Today is Wednesday, May 9, the 130th day of 2012. There are 236 days left in the year.

1502 ― Columbus left Spain on his fourth & final trip to New World

1754 ― First newspaper cartoon in America-divided snake "Join or die"

1788 ― English parliament accepts abolishing of slave trade

1868 ― Anton Bruckner's 1st Symphony in C, premieres

1944 ― First eye bank opens (NYC)

1962 ― Laser beam successfully bounced off moon for first time

1970 ― 100,000s demonstrate against Vietnam War

1989 ― Vice President Dan Quayle says in United Negro College Fund speech: ``What a waste it is to lose one's mind" instead of ``a
mind is terrible thing to waste

1993 ― Paraguay holds its first presidential & parliamentary elections in 50 years

1997 ― First U.S. ambassador since Saigon fell arrives in Vietnam