Today in History - History - May 9th

2012United States President Barack Obama officially states his support for same sex marriage

1768John Hancock pays duties on 25 pipes of wine, only one fourth of his ship's carrying capacity, and British officials accuse him of unloading the rest during the night to avoid paying the duties on the entire cargo

1964Khrushchev visits Egypt

1922The International Astronomical Union formally adopt Annie Jump Cannon's stellar classification system, which with only minor changes, is still used today

1973For 2nd time, Johnny Bench hits 3 HRs in a game

1502Columbus left Spain on his 4th & final trip to New World

1941Louis Buchalter is arraigned in New York state court on the 1936 Joseph Rosen murder along with three other murders

1988Australia's new parliament house is opened by Queen Elizabeth II in Canberra

1987Oriole Eddie Murray is 1st to switch hit HRs in 2 consecutive games

1836HMS Beagle with Charles Darwin departs Port Louis, Mauritius

1949Billy Joel, Bronx, rock vocalist (Pianoman, Capt Jack, Bridge)

1882Henry J. Kaiser, Sprout Brook NY, ship builder and industrialist (Liberty Ships, Jeeps, Boulder Dam)

1918Mike Wallace, Brookline Mass, newscaster (Biography, 60 Minutes), (d. 2012)

1964Miloslav Mecir, Bojnice Czechoslovakia, tennis player (Olympic-gold-1988)

1873Howard Carter, London, British archaeologist and egyptologist (found King Tutankhamen's tomb)

1800John Brown, Torrington, Connecticut, American revolutionary abolitionist (d. 1859)

1942Physicist Robert Hofstadter (27) weds Nancy Givan

1987Actor Tom Cruise (27) & actress Mimi Rogers (33), marry

2012Vidal Sassoon, British hairdresser and businessman, dies from leukemia at 84

1978Aldo Moro, 5 times PM of Italy, assassinated by the Marxist-Leninist terrorist organization Red Brigades at 61

1979Cyrus S. Eaton, Canadian-American financier, industrialist and steel magnate, dies at 95

1986Tenzing Norgay, Tibetan climber (Mount Everest 1953), dies at 71