Embedded Files
By: Talan G.
By: Talan G.
May
May
May 1st, 1999-The body of British mountaineer George Mallory was found on mount Everest about 75 years after he and Andrew Irvine disappeared while attempting to be the first people to reach the summit.
May 2nd, 1939- Lou Gehrig’s 2,130 game streak ended, setting a record that would stand until 1995, when it was broken by Cal Ripken Jr.
May 3rd, 1979- Margaret Thatcher was elected the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, becoming the first woman in Europe to hold that post.
May 4th, 1970- An anti-Vietnam War demonstration at Kent State University turned deadly when the Ohio National Guard shot four unarmed students, injuring nine others.
May 5th, 1961- Alan Shephard Jr. became the first American to travel into space after he made a 15 minute suborbital flight in the Freedom 7 spacecraft.
May 6th, 1937- While landing in Lakehurst, New Jersey, the Hindenburg burst into flames on its first Transatlantic flight of the year, killing 36 of the 97 people on board.
May 7th, 1915- A German U-boat sank the Lusitania, a passenger liner that was carrying supplies and weapons, killing over 1,000 people, over 100 of which were Americans. This also indirectly contributed to the United States involvement in WW1.
May 8th, 1945- WW2 in Europe ended following Germany’s unconditional surrender on this day at midnight. The War in the Pacific continued until Japan surrendered in September.
May 9th, 1502- Master navigator and admiral Christopher Columbus set sail from Cadiz, Spain, on his fourth and final voyage, hoping to find passage to Asia.
May 10th, 1994- Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as President of South Africa after he was released from 30 years of prison for his efforts to end apartheid.
May 11th, 1943- During WWII, U.S. troops invaded the Aleutian Islands, which were captured by Japan in 1942.
May 12th, 1949- The soviet Union lifted its blockade of Berlin.
May 13, 1981- Pope John Paul II survived an assasination attempt in St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City, where he was shot and wounded by Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turkish nationalist.
May 14, 1948- The Jewish People’s Council proclaimed the founding of the State of Israel, precipitating the first Arab-Israeli war.
May 15, 1940- Maurice and RIchard McDonald opened a drive-through restaurant that gave rise to the fast food chain McDonald’s.
May 16, 1943- Nazi troops quelled the monthlong Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, where Polish Jews led by Mordecai Anielewicz and the Jewish Fighting Organization, resisted deportation to the Treblinka extermination camp.
May 17, 1954- Segregation in schools was outlawed by the U.S. government after Thurgood Marshall scored a landmark victory in Brown Vs. Board of Education, where the Supreme Court voted unanimously in his favor.
May 18, 1980- Mt. St. Helens in Washington State erupted following a magnitude 5.1 earthquake and is one of the largest volcanic explosions ever recorded in North America.
May 19, 1802- Napoleon created the Legion of Honour, the premier order of the French Republic.
May 20, 1882-Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy secretly formed a Triple Alliance, a treaty organization that provided for mutual protection against attacks by other European powers until Italy entered WW1.
May 21, 1927- Charles Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight across the Atlantic ocean, traveling from New York to Paris in the monoplane Spirit of St. Louis in about 33.5 hours.
May 22, 2011- One of the deadliest tornadoes in U.S. history struck Joplin, Missouri, causing massive damage and killing some 160 people.
May 23, 1934- Bonnie and Clyde, notorious American outlaws, were killed in a police shootout near Gibsland, Louisiana.
May 24, 1856- A group of Abolitionists led by John Brown launched a nighttime raid on a proslavery settlement at Pottawatomie Creek in the Kansas Territory, killing five pro slave catchers.
May 25, 1977- George Lucas’s Star Wars was released, launching one of the most successful and influential franchises in motion picture history.
May 26, 1940- During WWII, the British began to evacuate troops out of Dunkirk, France.
May 27, 1941- The British Naval fleet sank the largest battleship of its time, the Bismark after chasing it south towards France.
May 28, 1804- Napoleon Bonaparte Proclaimed the establishment of the French Empire.
May 29, 1953- Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay submitted Mt. Everest after numerous failed attempts by other climbers.
May 30, 1431- Joan of Arc, having led the French army to victory over England at Orleans during the hundred years war, was charged with heresy and witchcraft, and was burned at the stake.
May 31, 1962- Adolf Eichmann, a German official, was hanged by the Israeli government after escaping from a prison camp in 1946 and spending 14 years in hiding. He was killed for his part in exterminating Jews during WWII.
April
April
April 1, 1976- On this day, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak formed Apple Computer Inc., and it then became one of the world’s leading tech companies.
April 2, 1982- On this day, Argentine troops seized the Falkland Islands, precipitating the Falkland Islands War with Great Britain, who previously held control of the islands.
April 3, 1882-On this day, while adjusting a picture on his wall in St. Joseph, Missouri, outlaw Jesse James was shot and killed by Robert Ford.
April 4, 1968-On this day, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee by James Earl Ray.
April 5, 1951- On this day, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were sentenced to death for espionage; two years later, they became the first American civilians executed for that crime.
April 6, 1917- On this day, the U.S. declared war on Germany, entering WWI.
April 7, 2001-NASA launched the Mars Odyssey spacecraft, which reached Mars in October and transmitted photos and other data back to Earth.
April 8, 1974- American baseball player Hank Aaron hit his 715th career home run, breaking Babe Ruth’s record which had stood since 1935- and in 1976 completed his career with 755 home runs.
April 9, 2003- Baghdad fell to U.S. led forces, several weeks after the start of the Iraq War, a conflict that began to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
April 10, 1938- In a controlled plebiscite in Austria soon after Adolf Hitler’s invasion of the country, 99.7% of Austrians agreed on the political union of Germany and Austria, or Anschluss(German for Union).
April 11, 1814- Napoleon was facing an invasion of France by forces bent on overthrowing him and abdicated unconditionally at Fontainebleau.
April 12, 1981- The first space shuttle, Columbia, was launched by NASA. It was designed to orbit the Earth, transport people and cargo to and from orbiting spacecraft, and land like a plane on a runway on its return to Earth.
April 13, 1997- Tiger Woods won the Masters Tournament and became the first player of african descent and youngest to win.
April 14, 1865- Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth just after the end of the civil war while attending a play at Ford’s Theatre in Washington D.C. He died the next morning.
April 15, 1912- The British luxury line Titanic on the way to New York City from Southampton, Hampshire, England, after striking an iceberg on its maiden voyage; some 1,500 people died.
April 16, 1912- Harriet Quimbey became the first woman to fly across the English Channel, guiding her French monoplane through heavy forecast over Dover, England, to Hardelot, France.
April 17, 1970- The Apollo 13 module- carrying James A. Lovell Jr., Fred W. Haise Jr., and John L. Swigert Jr.- entered Earth’s atmosphere and splashed down, ending one of the most tense chapters in space history. Four days earlier the oxygen tank had exploded, threatening the lives of all three astronauts.
April 18, 1775- Paul Revere, a renowned silversmith, made a ride on horseback to warn Boston of an imminent attack by British troops.
April 19, 1943- The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, an act of resistance by Polish Jews under Nazi occupation, began and was quelled four weeks later, on May 16.
April 20, 2010- An explosion occurred on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, located in the Gulf of Mexico, leading to the largest oil spill in history.
April 21, 1918- Manfred von Richthofen, Germany’s top flying ace (baron), was shot down and killed in battle near Amiens, France.
April 22, 1915- During WW1, German forces introduced the systemized use of chemical warfare when along a four mile front at the second battle of Ypres they released chlorine gas.
April 23, 2005- The first YouTube video was uploaded by YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim. The video was Jawed visiting the San Diego Zoo.
April 24, 1980- U.S. forces launched a mission to rescue American hostages in Iran, but the attempt failed and 8 U.S. service members were killed.
April 25, 1915- The Australian and New Zealand Corps (ANZAC) landed at Gallipoli in Western Turkey during the Dardanelles campaign during WW1.
April 26, 1986- The Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine released large amounts of radioactive material into the atmosphere in the largest nuclear accident in history.
April 27, 1865- The worst maritime disaster in U.S. history occurred when the overloaded steamship SS Sultana exploded on the Mississippi river, killing some 1,800 people, many of whom were former Union POWs returning home after the Civil War.
April 28, 1967- At the height of the Vietnam War, American boxer Muhammad Ali refused service to the U.S. Army, citing religious reasons, and his conviction was eventually overturned by the Supreme Court.
April 29, 2018- American Television series The Simpsons surpassed Gunsmoke (1955-1975) with its 636th episode, becoming the longest running scripted Prime-time show in the United States.
April 20, 1789- George Washington became the first president of the United States of America when he was inaugurated on this day in Federal Hall in New York CIty.
Sources:Britannica.com
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