Today in History

[katcarasella]

1897: Grant's Tomb is dedicated

I remember this day well, I was kneehigh to a grasshopper.

[DianaB]

Originally Posted by katcarasella

1897: Grant's Tomb is dedicated

I remember this day well, I was kneehigh to a grasshopper.

More likely you were a twinkle in some great-great-grandmother's eye!!!! LOL

[goofywife]

1945: Mussolini is executed
Italian partisans killed deposed dictator Benito Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci today. Mussolini, who ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943, had been removed from office following the defeat of the Italian army. After his execution, his body was brought to Milan, where he was hung upside down.

On April 30, 1945, The Oakland Tribune reported, "The body of Benito Mussolini swung from its heels against the rusty steel framework of a half-completed gasoline station in the heart of Milan, the object of the vengeful wrath of the Italian people whom he had promised a place in the sun but instead had led to defeat and misery."

NOTE: Following the execution, Mussolini’s body was hung upside down from meathooks at a petrol station, and he was stoned by civilians. His body was then buried in an unmarked grave. Later he was interred at the town of Predappio, his birthplace.

2001: Dennis Tito becomes first space tourist
U.S. millionaire Dennis Tito blasted into space on the Russian Soyuz craft today, making him the world’s first “space tourist.” “Never mind NASA’s stern admonition that space is no place for amateurs. Tito hopes his weekend launch aboard a Russian rocket and six day stay on the international space station will prove anyone can – and should – experience space,” explained the Tyrone Daily Herald on April 28, 2001. NOTE: Despite controversy from NASA, Tito’s trip went well. He stayed in space for a total of 7 days and 22 hours in space, and orbited the earth 128 times. He has since testified in Congress in favor of commercial human spaceflight.


1994: Former CIA spy pleads guilty
Former CIA spy Aldrich Ames was sentenced to life in prison today after he pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit espionage. "Ames, 52, pleaded guilty without a trial and admitted being paid $2.5 million by the Soviet Union and then Russia since April 1985 for U.S. secrets. Once head of counterintelligence in the CIA's Soviet East Europe section, Ames admitted disclosing the identities of 10 Russian officials and one East European who were spying for the United States or Great Britain," informed The Intelligencer on April 29, 1994.

1965: U.S. Marines land in Dominican Republic
U.S. Marines landed in the Dominican Republic today in order to evacuate American citizens and protect them from the fighting taking place in Santo Domingo. On April 29, 1965, The Daily Times News reported, "[President] Johnson's order marked the first such use of Marines in Latin America in years. U.S. officials expected criticism from Latin Americans mindful of American 'gunboat diplomacy' of a bygone era. But under international law, they said, a nation can send its forces to another land to protect its nationals when the local government breaks down."


1952: Eisenhower resigns from NATO“President Truman yesterday appointed dynamic Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway to succeed General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe to build up defenses against the threat of Soviet aggression,” reported The Troy Record on April 29, 1952. “The appointments are effective June 1, the date Eisenhower is scheduled to doff his uniform and return to the U.S. to press his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.” NOTE: Eisenhower did receive the Republican nomination and was elected to the presidency in 1953, with Richard Nixon as his running mate.

[katcarasella]

1952: Eisenhower
This is not a joke so don't expect one.
When I was 2 or 3, I really don't remember this, but my Mom told me that Eisenhower came to Chicago to campaign and she was running down the street with my sister and I in the buggy so she could see him in his motorcade.
(and that's a fact)

[Janet]

That would be pretty cool Kat. Too bad you don't really remember it.

[goofywife]

1992: Riots break out in L.A.
The city of Los Angeles was a scene of violence today after riots broke out following the acquittal of four white police officers charged with the videotaped beating of Rodney King.

"Gov. Pete Wilson declared a state of emergency and 2,000 National Guardsmen were sent to armories and other gathering points to await orders as the city tried to quell the worst outbreak of violence since the Watts riots of 1965," reported The Capital on April 30, 1992. "Blacks dragged motorists from their cars and beat them, looters – most of them black – emptied a supermarket, and more than 300 fires were reported. At dawn, police with shotguns guarded firefighters as they battled more than 30 blazes, authorities said. Streets were largely deserted."

NOTE: An estimated 55 people were reported dead when the rioting finally ceased several days later. The acquitted police officers faced a second trial one year later, in which two were found guilty of violating King's civil rights.


1993: Buckingham Palace opens to public
Buckingham Palace announced today it will open its doors to the public in order to raise money to repair the fire-damaged Windsor Castle. "Treasures on view will include a raft of Old Master paintings, the world's finest collection of Sevres porcelain and antique French furniture, some from Versailles," informed The Intelligencer on April 30, 1993. "Admission will cost $12.50 for adults, and the palace expects up to 400,000 tourists a year. The government said the tours of Buckingham Palace plus new charges for visiting Windsor Castle are expected to meet 70 per cent of the repair bill."

1967: Muhammad Ali stripped of title
Boxer Cassius Clay, known as Muhammad Ali, was stripped of his heavyweight championship title today after refusing induction into the United States Army on religious grounds. "I had the world heavyweight title, not because it was 'given' to me, not because of my race or religion, but because I won it in the ring through my own boxing ability," said Ali in a statement published in The Lima News on April 29, 1967. "Those who want to 'take' it and hold a series of auction-type bouts not only do me a disservice but actually disgrace themselves," he continued. NOTE: Two months later, Ali was found guilty of draft evasion and was sentenced to prison for five years. He was allowed to box again in 1970, and the Supreme Court reversed his conviction the following year.


1945: Dachau concentration camp is liberated
United States forces freed 32,000 captives at the Dachau concentration camp today. "The political prisoners at Dachau wept with hysteria when troops of the U.S. Seventh Army cleared the enemy guards from the camp where gruesome torture rooms and gas chambers were located," read an article in The Daily Courier on April 30, 1945. Another 27,000 American and British prisoners of war were also freed when the U.S. Third Army found a large prisoner of war camp at Moosburg, just northeast of Munich.

[Janet]

1945: Dachau concentration camp is liberated
United States forces freed 32,000 captives at the Dachau concentration camp today. "The political prisoners at Dachau wept with hysteria when troops of the U.S. Seventh Army cleared the enemy guards from the camp where gruesome torture rooms and gas chambers were located," read an article in The Daily Courier on April 30, 1945. Another 27,000 American and British prisoners of war were also freed when the U.S. Third Army found a large prisoner of war camp at Moosburg, just northeast of Munich.

Whenever I read of the horrible things that happened...it makes me ashamed to be human.

[katcarasella]

1945: Dachau concentration camp is liberated

When Pete and I were in Germany we visited The Memorial site, I'll never forget it.

http://www.scrapbookpages.com/Dachau...ook/index.html