Today is Wednesday, May 18, the 138th day of 2011. There are 227 days left in the year.
1619 ― Hugo the Great sentenced to life in prison
1804 ― Napoleon Bonaparte proclaimed Emperor of France
1830 ― Edwin Budding of England signs an agreement for manufacture of his invention, the lawn mower; Saturdays are destroyed forever
1852 ― Massachusetts rules all school-age children must attend school
1860 ― Republican Party nominates Abraham Lincoln for president
1933 ― Tennessee Valley Act (TVA) Act signed by FDR, to build dams
1953 ― First woman to break the sound barrier (Jacqueline Cochrane, USA)
1954 ― European Convention on Human Rights goes into effect
1982 ― Unification Church founder Reverend Moon Sun-myung convicted of tax evasion
1986 ― Chung Kwung Ying does 2,750 ``atomic" hand-stand push-ups