Michael Sam attends the 27th annual GLAAD Media Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., on April 2, 2016. On May 10, 2014, Sam, former Missouri defensive end, was drafted in the seventh round by the St. Louis Rams -- the first openly gay player to be selected by an NFL team. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

President Donald Trump makes remarks with first lady Melania Trump during a Mother's Day event to honor military spouses May 12. On May 10, 1908, Mother's Day was observed for the first time in the United States. File Photo by Mike Theiler/UPI | License Photo

Chinese soldiers check a man's identification on Tiananmen Square in central Beijing on April 17, 2009. On May 10, 1990, China, in an attempt to show an improving human rights record, released 211 people arrested during protests in Tiananmen Square. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo

On May 10, 1994, John Wayne Gacy, the convicted killer of 33 young men and boys, was executed in Illinois. File Photo courtesy of the White House

May 10 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis was captured by Union troops. He spent the next two years in prison.


In 1869, the "golden spike" was driven at Promontory, Utah, joining the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific lines to form America's first transcontinental railway.

In 1908, Mother's Day was observed for the first time in the United States.

In 1924, J. Edgar Hoover was appointed director of the FBI. He held the position until his death in 1972.

In 1940, Nazi Germany invaded Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, swinging 89 army divisions around France's so-called impregnable Maginot Line.

In 1940, Winston Churchill became prime minister of Great Britain.

In 1984, a federal judge in Utah found the U.S. government negligent in above-ground Nevada nuclear tests from 1951 to 1962 that exposed downwind residents to radiation.

In 1990, China, in an attempt to show an improving human rights record, released 211 people jailed since the previous year's crackdown on the pro-democracy movement. Most of the prisoners were arrested during protests in Tiananmen Square.

In 1994, John Wayne Gacy, the convicted killer of 33 young men and boys, was executed in Illinois.

In 2002, former FBI agent Robert Hanssen, who had spied for the Soviet Union and Russia for more than 20 years, was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.

In 2007, British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced he would step down in June after 10 years in office.

In 2013, the Internal Revenue Service apologized for giving special scrutiny to applications for tax-exempt status that used the words "Tea Party" or "patriots."

In 2014, Michael Sam, former Missouri defensive end, was drafted in the seventh round by the St. Louis Rams -- the first openly gay player to be selected by an NFL team.

In 2018, music streaming service Spotify removed R. Kelly's catalogue from its playlists, but kept the singer's music on the service, amid a push by advocates to boycott him over sexual assault allegations.