On May 10, 1869, a golden spike was driven at Promontory Summit, Utah, marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States.
In 1908 the nation’s first Mother’s Day observances were held in Philadelphia and Grafton, W.Va.
In 1924 J. Edgar Hoover was named director of the FBI. (He retained the post until his death in 1972.)
In 1933 the Nazis staged massive public book burnings in Germany.
In 1940 British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned, and Winston Churchill formed a new government.
In 1968 preliminary Vietnam peace talks began in Paris.
In 1994 serial killer John Wayne Gacy, 52, was executed by lethal injection at Stateville Prison near Joliet (this sentence as published has been corrected in this text).
In 1997 at least 2,400 people died when an earthquake wiped out hundreds of villages in remote northeastern Iran.
In 2001 Boeing Co. chose Chicago as the site for its new headquarters, replacing Seattle. Also in 2001 the World Wrestling Federation announced it would fold the upstart XFL football league.
In 2002 NBA owners approved the Hornets’ move to New Orleans, ending the team’s 14-year era in Charlotte.
In 2003 The New York Times announced on its Web site that one of its reporters, Jayson Blair, had “committed frequent acts of journalistic fraud,” according to an investigation by the paper.
