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Today in History

LizzieMaine

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On this date in 1929, two people were killed in a stampede, and thirty-two were injured at Yankee Stadium, as a sudden rainstorm drenched the field in the bottom half of the first inning of a Red Sox-Yankees contest. Fans running for cover beneath the grandstand roof crushed to death 60 year old plasterer Joseph Carter and 17 year old Hunter College student Eleanor Price. Yankee Lou Gehrig attempted to rescue Price from the uncontrolled mob, but she died before he could get her to a first-aid station.

The Yankees won the game 3-0.

A $960,000 negligence lawsuit filed against the New York American League Baseball Club on behalf of the families of the dead and injured was settled in 1932 for $45,000.
 

scotrace

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May 20, 1932: Amelia Earhart is the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

Neatly following the same date, in 1927, when Charles Lindbergh crossed the same ocean hisownself.

The patent for copper riveted blue jeans was issued to Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis in 1873.

In 1891, Thomas Edison first exhibits his new machine, the kinescope.
 

Peacoat

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May 20, 1932: Amelia Earhart is the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
She had intended to land in Paris, but was blown of course by strong winds and storms over the Atlantic and landed in Londonderry, North Ireland, after a flight of nearly 15 hours.

Having been a military instrument instructor pilot, with modern instrumentation, I am just in awe of those early aviators who managed to fly using the rudimentary instruments of the day. And she had only recently learned to fly by instruments.

Her disappearance enroute to the Howland Island in the Pacific is one of the enduring mysteries of the 20th Century. Had she lived, she would be 101 years old. As it was, she died at age 39. You had a good run Amelia; I wish it could have lasted longer.
 

GHT

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200 years ago today, 24th May 2019, witnessed the birth of Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819) Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. On 1 May 1876, she adopted the additional title of Empress of India.

Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the fourth son of King George III. Both the Duke and the King died in 1820, and Victoria was raised under close supervision by her mother, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She inherited the throne at the age of 18, after her father's three elder brothers had all died, leaving no surviving legitimate children. The United Kingdom was already an established constitutional monarchy, in which the sovereign held relatively little direct political power. Privately, Victoria attempted to influence government policy and ministerial appointments; publicly, she became a national icon who was identified with strict standards of personal morality. She died on 22nd January 1901.
 

scotrace

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Today is the 102nd birthday of John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

On May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzig Norgay are the first to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. Today, the mountain is littered with corpses, and the tons of human poop being released by warmer temps is a serious environmental problem.
Stories on National Public Radio today explore the modern problem of Everest: Too many climbers. After paying the government $10k for the right to go, then hiring the mandatory Sherpa guide, you're set--regardless of qualifications or training. People wait in long lines for the summit climb, and there have been many fatalities this year, mainly due to inexperienced climbers and untrained guides.

May 29, 1999 - The shuttle Discovery first docks with the International Space Station.
 
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MissMittens

One Too Many
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Today in 1913, the premier of the ballet Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring) in Paris caused rioting in the theater, in all likelihood being the first and last time a ballet can be said to have caused a riot!

Today, 10 years earlier in 1903, Bob Hope, comedian, singer, dancer, and avid golfer, was born in London, England. Bob lived until he was 100 years old, passing in 2003.
 

LizzieMaine

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On this date in 1937, the Memorial Day Massacre.

Memorial-Day-cover-606x321.jpg


When all the smoke finally cleared, the death toll stood at ten --most of them shot in the back, and another thirty were wounded by police bullets. The rest of the wounded had been brutally and indiscriminately beaten by police. None of the pickets were armed. Injured men and women were dragged out of ambulances by police and beaten into unconsciousness.

Meanwhile, in Youngstown, Massilon, and Cleveland, eight additional unarmed strikers were killed by police, for a total death toll for the strike of eighteen.

A cameraman from Paramount News, on hand in Chicago to film what he expected to be a peaceful picket line, had his footage suppressed by Paramount on the basis of "security."


The footage was later subpoenaed by a Congressional committee investigating the attack, which concluded that the head of Republic had amassed a huge private arsenal of weapons, including rifles, shotguns, more than 80,000 rounds of ammunition, and gas shells, to be used against workers. Those weapons had been provided to Chicago police by the steel company for use in suppressing the pickets.

No police officer was ever prosecuted or even reprimanded for their part in the attack, nor were any settlements ever paid to the injured or the families of the murdered pickets. It was, to put it in more modern terms, the "Kent State Incident" of the Era -- only much, much worse.
 

Peacoat

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Wow, there is a lot going on in that video; none of it good.

Now on to a much more pleasing topic: Lady Godiva. As a kid I was always fascinated by the bravery of Lady Godiva. As an adult, nothing has changed.

Today in 1678 The Godiva procession, commemorating Lady Godiva's legendary ride, became part of the Coventry Fair. Don't know if they still do it, but it might be worth a trip to Coventry to find out.
 

vitanola

I'll Lock Up
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Gopher Prairie, MI
Wow, there is a lot going on in that video; none of it good.

Now on to a much more pleasing topic: Lady Godiva. As a kid I was always fascinated by the bravery of Lady Godiva. As an adult, nothing has changed.

Today in 1678 The Godiva procession, commemorating Lady Godiva's legendary ride, became part of the Coventry Fair. Don't know if they still do it, but it might be worth a trip to Coventry to find out.
If I am not mistaken, Lady Godiva's ride what's the origin of the famous cheer "hurrah for our side".
 

EngProf

Practically Family
Messages
608
On this date in 1937, the Memorial Day Massacre.

Memorial-Day-cover-606x321.jpg


When all the smoke finally cleared, the death toll stood at ten --most of them shot in the back, and another thirty were wounded by police bullets. The rest of the wounded had been brutally and indiscriminately beaten by police. None of the pickets were armed. Injured men and women were dragged out of ambulances by police and beaten into unconsciousness.

Meanwhile, in Youngstown, Massilon, and Cleveland, eight additional unarmed strikers were killed by police, for a total death toll for the strike of eighteen.

A cameraman from Paramount News, on hand in Chicago to film what he expected to be a peaceful picket line, had his footage suppressed by Paramount on the basis of "security."


The footage was later subpoenaed by a Congressional committee investigating the attack, which concluded that the head of Republic had amassed a huge private arsenal of weapons, including rifles, shotguns, more than 80,000 rounds of ammunition, and gas shells, to be used against workers. Those weapons had been provided to Chicago police by the steel company for use in suppressing the pickets.

No police officer was ever prosecuted or even reprimanded for their part in the attack, nor were any settlements ever paid to the injured or the families of the murdered pickets. It was, to put it in more modern terms, the "Kent State Incident" of the Era -- only much, much worse.

Republic Steel wasn't the only company that acquired a considerable number of firearms for "plant security" purposes.
When the Model of 1921 Thompson sub-machinegun was introduced, the Army and Marines bought a few of the initial batch for testing. Just three weeks later the first of several Thompsons were bought by the Jones & Laughlin Steel Co. Other companies buying Thompsons included steel companies, coal companies, mining companies, and several hardware stores in the West Virginia, Pittsburgh, and Birmingham areas.
(On a related topic, look up "The Battle of Blair Mountain" in West Virginia.)
 

scotrace

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June 3, 1896: Henry Ford takes his Quadricycle for a spin. It's the first gasoline powered automobile.

June 3, 1920: The Treaty of Trianon is signed in Paris, carving up Europe so badly that WWII is all but certain. Hungary lost 71% of its territory and 63% of its population, effectively ending for good the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

June 3, 1944: The fall of Rome to the Allies. FDR spoke to the nation about it the next evening in a Fireside Chat, and then referred to it again when he told the American people that D-Day landings had begun the night after.

June 3, 1989. The protests in Tiananmen Square are put down by the People's Liberation Army.
 

GHT

I'll Lock Up
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June 3, 1896: Henry Ford takes his Quadricycle for a spin. It's the first gasoline powered automobile.
The first in the US or the first ever? In 1885, Karl Benz developed a petrol or gasoline powered automobile. This is also considered to be the first "production" vehicle as Benz made several other identical copies. The automobile was powered by a single cylinder four-stroke engine.
 

GHT

I'll Lock Up
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I had always understood that credit for the first gas car went to Benz as well. My source was obviously skeezy.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/henry-ford-test-drives-his-quadricycle

The internal combustion engine, the joy and bane of our lives ever since. When cars first appeared on UK roads they were required to be accompanied by a pedestrian walking in front, holding a red flag as a warning. That law has long since been repealed but the pace of the traffic is still not much more than walking speed.
 
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