Today’s highlight

On May 14, 1940, the Netherlands surrendered to invading German forces during World War II.

On this date

1643: Louis XIV became King of France at age 4 upon the death of his father, Louis XIII.

1796: English physician Edward Jenner inoculated 8-year-old James Phipps against smallpox by using cowpox matter.

1948: According to the current-era calendar, the independent state of Israel was proclaimed in Tel Aviv by David Ben-Gurion, who became its first prime minister; U.S. President Harry S. Truman immediately recognized the new nation.

1955: Representatives from eight Communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, signed the Warsaw Pact in Poland. (The Pact was dissolved in 1991.)

1961: Freedom Riders were attacked by violent mobs in Anniston and Birmingham, Alabama.

2001: The Supreme Court ruled 8-0 that there is no exception in federal law for people to use marijuana for medical purposes.

2008: The Interior Department declared the polar bear a threatened species because of the loss of Arctic sea ice.

2018: The Supreme Court cleared the way for states coast to coast to legalize betting on sports.

2022: A gunman wearing body armor opened fire in a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo, N.Y., killing at least 10 people before being taken into custody.

Today’s birthdays

Photo-realist artist Richard Estes is 91. Movie producer George Lucas is 79. Movie director Robert Zemeckis is 72. Rock singer David Byrne is 71. Actor Tim Roth is 62. Actor Cate Blanchett is 54. Singer Danny Wood (New Kids on the Block) is 54. Movie writer-director Sofia Coppola is 52. Alt-country musician-singer Ketch Secor is 45. Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg is 39. NFL player Rob Gronkowski is 34. Actor Miranda Cosgrove is 30.