GOOD MORNING – TODAY IS SATURDAY, May 24, the 144th day of 2014 with 221 to follow. Sunrise in the Boston area is @ 5:14 and sunset is @ 8:07. The moon is waning. The morning stars are stars are Neptune, Uranus & Venus. The evening stars are Jupiter, Mars, Mercury & Saturn.
ON THIS DAY IN: 1543 – Nicolaus Copernicus published proof of a sun-centered planetary system.
1624 – After years of unprofitable operation, Virginia’s charter was revoked and it became a royal colony.
1689 – English Parliament passed the Act of Toleration, protecting Protestants; Roman Catholics are specifically excluded.
1738 – The Methodist Church was established.
1830 – The first passenger railroad in the U.S. began service between Baltimore and Elliott’s Mills, Maryland.
1844 – Samuel F.B. Morse transmitted the message, “What hath God wrought!” from Washington to Baltimore as he formally opened America’s first telegraph line.
1883 – The Brooklyn Bridge, linking Brooklyn and Manhattan, was opened. It took 14 years to construct; 27 people died working on it.
1899 – W. T. McCullough of Boston opened the first public garage.
1958 – United Press International was formed through a merger of the United Press and theInternational News Service.
1976 – Britain and France started transatlantic Concorde service to Washington.
1994 – Four men convicted of bombing New York’s World Trade Center were each sentenced to 240 years in prison.
2000 – Israeli troops pulled out unilaterally from south Lebanon, ending 18 years of occupation.