Today in History

[Chandra Amaya]

Originally Posted by DianaB

Sixteen years ago today my youngest daughter, Jaci, was born!!!

awww, I missed it! Happy late Birthday Jaci. What type of party did she have? or how did she celebrate? DETAILS!

[goofywife]

1915: Germans sink Lusitania

A German submarine torpedoed and sunk the British ocean liner Lusitania today, killing almost 1,200 people. Many of the passengers were previously warned about the danger of sailing on the Lusitania because of the war between Germany and Great Britain.

"The Lusitania was steaming along about eight or ten miles off Old Head Kinsale, on the last leg of her voyage to Liverpool, when about 2 o'clock in the afternoon a submarine suddenly appeared and, so far as reports go, fired two torpedoes without warning, at the steamer. One struck her near the bows and the other in the engine room. The powerful agents of destruction tore through the vessel's side, causing terrific explosions. Almost immediately great volumes of water poured through the openings and the Lusitania listed," reported The Washington Post on May 8, 1915.

NOTE: More than 100 Americans died on board the ship, leading to protests from the United States and encouraging American involvement in the war. When Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare in 1917, the United States declared war against Germany and entered World War I.

1998: Daimler-Benz and Chrysler merge

Daimler-Benz, the maker of Mercedes cars, and Chrysler announced they will be merging today. "The transaction, formally announced today after the boards of both companies approved it, ranks as the biggest industrial merger ever. The new company, DaimlerChrysler, combines the No. 3 U.S. automaker that once trumpeted a 'Buy American' slogan with a German carmaker that had previously held only a small share of the U.S. market," informed The Capital on May 7, 1998. "The merger will give Chrysler greater access to the European market, something it has strived for."

1992: NASA launches space shuttle Endeavour

The space shuttle Endeavour, which replaced the Challenger shuttle, was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, today. "A wayward satellite and the nation's newest space shuttle are hurtling toward a weekend rendezvous today in a bold NASA mission to pluck the satellite from a useless orbit and put it to work," explained The Capital one day after the launch. "The shuttle Endeavour, one year off the assembly line, began the celestial chase with a twilight liftoff yesterday from the Kennedy Space Center. Its target is the Intelsat 6 satellite, which has been orbiting 350 miles above Earth since a miswired rocket failed to boost it to its 22,300-mile-high duty station two years ago."

1964: Plane crashes after passenger shoots pilots

A Pacific Airlines plane crashed in California today, killing all 44 people on board, after a passenger shot the pilots. "A note of mystery was injected into the tragedy with discovery of a .38 caliber revolver in the wreckage. Authorities said it might have belonged to an off duty police officer who was aboard, but they are not certain," reported The Modesto Bee and News-Herald on May 7, 1964. Authorities later discovered that the pilots were shot by a passenger who entered the cockpit. NOTE: In what was described as a "horrible coincidence," the Federal Aviation Agency released a statement on the morning of the crash telling airline pilots they would soon be required to lock their flight deck doors.

1896: Serial killer Dr. Holmes is hanged

American serial killer Herman W. Mudgett, better known as Dr. H.H. Holmes, was hanged in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, today. "Holmes, the murderer, died as he lived, with a lie on his lips. Calm and unruffled, he stood upon the fatal trap and told the witnesses of his execution that he had caused the death of only two women, and that they died by accident," explained The Gleaner on May 16, 1896. NOTE: Holmes had constructed a terrible “murder castle” which he opened as a hotel for the Chicago World’s Fair. The number of people he killed is unknown, but thought to be as high as 230, though he only confessed to 27 and only nine were confirmed. The 2003 best-seller The Devil in the White City deals with Holmes and the World’s Fair.

1840: Hundreds die in 'Great Natchez Tornado'

A tornado struck Natchez, Mississippi today, killing more than 300 people. On May 28, 1840, the Freeman and Messenger printed a letter to the editor, dated May 7. The letter read, "While nearly the whole of our citizens were engaged in dining at the hour of two this afternoon, vivid flashed the lightning, loud roared the thunder, and black grew the sky. In a few minutes the tempest came, and for about forty minutes we were in that perilous state which speaks only of destruction and death. First toppled down the chimneys, then went the roofs of houses, and a moment after, houses after houses fell into ruins."

[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."

[teri88]

Poor Nancy Mace, if I was asked I would have said it was Shannon Faulkner. I forgot she didn't stay there!

[katcarasella]

Yeh, it's almost 5:30 A.M. I need my History fix, where is it??

[goofywife]

Here ya go Kat!!

1974: Nixon impeachment hearings begin
The House Judiciary Committee began impeachment hearings against President Richard M. Nixon today for his involvement in the Watergate cover-up. The committee met in a closed session to review a briefcase of evidence relating to Nixon's role in the scandal.

The Oakland Tribune explained that "the committee would begin its hearings by considering materials relating to the question of President Nixon's responsibility for the Watergate break-in and its subsequent investigation by law enforcement agencies."

NOTE: Instead of facing an impeachment trial, Nixon announced his resignation on national television on August 8, 1974. His resignation did not make him immune to criminal prosecution, but his successor, Gerald Ford, issued a controversial pardon which protected him.

1970: War protesters rally near White House
About 100,000 war protesters gathered just south of the White House in Washington, D.C., to express their opposition to the Vietnam war. today. "College students angered by U.S. intervention in Cambodia and the killing of four Kent State University students by Ohio National Guardsmen made up the bulk of the thousands," reported The Post Standard on May 9, 1970.


1960: FDA approves birth control pill
The Food and Drug Administration approved the first pill for contraceptive use, called Envoid, today. The Syracuse Herald Journal described this new development 35 years later on May 10, 1995: "To imagine just how different American society was when the FDA allowed the birth control pill to be marketed in 1960, there was then no uniform contraceptive law. It was not until 1965 - when the pill's popularity was soaring - that the U.S. Supreme Court recognized the use of contraceptives by married couples as part of their constitutional right to privacy. That right was not extended to individuals until 1972."

1955: West Germany joins NATO
West Germany became the 15th member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization today during a ceremony in Paris. "Chancellor Konrad Adenauer took his place at the NATO council table for the first time in a public session in the Palais de Chaillot," explained the Great Bend Daily Tribune on May 9, 1955. "For the 79-year-old West German statesman the ceremony marked a culminating stage in his long and difficult campaign to enroll his countrymen as an equal partner in the ranks of the free world's democracies."

1926: Byrd takes off for the North Pole
Commander Richard Byrd and his companion for the flight, Floyd Bennett, were honored as the first to fly an airplane to the North Pole. However, throughout the years there have been a number of doubts about their true accomplishment. In 1999, the Syracuse Herald Journal reported that archivists found a diary that Byrd kept on the flight, which cast doubt on the calculations that the men used to establish the location of the pole during their flyover.

[Janet]

Originally Posted by katcarasella

Yeh, it's almost 5:30 A.M. I need my History fix, where is it??

Hey Kat, I was up then too. See how patient I am Michelle...LOL

[goofywife]

I think Kat has had too much coffee, someone take the pot from her!

Originally Posted by Janet

Hey Kat, I was up then too. See how patient I am Michelle...LOL