Today is Saturday, May 15, the 135th day of 1999. There are 230
                  days left in the year.

                  - On this day in 1948, just hours after gaining its independence,
                    Israel was attacked by Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.
                  - In 1602, Cape Cod was discovered by English navigator Bartholomew
                    Gosnold.
                  - In 1718, James Puckle, a London lawyer, patented the world's first
                    machine gun.
                  - In 1856, author Frank L. Baum was born; he was best known for the
                    "Wonderful Wizard of Oz."
                  - In 1859, chemist/physicist Pierre Curie was born.
                  - In 1862, the U.S. Department Of Agriculture was formed.
                  - In 1886, poet Emily Dickinson died in Amherst, Mass. She wrote at
                    least 800 poems, all but five of which remained unpublished until
                    after her death.
                  - In 1911, the Supreme Court ordered Standard Oil Co. to dissolve
                    because it was in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
                  - In 1918, the world's first airmail postal service began between New
                    York, Philadelphia and Washington, using planes supplied by the U.S.
                    War Department.
                  - In 1926, the New York Rangers joined the National Hockey League.
                  - In 1930, Ellen Church became the first airline flight attendant,
                    flying on a United Airlines flight between San Francisco and
                    Cheyenne, Wyo.
                  - In 1940, nylon stockings went on sale for the first time in the
                    United States.
                  - In 1941, Joe DiMaggio began his historic Major League hitting streak
                    which ended 56 games later.
                  - In 1957, Britain dropped its first hydrogen bomb on Christmas Island
                    in the Pacific.
                  - In 1970, two black students at Jackson State University in
                    Mississippi were killed when police opened fire during student
                    protests.
                  - In 1972, Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace was shot by Arthur Bremer
                    and left paralyzed while campaigning in Maryland for the Democratic
                    presidential nomination.
                  - In 1988, Moscow began withdrawing its 115,000 troops in Afghanistan.

                  *Happy Birthday*
                  ----------------
                  - Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is 62.
                  - Country singer/musician Eddy Arnold is 81.
                  - Hall of fame baseball player George Brett is 46.
                  - Actor David Charvet is 27.
                  - Musician Brian Eno is 51.
                  - Actor Lee Horsley ("Matt Houston") is 44.
                  - Actress/singer Lainie Kazan is 57.
                  - Singer/musician Trini Lopez is 62.
                  - Actor Chazz Palminteri is 48.
                  - Musician Ahmet Zappa is 25.