Today is Monday, May 5, the 126th day of 2008. There are 240 days left in the year. On this date in

Today is Monday, May 5, the 126th day of 2008. There are 240 days left in the year. On this date in 1961, astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. becomes America’s first space traveler as he makes a 15-minute sub-orbital flight in a capsule launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

In 1818, political philosopher Karl Marx is born in Prussia. In 1821, Napoleon Bonaparte, 51, dies in exile on the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic. In 1891, Carnegie Hall (then named “Music Hall”) has its official opening night in New York City. In 1904, Cy Young pitches the American League’s first perfect game as the Boston Americans defeat the Philadelphia Athletics, 3-0. In 1925, John T. Scopes is arrested in Tennessee for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution. In 1942, during World War II, Japanese forces land on the Philippine island of Corregidor. In 1945, in the only fatal attack of its kind during World War II, a Japanese balloon bomb explodes on Gearhart Mountain in Oregon, killing the pregnant wife of a minister and five children. In 1958, the Arkansas Gazette receives the Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the Little Rock Central High School integration crisis. In 1981, Irish Republican Army hunger-striker Bobby Sands dies at the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland in his 66th day without food.

May 5, 1983: Accountant Joseph Fortine testifies in the bribery trial of Sheriff James A. Traficant Jr. that reputed mobster Charles Carabbia delivered $6,500 to Fortine’s office, saying the money was for Traficant. The envelope was picked up a short time later by Anthony Protopoppa, Traficant’s administrative assistant.

More than 8,000 Youngstown area residents sign a petition asking that the Oak Street Bridge be replaced. The petition drive was initiated by Don L. Hanni Jr., chairman of the Mahoning County Democratic Party.

May 5, 1968: Several hundred Youngstown public school students march on a Saturday afternoon to urge Youngstown voters to support a 12-mill school levy.

The Friends of American Art is sponsoring a tour of three private art collections in Youngstown. The homes of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Law and Dr. and Mrs. John McDonough and the Medart building of Dr. Richard Murray will be open to tours.

May 5, 1958: Struthers police are called to the home of union leader Anthony L. Traficant to break up a fist fight between Charles Carabbia, reputed king of Struthers rackets, and Walter Zaluski, city councilman at-large.

A Youngstown Transit Co. driver is robbed of $166 in cash and bus passes after he stops at Lucius Avenue and Market Street to pick up a passenger.

May 5, 1933: Carnegie Steel Co. plants in Farrell are operating at 50 percent of capacity and Warren area mills are at 80 percent, the highest rates in more than a year.

The James A. Henderson Co., formerly the Henderson-Overland Co., at Boardman and Walnut streets, has been appointed the downtown dealer of Chevrolet passenger and commercial cars. A full line of Chevrolets will be on display and souvenirs will be given away at the grand opening.