Today in History

[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.

[goofywife]

1945: Hitler commits suicide
Adolf Hitler and his wife for one day, Eva Braun, committed suicide today. . Early newspaper reports stated Hitler was thought to have been slain by the Russians or to have died of a stroke, but no mention was made of suicide. It was not until almost two months later that newspapers revealed the couple had made a suicide pact.

"Hitler shot himself through the temple, the chauffer said, while Eva Braun sent a bullet through her heart. Both died almost instantly. The source of this information apparently clarifying the mystery of Hitler's end as overlord of Europe was Erich Kempke, his driver since 1936," reported The Port Arthur News on June 21, 1945. "The bodies of Hitler and his bride were taken out into the chancellory garden, Kempke said, soaked with gasoline and burned."

NOTE: Reports revealed that Hitler and his wife shot themselves while simultaneously biting into a cyanide capsule. Though some remains were discovered, many still believe that Hitler may have faked his death and gone into hiding, and that the remains are inauthentic.

1980: Beatrix crowned queen of Netherlands
Princess Beatrix became queen of the Netherlands today upon the abdication of her mother, Queen Juliana. "Juliana signed the abdication document surrendering the throne at 10 a.m. in the royal palace on Dam Square, and Beatrix, her energetic, 42-year-old eldest daughter, succeeded her, becoming Holland's fourth successive female monarch and its sixth constitutional ruler," explained The Daily Intelligencer on April 30, 1980. NOTE: As the inaugural ceremonies were taking place, rioting erupted in the capital as protesters threw a smoke bomb into a crowd of spectators.

1975: South Vietnam surrenders
The Vietnam War ended today when the Saigon government announced its surrender. "The Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops – jubilant over the unconditional surrender that ended 35 years of war against American, French, Japanese and South Vietnamese forces – seized Saigon Radio and announced they were renaming the South Vietnamese capital 'Ho Chi Minh City,'" informed the Delta Democrat-Times on April 30, 1975. "One by one, the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops overwhelmed the holdouts and gained complete control of all of Saigon. They crashed tanks through the wall at the presidential palace and hoisted a huge Viet Cong flag – red on the top, blue on the bottom with a gold star in the center."

1973: Nixon's top aides resign
Four of President Richard Nixon's closest aides resigned today. "Attorney General Richard G. Kleindienst and three trusted White House aides – H.R. Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman and John W. Dean II – were swept out of office today by the Watergate bugging scandal," reported The Lowell Sun on April 30, 1973. "The resignations came amid growing pressures from within the Republican party for a housecleaning and full disclosure of the facts of administration involvement in the Watergate bugging."

1939: First regular TV service begins in U.S.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt appeared on television today for the opening of the New York World's Fair. His appearance opened the first regular television service in the United States. "Popular television in America, for years a fantasy of dreamers and a problem for scientists, was realized today. President Roosevelt and other guests at the New York World's fair inaugural were among the subjects telecast to homes and radio stores as far as 50 miles away," explained The Helena Independent on May 1, 1939. NOTE: At that time, television could only be broadcast 50 miles from the Empire State Building. Even then, television sets needed to be installed in positions that were in "the line-of-sight route."

[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

[goofywife]

1971: Amtrak service begins

Amtrak, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation created by Congress, began operating 182 passenger trains today despite efforts to delay its official start. The government-backed system was met with criticism since more than 170 passenger trains throughout the U.S. were halted once the Amtrak changeover became effective.

"The corporation was established by Congress last year to establish and maintain a backbone national rail passenger system connecting the nation's principal cities. This came in the face of mounting railroad requests to get rid of passenger trains being operated at losses running $200 million a year," reported the Iowa City Press-Citizen on May 1, 1971.

NOTE: Even after cutting service to nearly half of the U.S.'s railroad passenger trains, Amtrak expected to lose $110 million within the first year of operation. The organization had hoped to achieve financial independence by 1974, but has not to this day.

1999: Mercury capsule from 1961 is discovered

The Liberty Bell 7, which sank after Gus Grissom's manned space flight on July 21, 1961, was found today by an underwater salvage team. "The only U.S. spacecraft ever lost following a successful mission, the capsule is still shiny in spots with an intact window and the name 'Liberty Bell 7' clearly printed beneath it," informed The Intelligencer on May 3, 1999.

1967: Elvis marries Priscilla

Elvis Presley, 32, married his longtime girlfriend, Priscilla Ann Beaulieu, 21, at a Las Vegas hotel today. Elvis met Priscilla, the daughter of a lieutenant colonel, when he was serving in the army in Germany in 1959. "With the life I had, I decided it would be best to wait (to marry). You know, all the shows and record engagements," Elvis told reporters in 1967.

1931: Empire State Building formally opens

The Empire State Building formally opened today when President Hoover pressed a button in the telegraph room at the White House which turned on the lights. "On the site of the old Waldorf-Astoria hotel, at Thirty-fourth street and Fifth avenue, it reaches nearly a quarter of a mile in the sky. In the words of former Governor Smith it is 'the tallest thing in the world today created by the hand of man,'" explained The Gettysburg Times on May 2, 1931.

1900: Hundreds of miners killed in Utah

A powder explosion at the No. 4 mine in Scofield, Utah, killed more than 200 people today. "The appalling nature of the disaster had not fully dawned upon the people of this place last night, as the company kept the grief stricken wives and children away from the scene of operation. All night long lights were kept burning in every home in Scofield and winter quarters and the moans of mothers and the piteous cries of the many orphans are heart-rending," reported the Reno Evening Gazette on May 2, 1900.

1893: World's Fair opens in Chicago

The Columbian Exposition, a World's Fair held as a tribute to the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' discovery of the New World, opened today in Chicago. "Every great nation of the Old World was represented at today's ceremonies. England, Germany, France, Italy and Spain had their officials there, men of travel and experience, who have studied every great exposition of modern times, and they will see the glories of the last and greatest European one, eclipsed and diminished," informed the Davenport Daily Leader on May 1, 1893. "Within reach of Paris there are six millions of people to the one million within the same reach of Chicago, yet this country has so far spent double as much money upon its great Columbian fair as France did upon its late exposition. The tremendous confidence and hopefulness of the Americans is made clear by this fact alone." NOTE: The fair was known as the Great White City since the exposition buildings were based on classical architecture and made out of a material resembling marble.

[katcarasella]

1893: World's Fair opens in Chicago

My Maternal Grandmother was 4 yrs old and went to it.

http://parallel.park.org/Guests/WWWvoice/1893chi.html

[goofywife]

1946: Riots erupt at Alcatraz
Inmates Bernard Paul Coy, Joseph Paul Cretzer, Sam Shockley, Clarence Carnes, Marvin Franklin Hubbard and Miran Edgar Thompson started a riot today in Alcatraz prison after a failed escape attempt. Coy, whose prison job was to clean the gun galleries, had reportedly thrown a master switch to open the cells. He overpowered a guard to gain access to weapons.

"The fiercest prison mutiny in the Nation's history was uncontrolled in its second day as besiegers on Alcatraz island began lobbing 60-millimeter mortar shells into the barricaded cell-block and indicated that chemical warfare would be the next move against the convict holdouts," reported The Oakland Tribune on May 3, 1946. "Attacking U.S. Marines and prison guards already had used bazooka guns, demolition bombs, fragmentation hand grenades and other weapons of war in their all-out assault against the convict insurrectionists, barricaded in two separate parts of the cell block."

NOTE: The rioting, which is now called the Battle of Alcatraz, lasted two days. When it was over, two officers and three prisoners were killed, while 14 guards and two inmates were wounded.

1972: J. Edgar Hoover dies
J. Edgar Hoover, the infamous director of the FBI, died today of heart disease at the age of 77. "Hoover, the nation's chief law officer for 48 years, had become a legend in the United States, an 'untouchable' who shaped the FBI into a massive, powerful agency," explained The Lowell Sun on May 2, 1972. "The jut-jawed FBI head was permitted by presidential order to continue in his $42,500-a-year government job after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70. Hoover, unmarried, dominated the bureau during his lifetime like no man in any other federal agency. Wielding vast power, he was said to lavish on the FBI the pride and possessiveness of a stern and watchful parent."


1955: Williams and Faulkner win Pulitzers
"William Faulkner and Tennessee Williams, two writers who have captured many of the top writing awards of the last decade, Monday received Pulitzer prizes," informed The Daily Register on May 3, 1955. "Faulkner won the prize for 'A Fable,' the novel of trench life in World War I which took him nine years to write. Williams won his second Pulitzer prize for the play 'Cat On A Hot Tin Roof,' a drama about a twisted Mississippi plantation family."

1952: First commercial jet flights begin
The De Havilland Comet, the world's first commercial jet airliner, took its inaugural flight today. "The sleek blue and white, four-engine jet liner, carrying a full load of 36 paying passengers, a crew of six and 30 bags of mail, left London airport at 3:14 p.m.," reported the Long Beach Press-Telegram on May 2, 1952. "With stops at Rome, Beirut, Khartoum in the Sudan, Entebbe in Uganda and Livingston in Rhodesia, it is due at Johannesburg in 23 hours and 40 minutes, slicing about one-third from the present commercial air travel time for the 6724-mile trip."

1945: Soviets announce fall of Berlin
The Soviet Union proclaimed the capture of Berlin today. "The announcement was made by the Moscow radio which declared that 70,000 Germans were captured in the cleanup of the city. Stalin's order described the capital as the center of German imperialism. He said the German garrison defending Berlin had laid down its arms today and resistance had ceased at 3 p.m.," reported The Sheboygan Press on May 2, 1945. NOTE: The battle for Berlin began on April 16, 1945, and by the time the battle was over, Adolf Hitler had committed suicide.


1939: Lou Gehrig is benched
Lou Gehrig's streak of 2,130 consecutive Major League games came to an end today when he was benched for what he called "the good of the team." On May 3, 1939, the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune explained, "Lou Gehrig, the pressure off at last, sits on the Yankee bench for the first time in nearly 14 years and watches another, younger man play first base for the three-time world champions. It must have been a cruelly hard decision for the old 'Iron Horse' to make, when he told Manager Joe McCarthy he was ready to call it a career after 2,130 consecutive games."

[katcarasella]

May 2, 2007 at 5:27 P.M. Donald M. Carasella (Pete) went Home to Jesus.......

[goofywife]

1944: Rationing ends for most meats

All meats, except for beef steaks and beef roasts, are available ration free in the U.S. as of midnight today, the Office of Price Administration announced during World War II. The OPA also said that the monthly allotment for red points, which are needed to purchase butter, margarine, cheese, evaporated milk, beef steaks and roasts, would be cut in half, giving citizens less of these staples.

"Announcement that the Office of Price Administration has suspended the point-rationing system for all kinds of meat, with the exception of choice cuts and roast of beef, brings to an end one of the least glorious battles on the home front – the battle of the butcher shop," an editorial in the Valley Morning Star explained on May 12, 1944. "In a world which was visibly tottering under the weight of an atrocious assault on free institutions, a world in which whole races were being systematically exterminated and in which whole innocent and unoffending nations had been overrun and starved, the self-appointed spokesmen the American people acted as though the worst atrocity of all time was a system which limited their right to buy as much meat as they chose and at as high prices as they could afford."

NOTE: According to OPA Administrator Chester A. Bowles, rationing restrictions changed due to reduced Army and Navy demand, the stopping of lend-lease pork buying and the hope that more meat would be brought to the market over the summer.

1979: Thatcher wins Britain's general election

Margaret Thatcher, leader of Britain's Conservative Party, won today's general election to become the country's first female prime minister. "Though Mrs. Thatcher was withholding a victory statement until the 318 seats for majority were declared, the pro-Tory London evening papers pushed her into the premiership," explained The Daily Intelligencer on May 4, 1979.

1975: Ford commissions USS Nimitz

President Ford commissioned the 95,000-ton aircraft carrier USS Nimitz today in Norfolk, Virginia. "When she has taken board an air wing of 100 tactical aircraft, the Nimitz will be not only the largest but the most powerful surface warship in the world, according to Navy sources," informed The Post Crescent on May 4, 1975. "Powered by two nuclear reactors, she is designed to operate for 13 years without refueling." NOTE: The carrier, which was the first in a class of ships, was also considered one of the largest symbols of the "new U.S. Navy" that was slowly replacing older ships.

1971: Thousands of anti-war demonstrators arrested in Washington

More than 6,000 people were arrested in Washington D.C. today when war protesters tried to disrupt commuter traffic and march on the Pentagon. "Three hours after sunrise, more than 3,000 protesters had been arrested by flying squads of policemen wielding billy clubs and firing volley after volley of tear gas. National Guardsmen were deployed to aid police, and helicopters filled with about 200 Marines landed on the Washington Monument grounds," reported The Newport Daily News on May 3, 1971.

1948: Neighborhood covenants barring minorities deemed unenforceable

In two 6 to 0 decisions today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that private neighborhood covenants that prohibit the sale of real estate to people of a certain race can be voluntarily carried out, but they are not legally enforceable. "In Washington, Thurman L. Dodson, president of the National Bar Association, composed of some 900 Negro lawyers, described the opinions as 'a notable achievement in the Negro's perennial struggle to eradicate his second-class citizenship status,'" the Long Beach Press-Telegram explained on May 4, 1948. NOTE: It wasn't until the Fair Housing Act was enacted on April 11, 1968, that racial discrimination was prohibited in the sale and rental of U.S. residential housing.

1923: Non-stop transcontinental flight is made

Lieutenants John MacReady and Oakley Kelly became the first to fly an airplane non-stop across the U.S. when they landed in San Diego today. "Thousands of cheering people who had stood on the streets through the morning awaiting the coming of the transcontinental flyers felt a thrill of pride in the newest accomplishment of American aviators," reported the Modesto Evening News on May 3, 1923. NOTE: The plane, which left Hempstead, New York, was in the air for over 26 hours.

1999 Oklahoma/Kansas Tornado Outbreak

A total of 74 tornadoes touched down across the two states in less than 21 hours. At one point, there were as many as four tornadoes reported on the ground at the same time. The strongest tornado, rated a maximum F-5 on the Fujita Tornado Scale, tracked for nearly an hour and a half along a 38-mile path from Chickasha through south Oklahoma City and the suburbs of Bridge Creek, Newcastle, Moore, Midwest City and Del City.

As the skies cleared, the states counted 46 dead and 800 injured, more than 8000 homes damaged or destroyed, and total property damage of nearly $1.5 billion.

Despite these grim statistics, there were significantly fewer losses because of applied knowledge and new technologies developed through years of tornado research by NOAA scientists. The National Severe Storms Laboratory and other NOAA Research laboratories and joint institutes helped develop some of the primary tools used by the National Weather Service to forecast and nowcast the Oklahoma/ Kansas tornado outbreak. These tools include the NEXRAD Doppler radar, the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System, the Warning Decision Support System and NOAA's Profiler Network.

NOAA's effort to modernize the National Weather Service paid off in this single event. Researchers estimate that more than 600 lives were saved as a result of timely and accurate warnings and the public's knowledge of tornado safety.

[katcarasella]

May 3, 1927 Roger B Smith, my Dad was born.

[Janet]

I'm glad he was so we could now have you!

[katcarasella]

Originally Posted by Janet

I'm glad he was so we could now have you!

Aww, that is so sweet

WHAT ARE YOU UP TO NOW?????

[Janet]

Keep wondering.....

[katcarasella]

Michelle is gonna get mad because you're littering up her thread,
I on the other hand only put in useful tidbits about myself.
HELP SOMEONE SHE'S DRIVING ME NUTS.

[Janet]

No one will save you now my pretty!!!!

[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.