Today in History

[goofywife]

Sorry Ladies, I have my regular job, one web site and 400 bows on my plate. But I am catching up!

[goofywife]

1994: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis dies
Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis died today of cancer at the age of 64. Jackie, as she was popularly called, was renowned for her grace and sophistication. She married John F. Kennedy in 1953 when she was 24. Five years after his assassination, she became the wife of shipping mogul Aristotle Onassis.

"Her exquisite style epitomized a presidency; her stoic dignity carried the nation through the assassination that cut it short," reported the Daily Herald on May 20, 1994. "And in the years that followed Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' glamour sustained the tattered myth of an American Camelot. There were women who had more money, more fame or more class, but there was nobody like her. In the end Jackie O was more than a thin, beautiful socialite with a soft little voice. She was more than the wife and widow of a president, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and a Greek tycoon, Aristotle Onassis. She married fame and wealth, but earned respect and admiration."

NOTE: From 1978 until her death, Jackie worked as an editor for Doubleday. She and Kennedy had two children, John Jr. and Caroline. John Jr. died on July 16, 1999, when his plane went down into the ocean off the coast of Martha's Vineyard.

1982: Sophia Loren imprisoned for tax evasion
Actress Sophia Loren began serving a 30-day prison sentence in Italy today, after a court found her guilty of failing to report five million lire on her income tax return for 1970. "I'm very worried about the time I will have to spend in jail," she told reporters at the Rome airport in 1982. While Loren filed a petition for pardon with President Sandro Pertini, saying her accountants made an error, the actress and her husband, producer Carlo Ponti, had been under investigation for tax and currency violations for quite some time. NOTE: In 1977, finance police nabbed Loren before she caught a flight to Paris and detained her for nine hours at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci Airport. Prior to that, 10 Italian police agents searched the couple's villa in Rome for seven hours without giving a reason for the search.

1971: Soviet Union launches Mars 2
The Soviet Union launched its second Mars probe today. The first mission was launched in 1962, but failed to reach the Red Planet. "A five-ton Soviet rocket hurled through space today on a six-month unmanned voyage to Mars. It was the Soviets' second expedition to explore the Red Planet. At Cape Kennedy, America's Martian probe, Mariner, sat on the launch pad, its firing postponed indefinitely for the second time since May 8 for additional tests on a control unit," Bucks County Courier Times reported on May 20, 1971.

1962: Kennedy ‘Birthday Salute’More than 15,000 people gathered in New York’s Madison Square Garden for the 42nd birthday of President John F. Kennedy. Marilyn Monroe, in a sheer dress with 2,500 rhinestones sewn in, sang a now-famous sultry version of “Happy Birthday to You.” “As Miss Monroe, in a slinky white dress, sang her version of ‘Happy Birthday,’ two chefs carried around the arena a five-foot birthday cake, sparkling with 45 blue candles. The President actually won’t be 45 until May 29,” explained the Independent Record on May 20, 1962.

1897: Oscar Wilde set free
Playwright Oscar Wilde was set free today after serving two years in Reading Gaol Prison on charges of indecency. The North Adams Transcript noted, "Oscar Wilde, sentenced May 25, 1895, was released from prison today. He goes to Paris but will return and engage in literary work over his own signature. One of his first acts on regaining freedom was to refuse £1,000 for the story of his prison experiences." NOTE: Wilde wrote a letter entitled De Profundis to former lover Lord Alfred Douglas while in prison, and later wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol about his experience there.

[goofywife]

1927: Lindbergh begins trans-Atlantic flight
Aviator Charles Lindbergh attempted a non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean today in a gray monoplane. Lindbergh began his flight at Roosevelt Field in Long Island shortly before 8 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

"Government vessels and steamships are watching for the intrepid American, but are not expected to sight him until he swings his airplane off the coast of Newfoundland," reported the Oakland Tribune on May 20, 1927.

NOTE: After flying 33 ½ hours, Lindbergh arrived at Le Bourget Field in France to become the first man ever to fly solo from New York to Paris.

1989: Comedian Gilda Radner dies of cancer
Gilda Radner, an original star of Saturday Night Live, died of cancer today at the age of 42. "As the obnoxious, nasal-voiced TV news commentator Roseanna Roseannadana, her catch-phrase was 'It's always something,' which became the title of her book on cancer," explained the Chronicle Telegram on May 21, 1989.

1932: Earhart takes off for Europe
Amelia Earhart Putnam began her historic solo flight across the Atlantic today on the anniversary of Charles Lindbergh's famous flight. "Lindbergh's was the first solo flight across the Atlantic. The woman flier was the first trans-Atlantic woman passenger. She hopes to be the first woman to make the solo flight," reported The Vidette-Messenger on May 20, 1932. NOTE: While Earhart did not land in Paris as planned, she successfully made it across the Atlantic alone.

1902: U.S. ends occupation of Cuba
"Secretary of State Hay took final steps today of acquainting the nations that the United States government has redeemed its pledge to make free the people of Cuba," informed in the Davenport Daily Republican on May 21, 1902. "This was done by cabling every capital where there is a resident, either ambassador or minister for the United States, of an identical note informing our representatives that the military occupation ceased and that an independent government, republican in form, had been inaugurated there, under the presidency of Tomas Estrada Palma."

[goofywife]

1932: Amelia Earhart lands in Ireland
Amelia Earhart Putnam became the first woman to make a successful trans-Atlantic solo flight after she landed her black and red monoplane in Northern Ireland today. While she originally planned to arrive in Paris, she was forced to cut her flight short due to mechanical

"Mrs. Putnam said she decided to land in Ireland because of a slight leakage of gasoline, she feared she might not be able to reach Paris without a mishap and elected to make a safe landing," reported the New Castle News on May 21, 1932.

NOTE: According to newspaper reports from 1932, Earhart immediately telephoned London after landing in Ireland in order to get a message to her husband, George Palmer Putnam, about her success. Earhart's achievement came on the fifth anniversary of the trans-Atlantic flight of Col. Charles A. Lindbergh.

1972: Michelangelo's Pieta is damaged
Michelangelo's famous sculpture Pieta in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City was damaged today after mentally disturbed Laszlo Toth attacked it with a hammer. "The statue, completed by Michelangelo in 1500, was shipped to New York World's Fair in April 1964, reportedly insured for $10 million against damage in transit. After its return to the Vatican Pope Paul VI declared that it never again would leave its place in St. Peter's," informed the Independent read on May 22, 1972. NOTE: Toth was not charged with the crime, but instead committed to a psychiatric institution for two years.

1945: Humphrey Bogart marries Lauren Bacall
Hollywood's Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart married today during a simple ceremony on a farm in Ohio. "Miss Bacall recited the vows, her voice a little more husky than usual. Bogart, on his fourth trip to the altar, spoke softly but with precision," explained The Fresno Bee Republican on May 21, 1945. NOTE: The couple remained married until Bogart’s death in 1957.

1927: Lindbergh arrives in Paris
Aviator Charles Lindbergh arrived at Le Bourget Field in France today after flying 33 1/2 hours solo from New York. "He was the first man ever to fly from New York to Paris and as the wheels of Lindbergh's monoplane touched the ground the dream of airmen that the North American and European continents should be linked in non-stop airplane flight was realized," reported the Stevens Point Daily Journal on May 21, 1927.

1917: Fire devastates Atlanta
A horrific fire destroyed much of Atlanta today as flames engulfed almost 2,000 homes in 75 blocks. "It was the greatest fire in Atlanta's history since civil war days when General Sherman, terming this city the backbone of the confederacy, decreed it must be burned," explained The La Crosse Tribune and Leader-Press on May 22, 1917. NOTE: The fire, which started with in a stack of burning mattresses, only resulted in one death: a woman who suffered a heart attack after watching her home burn to the ground.

[teri88]

thanks Michelle!

[katcarasella]

Today in History - May 30

Today is Friday, May 30, the 151st day of 2008. There are 215 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On May 30, 1958, unidentified American service members killed in World War II and the Korean War were interred in the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.
On this date:
In 1431, Joan of Arc, condemned as a heretic, was burned at the stake in Rouen, France.
In 1854, the territories of Nebraska and Kansas were established.
In 1883, 12 people were trampled to death when a rumor that the recently opened Brooklyn Bridge was in imminent danger of collapsing triggered a stampede.
In 1908, "the man of a thousand voices," Mel Blanc, was born in San Francisco.
In 1911, Indianapolis saw its first long-distance auto race; Ray Harroun was the winner.
In 1922, the Lincoln Memorial was dedicated in Washington by President Harding, Chief Justice William Howard Taft and Robert Todd Lincoln.
In 1937, 10 people were killed when police fired on steelworkers demonstrating near the Republic Steel plant in South Chicago.
In 1943, American forces secured the Aleutian island of Attu from the Japanese during World War II.
In 1971, the American space probe Mariner 9 blasted off from Cape Kennedy, Fla., on a journey to Mars.
In 1986, 21 elderly passengers were killed when a tour bus went out of control on a mountain road and plunged into the Walker River near the California-Nevada border.
Ten years ago: Northern Afghanistan was rocked by a powerful earthquake believed to have killed up to 5,000 people. A tornado tore through Spencer, S.D., killing six people. Pakistan set off another nuclear blast.
Five years ago: President Bush left for a weeklong tour of Europe and the Middle East. The U.N. Security Council unanimously authorized the deployment of a French-led international force in northeastern Congo, the scene of ethnic fighting.
One year ago: The Taliban claimed responsibility for shooting down a Chinook helicopter over southern Afghanistan, killing five U.S. soldiers, a Canadian and a Briton. A Saudi being held at the Guantanamo Bay prison since 2002 was found dead, an apparent suicide.
Today's Birthdays: Country musician Johnny Gimble is 82. Actor Clint Walker is 81. Actor Keir Dullea is 72. Actress Ruta Lee is 72. Actor Michael J. Pollard is 69. Rock musician Lenny Davidson (The Dave Clark Five) is 64. Actor Stephen Tobolowsky is 57. Actor Colm Meaney is 55. Actor Ted McGinley is 50. Actor Ralph Carter is 47. Actress Tonya Pinkins is 46. Country singer Wynonna Judd is 44. Rock musician Tom Morello (Audioslave; Rage Against The Machine) is 44. Movie director Antoine Fuqua is 43. Rock musician Patrick Dahlheimer (Live) is 37. Actress Idina Menzel is 37. Actor Trey Parker is 36. Rapper Cee-Lo is 34. Rapper Remy Ma is 28. Actor Blake Bashoff is 27.
Thought for Today: "There are two statements about human beings that are true: that all human beings are alike, and that all are different. On those two facts all human wisdom is founded." — Mark Van Doren, American poet (1894-1972).

TODAY: 1st Annual 4 WT Meet-up

[goofywife]

1966: Surveyor lands on moon

Surveyor 1 landed on the moon's surface today, marking the United States' first successful soft landing on the moon.. The spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral on May 30 and landed on the moon 63 hours and a quarter million miles later.

"Surveyor 1, defying longshot odds against a first-try success, televised earthward today striking photos of the lunar landscape after a seemingly perfect gentle landing on the moon,” reported the Modesto Bee and News-Herald on June 2, 1966. “The pictures indicated to scientific viewers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory that the Sea of Storms target area has a relatively smooth, hard surface apparently suitable as a possible descent point for future astronauts."

NOTE: The spacecraft carried two television cameras and transmitted more than 11,000 images to the Earth. It continued to send data from the moon until July 14, 1966. For more information about space

1953: Elizabeth II is crowned queen

On a damp and cool day in London, Elizabeth II was crowned Great Britain's queen during a coronation ceremony full of pomp and pageantry at Westminster Abbey. As the Archbishop of Canterbury placed the five-pound jewel-encrusted crown of St. Edward upon her head, symbolizing her formal accession, four-year-old Charles watched his mother with awe as he sucked his thumb. "The coronation of Elizabeth II was the mightiest pageant of our generation, and it was many other things: It was the Middle Ages marching confidently through the 20th Century, an old way of life holding its own in a new way of life, the weaving of ancient threads into a fresh pattern," explained The Ada Evening News on June 2, 1953.

1935: Babe Ruth retires

Babe Ruth announced his retirement from baseball today. He quit the Braves after having an argument with the president of the team, Judge Emil Fuchs. "A seething mountain of a man was George Herman Ruth today, but all the arguments in the world, all the hot words, bitter recriminations that have passed between him and the Boston Braves couldn't hide this epochal line for baseball's history: Babe Ruth is all done," reported The Oshkosh Northwestern on June 4, 1935.

1886: President Cleveland marries in White House

U.S. President Grover Cleveland became the only president to wed in the White House today. He married 21-year-old Frances Folsom, the daughter of his former law partner. On June 4, 1886, The Semi Weekly Age explained, "It was a great event because of the exalted position of the groom - the Chief Magistrate of a nation of 60,000,000 people, and because it was the first wedding of the kind that has ever occurred under the roof of the Executive Mansion."