Today in History

Today is Saturday, May 17, the 137th day of 2014. There are 228 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, unanimously struck down racially segregated public schools, ruling that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."

On this date:

In 1792, the New York Stock Exchange had its origins as a group of brokers met under a tree on Wall Street.

In 1814, Norway's constitution was signed, providing for a limited monarchy.

In 1849, fire erupted in St. Louis, Missouri, resulting in the loss of three lives, more than 400 buildings and some two dozen steamships.

In 1912, the Socialist Party of America nominated Eugene V. Debs for president at its convention in Indianapolis.

In 1933, U.S. News & World Report had its beginnings as David Lawrence began publishing a weekly newspaper called United States News.

In 1939, Britain's King George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, arrived in Quebec on the first visit to Canada by a reigning British monarch.

In 1946, President Harry S. Truman seized control of the nation's railroads, delaying -- but not preventing -- a threatened strike by engineers and trainmen.

In 1961, Cuban leader Fidel Castro offered to release prisoners captured in the Bay of Pigs invasion in exchange for 500 bulldozers. (The prisoners were eventually freed in exchange for medical supplies.)

In 1973, a special committee convened by the U.S. Senate began its televised hearings into the Watergate scandal.

In 1974, four car bombs exploded in Dublin and Monaghan, Ireland, killing 33 people (the Ulster Volunteer Force claimed responsibility two decades later).

In 1980, rioting that claimed 18 lives erupted in Miami's Liberty City after an all-white jury in Tampa acquitted four former Miami police officers of fatally beating black insurance executive Arthur McDuffie.

In 1987, 37 American sailors were killed when an Iraqi warplane attacked the U.S. Navy frigate Stark in the Persian Gulf. (Iraq apologized for the attack, calling it a mistake, and paid more than $27 million in compensation.)

Ten years ago: Massachusetts became the first state to allow legal same-sex marriages. Abdel-Zahraa Othman, also known as Izzadine Saleem, head of the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, was killed in a suicide car bombing in Baghdad. More than 100 people were killed in a prison fire in northern Honduras. Transsexuals were cleared to compete in the Olympics for the first time. The Michael Moore movie "Fahrenheit 9/11" made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival. Actor Tony Randall died in New York at age 84.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama strode head-on into the stormy abortion debate, telling graduates at the University of Notre Dame that both sides had to stop demonizing one another. In Sri Lanka, the Tamil Tigers admitted defeat in their fierce quarter-century war for a separate homeland. Barbara Mandrell, Roy Clark and Charlie McCoy were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

One year ago: The ousted head of the Internal Revenue Service, Steven Miller, faced hours of intense grilling before Congress; both defiant and apologetic, Miller acknowledged agency mistakes in targeting tea party groups for special scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status, but insisted that agents broke no laws and that there was no effort to cover up their actions. Jorge Rafael Videla, 87, the former dictator who took power in Argentina in a 1976 coup and led a military junta that killed thousands during a "dirty war" against so-called "subversives," died in Buenos Aires while serving life in prison for crimes against humanity.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Peter Gerety is 74. Singer Taj Mahal is 72. Rock musician Bill Bruford is 65. Singer-musician George Johnson (The Brothers Johnson) is 61. TV personality Kathleen Sullivan is 61. Actor Bill Paxton is 59. Boxing Hall-of-Famer Sugar Ray Leonard is 58. Actor-comedian Bob Saget is 58. Sports announcer Jim Nantz is 55. Singer Enya is 53. Talk show host-actor Craig Ferguson is 52. Rock singer-musician Page McConnell is 51. Actor David Eigenberg is 50. Singer-musician Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) is 49. Actress Paige Turco is 49. Rhythm-and-blues musician O'Dell (Mint Condition) is 49. Actor Hill Harper is 48. TV personality/interior designer Thom Filicia is 45. Singer Jordan Knight is 44. Rhythm-and-blues singer Darnell Van Rensalier (Shai) is 44. Actress Sasha Alexander is 41. Rock singer-musician Josh Homme is 41. Rock singer Andrea Corr (The Corrs) is 40. Actor Sendhil Ramamurthy is 40. Actress Rochelle Aytes is 38. Singer Kandi Burruss is 38. Actress Kat Foster is 36. Actress Ayda Field is 35. Actress Ginger Gonzaga is 31. Folk-rock singer/songwriter Passenger is 30. Dancer-choreographer Derek Hough is 29. Actor Tahj Mowry is 28. Actress Nikki Reed is 26. Singer Kree Harrison (TV: "American Idol") is 24. Actress Leven Rambin is 24. Actress Samantha Browne-Walters is 23. Actor Justin Martin is 20.

Thought for Today: "A burning purpose attracts others who are drawn along with it and help fulfill it." -- Margaret Bourke-White, American photojournalist (1904-1971).

Copyright 2014, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.