By The Associated Press

                Today is Tuesday, May 18, the 138th day of 1999. There are 227
                days left in the year.

                - On May 18, 1896, the Supreme Court endorsed the concept of
                  "separate but equal" racial segregation with its "Plessy v.
                  Ferguson" decision, a ruling that was overturned 58 years later in
                  the case of "Brown v. Board of Education."
                - In 1642, the Canadian city of Montreal was founded.
                - In 1804, the French Senate proclaimed Napoleon Bonaparte
                  emperor.
                - In 1897, a public reading of Bram Stoker's new novel, "Dracula,
                  or, The Un-dead," was staged in London.
                - In 1899, the First Hague Peace Conference opened in the
                  Netherlands.
                - In 1926, evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson vanished while
                  visiting a beach in Venice, Calif.; she reappeared a month later,
                  claiming to have been kidnapped.
                - In 1933, the Tennessee Valley Authority was created.
                - In 1951, the United Nations moved out of its temporary
                  headquarters in Lake Success, N.Y., for its permanent home in
                  Manhattan.
                - In 1953, Jacqueline Cochran became the first woman to break the
                  sound barrier as she piloted a North American F-86 Canadair over
                  Rogers Dry Lake, Calif.
                - In 1969, astronauts Eugene A. Cernan, Thomas P. Stafford and
                  John W. Young blasted off aboard Apollo X.
                - In 1980, the Mount St. Helens volcano in Washington state
                  exploded, leaving 57 people dead or missing.
                -Ten years ago: Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev concluded
                  his historic visit to China, which officially marked the end of a
                  30-year Sino-Soviet rift.
                - Five years ago: Israel's three decades of occupation in the Gaza
                  Strip ended as Israeli troops completed their withdrawal and
                  Palestinian authorities took over.
                - One year ago: The government filed an antitrust case against
                  Microsoft Corp. The Supreme Court, in a sweeping endorsement of
                  broadcasters' free-speech rights and journalistic discretion, ruled
                  that even public stations owned and run by states need not invite
                  marginal candidates to political debates they sponsor.

                *Happy Birthday*

                - Singer Perry Como is 87.
                - Pope John Paul II is 79.
                - Actor Bill Macy is 77.
                - Sportscaster Jack Whitaker is 75.
                - Actor Pernell Roberts is 69.
                - Actor Robert Morse is 68.
                - Actor and television executive Dwayne Hickman is 65.
                - Baseball Hall-of-Famer Brooks Robinson is 62.
                - Bluegrass singer-musician Rodney Dillard (The Dillards) is 57.
                - Baseball Hall-of-Famer Reggie Jackson is 53.
                - Country singer Joe Bonsall (The Oak Ridge Boys) is 51.
                - Actress Candice Azzara ("Caroline in the City") is 50.
                - Rock musician Rick Wakeman (Yes) is 50.
                - Actor James Stephens is 48.
                - Country singer George Strait is 47.
                - Rhythm-and-blues singer Butch Tavares (Tavares) is 46.
                - Rock singer-musician Page Hamilton (Helmet) is 39.
                - Rapper Special Ed is 25.
                - Rhythm-and-blues singer Darryl Allen (Mista) is 19.
                - Actor Spencer Breslin ("Soul Man") is 7.