Today in History

[goofywife]

1974: Police raid SLA hideout

Police today raided a Los Angeles home, seeking leaders of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) , a terrorist group known kidnapping newspaper heiress Patty Hearst. Group members had also committed several murders and bank robberies, as well as other acts of violence.

"Five bodies were found inside a south-central Los Angeles house after flak-jacketed police hoping to trap members of the Symbionese Liberation Army waged an hour-long gun battle with those inside," reported The Capital on May 18, 1974. "Hundreds of police and FBI agents had massed in the south-central Los Angeles area in hopes of trapping SLA members believed to have taken refuge in the area. The SLA claims responsibility for the Feb. 4 kidnapping of Miss Hearst."

NOTE: During the exchange of gunfire, the house was virtually destroyed by a blaze. Patty Hearst, who was found in September of 1975 and later convicted of armed robbery, was not inside the home during the raid.

1992: Lawrence Welk dies

"Lawrence Welk, the smiling maestro whose danceable 'champagne music' entertained millions of Americans during his 30 years on television, has died. He was 89," informed The Gettysburg Times on May 19, 1992. "The affable, German-accented bandleader toured the country for 25 years early in his career without making much impression in the music business. But from the time he appeared on Los Angeles television in 1951, his lilting music attracted an adoring audience, mostly those of mature years. He appeared on television regularly until 1982."

1978: Charlie Chaplin's stolen coffin is found

The body of Charlie Chaplin was found today, more than two months after it was taken from its burial spot and held for ransom. "The two men who stole Charlie Chaplin's body said they got the idea from news reports about grave robbers in Italy who collected ransom for the body of a prominent Italian," reported the Bucks County Courier Times on May 18, 1978. "The 300-pound oak coffin containing the body of the famed film comedian was found yesterday buried in a cornfield 10 miles from the village cemetery of Corsier-Sur-Vevey where Chaplin was buried Dec. 27. Police said the body had not been touched."

1973: Watergate probe begins

The United States Senate began televised hearings on the Watergate scandal today. "A tribunal of seven senators opened historic hearings into the Watergate scandal, and an aide in President Nixon's reelection campaign testified there was no doubt that final political authority rested with the White House," reported the Syracuse Herald Journal on May 17, 1973. "The leadoff witness, Robert C. Odle Jr., who served as director of administration at the Committee for the Re-Election of the President, said he did not know of political sabotage or surveillance by that organization." NOTE: The hearings would eventually reveal corruption within the highest levels of the U.S. government and result in Nixon’s resignation.

1954: U.S. outlaws segregation in schools

The United States Supreme Court ruled unanimously today in the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education, outlawing racial segregation in public schools. The decision overturned the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling that created the "separate but equal" justification, which established the segregation of public facilities. "Speaking for a unanimous court, Chief Justice Earl Warren said education must be available to all on an equal basis," explained The Charleston Daily Mail on May 17, 1954. "The decision, a sweeping victory for Negroes, is probably the most important in U.S. race relations since the famous Dred Scott decision of 1857, which held that a Negro was not a citizen. The Civil War reversed that decision."

[Janet]

ooooohh these were all interesting to read.

[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.

[goofywife]

I was in Basic training at Ft Jackson SC when this happened. We had a girl in the barracks from that area.

[teri88]

Hey, where is May 19th? I miss my Today In History!

[Dobie]

Hello - what happened to the last 2 days?

[katcarasella]

She got tangled up in one of Katy's Bows.