Today in History

[goofywife]

1970: Kent State Massacre

After three days of protests against the U.S. invasion of Cambodia by students at Kent State University, National Guardsmen shot into a crowd of unarmed student protesters today, killing four.

"Kent State University, evacuated after four students were shot to death by National Guardsmen breaking up an anti-war demonstration, was virtually deserted and under heavy police and military guard today," the News Journal reported on May 5, 1979. "National Guard officials said the soldiers fired in defense of their lives when the student crowd closed in throwing rocks and chunks of concrete."

NOTE: Eight of the National Guardsmen were indicted by a grand jury. Charges were dismissed against all eight. A nation-wide student strike and hundreds of demonstrations followed the shootings, closing more than 450 campuses and bringing even more focus on the invasion of Cambodia.

1959: First Grammy Awards are given

The first Grammy Awards were announced by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences today. "The awards, miniature gold plated replicas of old fashioned phonographs, were awarded to [David] Seville for his tune, 'The Chipmunk Song' which won the awards of 'Best Comedy Performance,' 'Best Engineered Record' and 'Best Recording for Children,'" reported The Daily Review on May 6, 1959. NOTE: Other winners included Italian Domenico Modugno for Best Record and Perry Como for Best Male Vocalist, while the top movie and Broadway album was "The Music Man."

1949: Italian soccer team dies in crash

Italy's championship soccer team died in a plane crash today. "The crash wiped out the 'Torino' team of this city – four times national champions and the bulwark of Italy's team in international competition," informed The Herald Press on May 5, 1949. "The three-motor Italian plane plowed into Superga hill, scraped the cathedral which stands there and fell in flames in the cathedral courtyard. A heavy rain was falling. The team was en route home from a game in Lisbon, Portugal."

1945: Nazi forces in Holland and Denmark surrender

American newspapers reported today that enemy forces in Holland, northwest Germany and Denmark have agreed to surrender. "The Nazis themselves said the cease fire order had sounded in Holland and that British troops were sweeping unopposed through Denmark," explained The Lowell Sun on May 4, 1945. "But a heavily-censored front dispatch from United Press War Correspondent Richard D. McMillan gave even more conclusive evidence of the German collapse on the northern front. 'The German army facing the British…is out of control,' McMillan cabled. 'The Germans are throwing away their arms by the hundreds of thousands, refusing to fight, trying to get home, or struggling to give themselves up as prisoners.'"

1932: Al Capone begins prison sentence

"Tonight Capone will start serving an 11-year sentence for evading income taxes, and, giving up hope at last, he said there was 'nothing to do but make the best of it.' As his train cut down toward the southland, the gangster jested and kept up a rapid fire conversation with guards, but did not try to hide his disappointment. 'How would you feel if you had 11 years staring you in the face?' he parried when newspapermen questioned him," reported The Oakland Tribune on May 4, 1932. NOTE: Capone was released in 1939, after completing about seven years of this sentence.

1930: Gandhi is arrested

The leader of India's civil disobedience campaign, Mahatma Gandhi, was taken into British police custody tonight. Armed policemen, led by the district magistrate, made the arrest as Gandhi slept. “Gandhi, leader of the passive revolution against the British rule in India, was arrested at Surat early yesterday and was taken to Poona, where he was held," explained The Daily Courier on May 5, 1930. "Constantly, since he began the passive resistance campaign more than a month ago, he had attempted to antagonize British authorities to the point where his arrest could not be avoided. Last week he declared he would lead a raid on a state-controlled salt depot, hoping that the act would force Britain's hand.” NOTE: Shops throughout India closed in protest of Gandhi's arrest, while more than 100,000 of his followers gathered for a mass demonstration the following night. Gandhi's dream of India's independence was finally achieved in August of 1947.

[katcarasella]

Are we going back in time Michelle? That would be so cool.

I know, you're just testing us. Did I pass?

[goofywife]

You passed!!! I don't know where I was this morning.

Originally Posted by katcarasella

Are we going back in time Michelle? That would be so cool.

I know, you're just testing us. Did I pass?

[goofywife]

1961: Shepard is first American in space
Alan B. Shepard Jr., 37, became the first American to reach space today after soaring 115 miles above the earth in a spacecraft named Freedom 7.

"Shepard's blazing 5,000-mile-an-hour flight was only the beginning of American exploration of space, said Hugh Dryden, deputy administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration," the Oakland Tribune reported on May 5, 1961. "Soon, Dryden said, an astronaut will orbit the earth and later travel to the moon and back."

NOTE: After the historic flight, President Kennedy telephoned Shepard to offer his congratulations and said that he looked forward to seeing him. On May 8, Shepard was given a hero's welcome in Washington D.C.


1945: Japanese balloon bomb kills six in U.S.
A balloon carrying a bomb launched by the Japanese exploded near Lakeview, Oregon, today, killing a woman and five children on a fishing trip. The U.S. government did not release the information until several days after the incident. "Undersecretary of war Patterson disclosed today that a mother and five children were killed by a bomb from one of the long range Japanese balloons sporadically attacking the western part of this country," informed The Evening Tribune on May 31, 1945. NOTE: Their deaths were the only recorded fatalities within the U.S. mainland that were caused by an enemy attack during World War II.

1925: Science teacher is arrested for teaching evolution
High school science teacher J.T. Scopes of Dayton, Tennessee, was arrested today for violating a state law that prohibits the teaching of evolution. On May 6, 1925, the Oakland Tribune noted, "The defense will attack the constitutionality of the new law." NOTE: The “Scopes Monkey Trial” became a watershed case in the creation vs. evolution controversy, and ended with Scopes being found guilty and fined $100.00.

1904: Cy Young pitches perfect game
Baseball great Cy Young pitched the first perfect game in the history of modern professional baseball today. "Not for twenty-four years has any pitcher been able to accomplish the feat that big 'Cy' Young of the Boston Americas performed this afternoon -- that of retiring a team in succession without allowing a single man to get to first," explained The Mansfield News on May 6, 1904. NOTE: Prior to the formation of Major League Baseball, there had been other no hit games in the late 1800s.

[DianaB]

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

[AngieDoogles]

Aww, happy sweet sixteen, Jaci!

[Janet]

Originally Posted by DianaB

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

Your baby isn't much of a baby anymore huh Diana? I know how you're feeling..my baby isn't my baby anymore either. They grow up so darn fast.

Happy Birthday Jaci!!!

Hope you have a wonderful day!!!

[goofywife]

1937: Hindenburg bursts into flames
The German dirigible Hindenburg burst into flames and collapsed to the ground today in Lakehurst, New Jersey. The large lighter-than-air ship used hydrogen, a highly explosive gas, for lift.

"Spectators sobbed hysterically at the abrupt disaster in which the Hindenburg had ended her maiden 1937 trip to America," reported the Fitchburg Sentinel on May 6, 1937. "Eighteen trips had been planned this year."

NOTE: Though the explosion was violent, most of the 97 aboard survived. 13 passengers and 22 crewmembers died, as well as one member of the ground crew. Most deaths were from people jumping from the burning ship rather than the fire itself.

1981: Lin wins Vietnam Veterans Memorial design competition
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund awarded a $20,000 prize to Yale architecture student Maya Ying Lin of Athens, Ohio, today for her memorial design, which was chosen for Washington D.C. out of 1,421 entries. NOTE: Lin recently served on the selection jury for the World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition, and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2005.

1910: King Edward VII dies
King Edward VII of Great Britain died today with his family nearby after a brief illness. "The prince of Wales succeeded to the crown immediately, according to the laws of the kingdom, without official ceremony. His first official act was to dispatch to the lord mayor the announcement of his father's death in pursuance of custom," informed The Galveston Daily News on May 7, 1910.

1996: Former CIA director's body is washed ashore
William E. Colby, director of the CIA from 1973 to 1975, was found washed up on a sandbar of the Wicomico River, not far from his vacation home in Maryland. "For the past week, while searchers looked for him in the Wicomico, near where it empties into the Potomac, his widow, Sally Shelton-Colby, had refused to accept the assumption that he had drowned," explained The Intelligencer on May 7, 1996. NOTE: It was believed that Colby, 76, drowned while canoeing on the river.

[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."