By The Associated Press

Today in History

Today is Friday, May 10, the 130th day of 2019. There are 235 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlights in History:

On May 10, 1994, Nelson Mandela took the oath of office in Pretoria to become South Africa’s first black president.

On this date:

In 1611, Sir Thomas Dale arrived in the Virginia Colony, where, as deputy governor, he instituted harsh measures to restore order.

In 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis was captured by Union forces in Irwinville, Georgia.

In 1869, a golden spike was driven in Promontory, Utah, marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States.

In 1924, J. Edgar Hoover was named acting director of the Bureau of Investigation (later known as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI).

In 1933, the Nazis staged massive public book burnings in Germany.

In 1940, during World War II, German forces began invading the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and France. The same day, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned, and Winston Churchill formed a new government.

In 1963, the Rolling Stones recorded their first single for Decca Records in London, covering Chuck Berry’s “Come On” (which ended up being redone) and “I Want to Be Loved” by Willie Dixon.

In 1968, the “Night of the Barricades” began in Paris’ Latin Quarter as tens of thousands of student protesters erected obstacles against riot police; in the pre-dawn hours of May 11, the police moved in, resulting in violent clashes that left hundreds of people injured. Preliminary peace talks between the United States and North Vietnam began in the French capital.

In 1975, Sony began selling its Betamax home videocassette recorder in Japan.

In 1994, the state of Illinois executed serial killer John Wayne Gacy, 52, for the murders of 33 young men and boys.

In 1996, two Marine helicopters collided in the dark and crashed in a swamp at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, during a U.S.-British training exercise, killing 14 people.

In 2013, the Internal Revenue Service apologized for what it acknowledged was “inappropriate” targeting of conservative political groups during the 2012 election to see if they were violating their tax-exempt status. U.S government scientists said worldwide levels of carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas blamed for global warming, had hit a milestone, reaching an amount never before encountered by humans.

Ten years ago: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a surprise one-day visit to Baghdad to discuss U.S.-Iraqi economic relations with the prime minister. Pope Benedict XVI urged Middle East Christians to persevere in their faith as 20,000 people filled a Jordanian sports stadium where the pontiff celebrated the first open-air Mass of his Holy Land pilgrimage. Russia defended its gold medal at the World Hockey Championships in Bern, Switzerland, beating Canada 2-1 in a rematch