Today is Wednesday, May 12, the 133rd day of 2004. There are 233 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On May 12, 1937, Britain’s King George VI was crowned at Westminster Abbey.

On this date:

In 1820, the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale, was born in Florence, Italy.

In 1870, Manitoba entered Confederation as a Canadian province.

In 1932, the body of the kidnapped son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh was found in a wooded area of Hopewell, N.J.

In 1933, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Agricultural Adjustment Administration were established to provide help for the needy and farmers.

In 1943, during World War II, Axis forces in North Africa surrendered.

In 1949, the Soviet Union announced an end to the Berlin Blockade.

In 1970, the Senate voted unanimously to confirm Harry A. Blackmun as a Supreme Court justice.

In 1975, the White House announced the new Cambodian government had seized an American merchant ship, the Mayaguez, in international waters.

In 1978, the Commerce Department said hurricanes would no longer be given only female names.

In 1982, in Fatima, Portugal, security guards overpowered a Spanish priest armed with a bayonet who was trying to reach Pope John II.

Ten years ago: The Senate joined the House in passing a bill banning blockades, violence and threats against clinics where abortions were being performed. British Labor Party leader John Smith died unexpectedly at age 55.

Five years ago: Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin announced he was leaving his post in July (he was succeeded by his deputy, Lawrence Summers). Russian President Boris Yeltsin dismissed Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov and the Cabinet.

One year ago: Suicide bombers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killed nine U.S. citizens and 26 people overall. A suicide truck-bomb attack killed at least 60 at a government compound in northern Chechnya. L. Paul Bremer, the new American civilian administrator of Iraq, arrived in Baghdad; coalition forces announced they had taken custody of Dr. Rihab Rashid Taha, the Iraqi scientist known as “Dr. Germ.” Fifty-nine Democratic lawmakers brought the Texas House to a standstill by going into hiding in a dispute over a Republican congressional redistricting plan. Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, a wealthy philanthropist who held a string of top UN humanitarian posts, died in Boston at age 70.

Today’s Birthdays: Baseball Hall-of-Famer Yogi Berra is 79. Critic John Simon is 79. Composer Burt Bacharach is 75. Talk show host Tom Snyder is 68. Comedian George Carlin is 67. Actress Millie Perkins is 66. Rhythm and blues singer Jayotis Washington is 63. Country singer Billy Swan is 62. Actress Linda Dano is 61. Musician Ian McLagan is 59. Actress Lindsay Crouse is 56. Singer-musician Steve Winwood is 56. Actor Gabriel Byrne is 54. Actor Bruce Boxleitner is 54. Singer Billy Squier is 54. Country singer Kix Brooks is 49. Actress Kim Greist is 46. Actor Ving Rhames is 43. Rock musician Billy Duffy is 43. Actor Emilio Estevez is 42. Actress Vanessa Williams (“Soul Food”) is 41. Country musician Eddie Kilgallon is 39. Actor Stephen Baldwin is 38. Actress Kim Fields is 35. Actress Samantha Mathis is 34. Actress Jamie Luner is 33. Actor Mackenzie Astin is 31. Actor Jason Biggs is 26. Actress Emily VanCamp is 18. Actors Sullivan and Sawyer Sweeten (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) are nine.

Thought for Today: “Act well at the moment, and you have performed a good action to all eternity.” – Johann Kaspar Lavater, Swiss theologian (1741-1801).