Today in history: May 12th, more than 87,000 dead or missing in earthquake in China

Today is Sunday, May 12th, the 133rd day of 2024. There are 233 days left in the year.

Today’s highlight of the story:

On May 12, 2008, a devastating 7.9 magnitude earthquake in China’s Sichuan province left more than 87,000 dead or missing.

On this date:

In 1780, during the Revolutionary War, the besieged city of Charleston, South Carolina surrendered to British forces.

In 1932, the body of Charles Lindbergh Jr., the 20-month-old kidnapped son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh, was found in a wooded area near Hopewell, New Jersey.

In 1933, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Agricultural Adjustment Administration were created to help the needy and farmers.

In 1943, during World War II, the Axis powers in North Africa surrendered. The two-week Trident Conference opened in Washington under the leadership of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

In 1949, the Soviet Union lifted the Berlin blockade, which the Western powers had circumvented with the Berlin Airlift.

In 1958, the United States and Canada signed an agreement establishing the North American Air Defense Command (later North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD).

In 1970, the Senate voted unanimously to confirm Harry A. Blackmun as a Supreme Court justice.

In 1975, the White House announced that the new Cambodian government had captured an American merchant ship, the Mayaguez, in international waters. (The U.S. Marines gained control of the ship three days after the hijacking, unaware that the 39 civilian crew members had already been released by Cambodia.)

In 1982, security forces in Fatima, Portugal, overpowered a Spanish priest armed with a bayonet who was attacking Pope John Paul II. (In 2008, the Pope’s longtime private secretary announced that the Pope had been slightly injured in the attack.)

In 1986, the military action film “Top Gun,” released by Paramount Pictures and starring Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis, celebrated its world premiere in New York.

In 2009, five Miami men were convicted of a plot to blow up FBI buildings and the Sears Tower in Chicago. a man was acquitted.

In 2011, the CEOs of the five largest oil companies appeared before the Senate Finance Committee, where Democrats asked the executives to justify tax breaks at a time when people were paying $4 a gallon for gasoline.

In 2013, Pope Francis gave the Catholic Church many new saints, including hundreds of 15th-century martyrs who were beheaded for refusing to convert to Islam.

In 2021, Israel continued a heavy military offensive in the Gaza Strip, killing up to ten senior Hamas military personnel and bringing down two high-rise buildings housing Hamas facilities. The militant Islamist group showed no signs of relenting, firing hundreds of rockets into Israeli cities.

In 2022, the world caught a glimpse of the first wild but fuzzy image of the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. Astronomers called it a “gentle giant” that was almost starving.

Today’s birthdays: Actress Millie Perkins is 88. R&B singer Jayotis Washington is 83. Country singer Billy Swan is 82. Actress Linda Dano is 81. Actress Lindsay Crouse is 76. Singer and musician Steve Winwood is 76. Actor Gabriel Byrne is 74 . Actor Bruce Boxleitner is 74. Singer Billy Squier is 74. Blues singer and musician Guy Davis is 72. Country singer Kix Brooks is 69. Actress Kim Greist is 66. Rock musician Eric Singer (KISS) is 66. Actor Ving Rhames is 65. Rock musician Billy Duffy is 63. Actor Emilio Estevez is 62. Actress April Grace is 62. TV personality/chef Carla Hall is 60. Actor Stephen Baldwin is 58. Actor Scott Schwartz is 56. Actress Kim Fields is 55. Actress Samantha Mathis is 54. Actor Jamie Luner is 53. Actor Christian Campbell is 52. Actor Rhea Seehorn is 52. Actor Mackenzie Astin is 51. Country musician Matt Mangano (The Zac Brown Band) is 48. Actress Rebecca Herbst is 47. Actress Malin (MAH’- lin) Akerman is 46. Actor Jason Biggs is 46. Actor Rami Malek (RAH’-mee MA’-lihk) is 43. Actress and singer Clare Bowen is 40. Actress Emily VanCamp is 38. Actor Malcolm David Kelley is 32. Actor Sullivan Sweeten is 29.