This day in history

In 1643, delegates from four New England colonies met in Boston to form a confederation.

In 1943, in an address to the U.S. Congress, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill pledged his country’s full support in the fight against Japan.

In 1958, British actor Ronald Colman died in Santa Barbara, at age 67.

In 1962, during a Democratic fundraiser at New York’s Madison Square Garden, actress Marilyn Monroe performed a sultry rendition of "Happy Birthday to You” for guest-of-honor President Kennedy.

In 1964, the State Department disclosed that 40 hidden microphones had been found in the U.S. embassy in Moscow.

In 1967, the Soviet Union ratified a treaty with the United States and Britain banning nuclear weapons from outer space.

In 1992, the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits Congress from giving itself pay raises until the next congressional term, went into effect.

In 1992, in Massapequa, N.Y., Mary Jo Buttafuoco was shot and seriously wounded by her husband Joey’s teen-age lover, Amy Fisher.

In 1994, former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis died in New York at age 64.

Ten years ago: Millions of pagers nationwide stopped working when a communications satellite, the Galaxy IV, suddenly lost track of Earth. Bandits stole three of Rome’s most important paintings, two by van Gogh and one by Cezanne, from the National Gallery of Modern Art. (The paintings were recovered two months later by police.)

Five years ago: WorldCom Inc. agreed to pay investors $500 million to settle civil fraud charges. The Supreme Court dealt a defeat to the drug industry, ruling 6-3 that a state may try to force companies to lower prices on prescription medications for the poor and uninsured. A Palestinian woman blew herself up during a security check outside a mall, killing three Israelis in the fifth suicide bombing in 48 hours.

One year ago: Group of Eight financial officials wrapped up two days of talks in Germany by calling for more aid, increased debt relief and responsible lending to Africa. Curlin nipped Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense to win the Preakness Stakes.

Birthdays:

PBS newscaster Jim Lehrer is 74. TV personality David Hartman is 73. Actor James Fox is 69. Actress Nancy Kwan is 69. Author-director Nora Ephron is 67. Actor Peter Mayhew is 64. Concert pianist David Helfgott is 61. Singer-actress Grace Jones is 56. Rock musician Phil Rudd (AC-DC) is 54. Baseball catcher Rick Cerone is 54. Actor Steven Ford is 52. Rock musician Iain Harvie (Del Amitri) is 46. Actor Jason Gray-Stanford is 38. Rock singer Jenny Berggren (Ace of Base) is 36. Actor Drew Fuller is 28.