Today is Thursday, May 21, the 141st day of 2026. There are 224 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On May 21, 2017, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus closed out its 146-year-old show featuring animal acts with a farewell performance on Long Island. (Parent company Feld Entertainment, which retired its elephants in 2016, cited declining attendance and high operating costs but resumed performances without animals in 2023.)
Also on this date:
In 1881, the American Red Cross was founded by nurse and educator Clara Barton in Washington, D.C.
In 1924, 14-year-old Bobby Franks was murdered in a “thrill killing” carried out by University of Chicago students Nathan Leopold Jr. and Richard Loeb (Bobby’s distant cousin).
In 1927, Charles A. Lindbergh landed his Spirit of St. Louis monoplane near Paris, completing the first solo airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 33 1/2 hours.
In 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean as she landed in Northern Ireland, about 15 hours after leaving Newfoundland.
In 1941, a German U-boat sank the American merchant steamship SS Robin Moor in the South Atlantic after the ship’s passengers and crew were allowed to board lifeboats.
In 1955, Chuck Berry recorded his first single, “Maybellene,” for Chess Records in Chicago.
In 1972, Michelangelo’s Pieta, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, was damaged by a hammer-wielding man. (The sculpture went back on display 10 months later after its damaged elements were reconstructed.)
In 1979, former San Francisco City Supervisor Dan White was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the slayings of Mayor George Moscone and openly gay Supervisor Harvey Milk. Outrage over White’s lenient sentence sparked the White Night riots that evening.
In 1991, former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated amid Indian national elections by a suicide bomber.
In 2003, a powerful earthquake rocked Algeria, killing more than 1,000 people and injuring more than 5,000 others in a region east of Algiers.
Today’s Birthdays:
- Baseball Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox is 85.
- Singer Ronald Isley (The Isley Brothers) is 85.
- Singer Leo Sayer is 78.
- Actor Mr. T is 74.
- Actor Judge Reinhold is 69.
- Filmmaker Nick Cassavetes is 67.
- Actor Lisa Edelstein is 60.
- Comedian-TV presenter Noel Fielding is 53.
- Actor Fairuza Balk is 52.
- Actor Da’Vine Joy Randolph is 40.
- Country musician Cody Johnson is 39.
- Actor Hannah Einbinder is 31.
- NFL quarterback Josh Allen is 30.
- Actor Chase Sui Wonders is 30.
- Pop singer Sofia Camara is 24.
