In Washington State, Mount St. Helens explodes, blasting away the top 13 hundred feet from its volcanic peak. The eruption leaves 57 people died or missing, flattening forests and spewing volcanic ash for hundreds of miles. 1896. The U.S. Supreme Court endorses what it calls “separate but equal racial segregation” with its decision in Plessy versus Ferguson. That ruling remains a law of the land, until the Court overturns it nearly 16 years later in Brown versus Board of Education of Topeka. 1920. “May Christ give you his grace and his peace.” Pope John Paul II, the first non-Italian pontiff in more than 450 years is born Karol Wojtyta, in Wadowice, Poland.

1897. Movie director Frank Capra whose films include It’s a Wonderful Life and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, is born near Palermo, Italy. And 2003. Let him live, bring him homeIn New York, Les Misérables, Broadway’s third longest-running show closes after more than 16 years and 6,680 performances.

Today in History, May 18th. Camille Bohannon, the Associated Press.