Today is Wednesday, May 16, the 137th day of 2012. There are 229 days left in the year.

1571 ― Johannes Kepler, by his own calculations, is conceived at 4:37 a.m.

1763 ― Samuel Johnson meets his future biographer James Boswell in London

1881 ― World's first electric tram goes into service in Lichterfelder (near Berlin)

1920 ― Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc) canonized a saint in Rome

1956 ― Great Britain performs nuclear Test at Monte Bello Is Australia

1974 ― Helmut Schmidt becomes West German chancellor

1975 ― Japanese Junko Tabei became first woman to reach Mt. Everest's summit

1985 ― Michael Jordan named NBA Rookie of Year

1989 ― Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev and Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping ended a 30-year rift when they formally met in Beijing

1991 ― Queen Elizabeth becomes first British monarch to address U.S. Congress