1941, the German battleship Bismarck sank the British battle cruiser HMS Hood, killing all but three of the 1,418 men on board.
In 1961, Freedom Riders were arrested after arriving in Jackson, Miss., charged with breaching the peace for entering white-designated areas. (They ended up serving 60 days in jail.)
In 1962, astronaut Scott Carpenter became the second American to orbit the Earth as he flew aboard Aurora 7.
In 1976, Britain and France opened trans-Atlantic Concorde supersonic transport service to Washington.
In 1980, Iran rejected a call by the World Court in The Hague to release the American hostages.
In 2001, 23 people were killed when the floor of a Jerusalem wedding hall collapsed beneath dancing guests, sending them plunging several stories into the basement.
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