On This Day:
Saturday May 24, 2014 This is the 144th day of the year, with 221 days remaining in 2014. Fact of the Day: pollination In order for seeds to develop, a flower has to be pollinated. Pollen from the stamens of a flower of the same species must stick to the plant's stigma (a part of the pistil). In self-pollination, a flower is pollinated by its own pollen or that of another flower on the same plant. Plants that depend on moths for pollination tend to be white or pale yellow so they can be seen better when the light is dim, whereas plants that are pollinated by butterflies tend to have more colorful flowers. Plants that are pollinated by bats usually bloom at night. Bumblebees need to maintain a high body temperature, so they use warmth to determine which flowers they pollinate. They can tell the flower's temperature by its color.
Holidays Feast day of St. David of Scotland, St. Vincent of Lerins, Saints Donatian and Rogation, and St. Nicetas of Pereaslav.
Eritrea: Independence Day.
Belize: Commonwealth Day.
Bulgaria: Culture Day.
Ecuador: Battle of Pichincha.
Events 1543 - Nicolaus Copernicus published proof of a sun-centered planetary system.
1624 - After years of unprofitable operation, Virginia's charter was revoked and it became a royal colony.
1689 - English Parliament passed the Act of Toleration, protecting Protestants; Roman Catholics are specifically excluded.
1738 - The Methodist Church was established.
1830 - The first passenger railroad in the U.S. began service between Baltimore and Elliott's Mills, Maryland.
1844 - Samuel F.B. Morse transmitted the message, "What hath God wrought!" from Washington to Baltimore as he formally opened America's first telegraph line.
1883 - The Brooklyn Bridge, linking Brooklyn and Manhattan, was opened. It took 14 years to construct; 27 people died working on it.
1899 - W. T. McCullough of Boston opened the first public garage.
1958 - United Press International was formed through a merger of the United Press and the International News Service.
1976 - Britain and France started transatlantic Concorde service to Washington.
1994 - Four men convicted of bombing New York's World Trade Center were each sentenced to 240 years in prison.
2000 - Israeli troops pulled out unilaterally from south Lebanon, ending 18 years of occupation.
Births 1686 - Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit, German physicist, the first to use mercury in thermometers.
1743 - Jean-Paul Marat, French revolutionary.
1819 - Queen Victoria of United Kingdom (1837-1901) and empress of India (1876-1901).
1895 - Samuel I. Newhouse, American publishing and broadcasting magnate.
1938 - Tommy Chong (born Thomas Chong B. Kin), a Canadian-born actor and musician.
1941 - Bob Dylan, American singer and songwriter.
1944 - Patti LaBelle, American singer.
1955 - Rosanne Cash, American singer and songwriter.
Deaths 1974 - Duke Ellington, American jazz composer and musician.
1995 - Harold Wilson, former British Prime Minister.
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