[goofywife]

1902: Eruption destroys city of St. Pierre
Today's eruption of Mount Pelee wiped out the city of St. Pierre, located on the Caribbean island of Martinique, just four miles south of the volcano's peak. Flaming gas and cinders turned the city into a mass of fire.

"During the intervening hours a torrent of red hot cinders poured down upon the commercial capital. The streets were filled with the destructive outpouring, cutting off all avenues of escape. It is believed that very few of the 25,000 inhabitants could have escaped," reported The Galveston Daily News on May 10, 1902. "Although the Mount Pelee volcano had been emitting ashes and smoke at intervals for several days, the residents of St. Pierre did not apprehend any great eruption."

NOTE: According to The Fort Wayne Sentinel, smoke and steam had been released from the volcano almost fifty years before the deadly eruption, but no one thought Mount Pelee posed a threat.

1999: Citadel graduates first female
Nancy Mace became the first female to graduate from The Citadel, a formerly all-male South Carolina military school, today. "Ms. Mace entered The Citadel in 1996 after the school dropped its all-male admissions policy. That change came after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a similar policy at Virginia Military Institute," explained The Capital on May 9, 1999. NOTE: The first female admitted to The Citadel was Shannon Faulkner, who was able to attend with a judge's order. However, she quit in less than a week due to stress and isolation.

1973: American Indian Movement surrenders
"Indians holding Wounded Knee since Feb. 27 lay down their arms today in front of a symbolic tepee and submit to processing by federal authorities," explained The Morgantown Post on May 8, 1973. The surrender came after an agreement was made between federal officials and followers of the American Indian Movement to end the 71-day standoff and begin negotiations. NOTE: The location of the standoff was significant because approximately 300 Native Americans were killed in the Battle of Wounded Knee in 1890.

1945: V-E Day is declared
President Truman declared victory in Europe today, celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany. "Combat troops received the news with stony apathy. There is still a war going on in the Pacific and they knew, and they only hoped the folks at home remembered, that Americans are fighting in Asia at this epochal moment of victory," informed The Lowell Sun on May 8, 1945. Truman also emphasized that the task to conquer Japan was still ahead. In his V-E proclamation, he said "our blows will continue until the Japanese lay down their arms in unconditional surrender."

1936: Jockey rides after pronounced dead
Jockey Ralph Neves was pronounced dead today by Dr. J.A. Warburton, the track physician, after falling from his horse while riding at Bay Meadow Racecourse in California. "'Just in case,' as Warburton put it, he gave the unconscious and apparently dead Neves an injection of adrenalin, powerful heart stimulant. Ten minutes later, as fellow jockeys stood around the 'bier,' shaking their heads and lamenting the fate of their companion, Neves sat up. In ten minutes more he announced he was ready to return to the track and ride in the closing races."