By The Associated Press

Today in History

Today is Monday, May 6, the 126th day of 2019. There are 239 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On May 6, 1954, medical student Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile during a track meet in Oxford, England, in 3:59.4.

On this date:

In 1863, the Civil War Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia ended with a Confederate victory over Union forces.

In 1889, the Paris Exposition formally opened, featuring the just-completed Eiffel Tower.

In 1910, Britain’s Edwardian era ended with the death of King Edward VII; he was succeeded by George V.

In 1915, Babe Ruth hit his first major-league home run as a player for the Boston Red Sox. Actor-writer-director Orson Welles was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

In 1935, the Works Progress Administration began operating under an executive order signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In 1937, the hydrogen-filled German airship Hindenburg caught fire and crashed while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey; 35 of the 97 people on board were killed along with a crewman on the ground.

In 1941, Josef Stalin assumed the Soviet premiership, replacing Vyacheslav M. Molotov. Comedian Bob Hope did his first USO show before an audience of servicemen as he broadcast his radio program from March Field in Riverside, California.

In 1942, during World War II, some 15,000 American and Filipino troops on Corregidor surrendered to Japanese forces.

In 1974, West German Chancellor Willy Brandt resigned after one of his aides was exposed as an East German spy.