Today in History.....May 19

On this day in …

* 1643, delegates from four New England colonies met in Boston to
form a confederation

* 1935, T.E. Lawrence, also known as "Lawrence of Arabia," died in
Dorset, England, from injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash

* 1943, in an address to the U.S. Congress, British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill pledged his country's full support in the war
against Japan

* 1958, the United States and Canada formally established the North
American Air Defense Command

* 1962, during a Democratic fundraiser at New York's Madison Square
Garden, actress Marilyn Monroe performed a sultry rendition of
"Happy Birthday to You" for guest-of-honor President Kennedy

* 1964, the State Department disclosed that 40 hidden microphones
had been found in the U.S. embassy in Moscow

* 1967, the Soviet Union ratified a treaty with the United States
and Britain banning nuclear weapons from outer space

* 1992, the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits
Congress from giving itself midterm pay raises, went into effect

* 1996, space shuttle Endeavour and its crew rocketed into orbit and
quickly began preparing for the release of an inflatable antenna

* 2001, the Arab League called on Arab governments to sever
political contacts with Israel until the Jewish state ended military
action against "Palestinians"

* 2005, Republicans and Democrats tangled over President Bush's
judicial nominees and the Senate's filibuster rules, with Democrats
accusing Bush of trying to "rewrite the Constitution" and
Republicans accusing Democrats of "unprecedented obstruction."