Today in History

[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."

[goofywife]

1969: Last Star Trek episode airs

The last original Star Trek segment aired today. "In it a scorned woman (and you know all about them), trades bodies with Captain Kirk and convinces the crew that he (or should it be she?) is insane. If it sounds complicated, it is. But count on William Shatner to give a good performance," reported The Valley Independent on June 3, 1969.

While Star Trek fans were able to save Gene Roddenberry's 1968-1969 season of the show after thousands of letters protested the cancellation, network authorities said letters would not bring the show back for the 1969-1970 season. The show became one of the most successful rerun syndications in television history.

"Since that dark day in 1969 when NBC brought the programming hammer down on 'Star Trek,' there probably hasn't been a 24-hour period when the original program, one of the original episodes, wasn't being broadcast somewhere," explained the Chronicle Telegram on December 20, 1987.

1968: Andy Warhol is shot

Artist and filmmaker Andy Warhol was shot in his New York studio today by actress Valerie Solanas, who starred in Warhol's film I, A Man. "Doctors said today Warhol had a '50-50' chance of surviving," informed the Bucks County Courier Times on June 4, 1968. "Miss Solanas, who last year placed an ad in a Greenwich Village weekly, The Village Voice, announcing formation of 'The Society for Cutting up Men' (SCUM), said she shot Warhol because he 'had too much control of my life.'" NOTE: Although Warhol recovered, his injuries and the trauma of the event continue to affect him for the rest of his life. Solanas pleaded guilty to attempted murder, was sentenced to three years in prison, on her release was again prosecuted for harassing Warhol, and spent the rest of her life in and out of mental hospitals.

1965: White walks in space

Connected to Gemini 4 by a tether, astronaut Edward H. White II became the first American to walk in space today. "Part of today's plan called for White and his command pilot, James A. McDivitt to pretend they are returning from a moon trip and try to orient themselves visually by spotting landmarks such as the Florida Peninsula," reported The Post Crescent on June 4, 1965. "White stayed alone in space for 20 minutes, double the time spent by a Soviet cosmonaut last March, and had to be coaxed back into the capsule by McDivitt, who followed peremptory commands barked into space from mission control in Houston."

1963: Pope John XXIII dies of stomach cancer

Less than five years into his papacy, Pope John XXIII, born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, died of stomach cancer today at age 81. "The tributes to Pope John XXIII came today from the high and the humble, the religious and the not so religious - and they all sounded the same basic theme. He was a good man," explained The Daily Messenger on June 4, 1963. NOTE: In the fall of 1962, Pope John XXIII convened the first general council of the Church - known as Vatican II - in almost a century. He was succeeded by Pope Paul VI.

[goofywife]

1998: Nichols sentenced for bombing
Terry Nichols, accomplice to Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, was sentenced to life in prison today after he was convicted of manslaughter for the 1995 terrorist attack., which killed 168 people on April 19, 1995.

"The jury deadlocked over whether to give him the death penalty on the conspiracy conviction, so sentencing fell to [Judge] Matsch, who under law could impose no more than the sentence he did," reported the Syracuse Herald Journal on June 5, 1998. "The judge didn't just impose a sentence. As Nichols sat without visible emotion, Matsch called him an 'enemy of the Constitution' and ridiculed the bombing plot as a vain attempt to throw the nation into chaos."

NOTE: Six years after his federal sentencing, Nichols was also found guilty of 161 counts of first-degree murder by the state of Oklahoma. He received 161 consecutive life terms without parole for these crimes.

2003: Martha Stewart is indicted
Claiming her innocence and promising to fight to "clear my name," 61-year-old Martha Stewart and her stockbroker Peter Bacanovic were indicted on nine criminal counts today, including obstruction of justice, securities fraud, and conspiracy in relation to the ImClone stock scandal. Just hours later, Stewart announced her resignation. "The queen of home décor resigned late Wednesday as chairwoman and CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, the company she used to stamp her style on everything from magazines and TV screens to bed linens and bath towels," informed The Valley Independent on June 5, 2003. NOTE: Stewart spent five months in prison after being convicted on March 5, 2004.

1989: Tiananmen Square Massacre
The student protests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, were brought to a violent halt this morning by the Chinese military. Martial law was originally declared on May 20, but the sheer number of protesters halted the army’s entry into Beijing. Soldiers and tanks were finally ordered to take the city, moving in late at night on June 3 and early on June 4. Soldiers arriving on armored personnel carriers began the attack, firing into crowds and clearing the square with fixed bayonets. Tiananmen Square was emptied by 6:00 a.m., after the death of hundreds of protesters. NOTE: The true number of dead is not known; the Chinese government reported between 200 and 300, while the Chinese Red Cross reported the loss of 2,000 to 3,000.

1984: Springsteen releases best-selling album
Bruce Springsteen released Born in the U.S.A. today, his seventh studio album. Just one month after its release, the album reached number one on Billboard's 200 Chart. Although it would become Springsteen's best-selling album, newspaper reviews were mixed. "Springsteen's great talents as a storyteller and wordsmith are not evident in his new songs; what he says he has said before – and better – on previous albums," explained one review in The Post-Standard on June 22, 1984. NOTE: The album went on to sell more than 15 million copies in the United States alone.

1944: Rome falls to Allies
The Allied forces captured their first Axis capital, Rome, today. “American troops entered the city limits of Rome yesterday while the whole civilized world waited to see whether the Germans would seriously defend it and so make a battleground of the venerated capital,” reported the London Stars and Stripes on June 5, 1944. NOTE: The Germans declared Rome an “open city,” meaning that it would not be defended. Allied forces marched through the city and pursued the Axis forces north.

1919: U.S. Congress approves 19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was approved by Congress today. "With the passage by the Senate of the resolution proposing the Susan B. Anthony suffrage amendment to the Constitution, the 40 years' fight for universal suffrage is brought to an end, so far as Congress is concerned," reported The Washington Post on June 6, 1919. "The final decision now rests with the States, and it is confidently predicted that the legislatures of the necessary three-fourths of the States will ratify the amendment within a comparatively short time." NOTE: The amendment was ratified just over one year later, on August 18, 1920.