[goofywife]

1980: Mount St. Helens erupts

Mount St. Helens, a volcano in southwestern Washington, erupted today, spewing gas and hot ash into the earth's atmosphere. The eruption killed 57 people and destroyed trees and wildlife in the area.

"Mount St. Helens blew off 1,300 feet of its top Sunday in violent eruptions which sent hot mud, ash and gases raging down its slopes," reported The Chronicle Telegram on May 19, 1980. "Heavy ash, boiling up as high as 10 miles from the top of the mountain, drifted eastward today, blotting out the sky and leaving gritty, slippery deposits on roads as far east as Montana and Wyoming, 500 miles away. The ash turned day into night in most of eastern Washington."

NOTE: The volcano began showing signs of activity almost two months before the devastating eruption. Before 1980, Mount St. Helens had remained silent since a small eruption occurred in 1857, 123 years earlier.

1969: Apollo 10 blasts off

Apollo 10, the fourth manned Apollo mission, was launched from the Kennedy Space Center today. "Apollo 10 hurtled away Sunday on its lonely mission to skim over the craters of the moon, the last daring test for a lunar landing this summer. The three astronauts beamed back brilliant and unprecedented color television pictures of the earth, hanging 26,000 miles away like a blue and white ball," explained The Times Recorder one day after the launch. "Apollo 10 provided the final dress rehearsal for the Apollo 11 manned landing on the moon in July." NOTE: The mission was described as a dress rehearsal because the crew tested the lunar module while in orbit.

1933: Roosevelt creates Tennessee Valley Authority

As a part of his New Deal policies, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Tennessee Valley Authority Act into law today. "Under the new law, the president will appoint a board of three as a 'Tennessee valley authority' to manage industrial and agricultural development of the valley," informed the Winnipeg Free Press on May 19, 1933. "Early employment of thousands of men is hoped for by the administration in putting the vast project into operation."

1927: Explosions kill students in Bath

After killing his wife and setting fire to his farm, school board member Andrew Kehoe set off dynamite at a school in Bath, Michigan today. Kehoe was allegedly upset over a property tax increase to fund the school building. "Explosion of dynamite mysteriously planted under the foundations of the Bath Consolidated grade school here today, took an estimated toll of between 30 and 40 young lives and completely demolished the west wing of the two story brick structure," reported The Warren Tribune on May 18, 1927. "Work of the physicians and nurses was hampered by the heartbreaking search of parents for their children. Parents went from group to group and the general rescue activity was frequently interrupted by the sobbing of a mother who had found what she feared."

1910: Earth passes through tail of Halley's Comet

The Earth passed through the tail of Halley's Comet today. "Old earth entered into the midst of the comet's tenuous tail at 2 o'clock this afternoon if the astronomers have not been handing out false promises," explained The Fort Wayne Sentinel on May 18, 1910. "Tonight at 10 o'clock the head and tail of the comet and the earth and the sun will be on a direct line." However, just one day after this report was printed, the same newspaper reported that "Mother Earth fell down on the job and did not go through the comet's tail," since nothing significant seemed to happen.