Post by MacBeth on May 4, 2009 5:59:06 GMT -5
In 1626, Dutch explorer Peter Minuit landed on present-day Manhattan Island.
In 1776, Rhode Island declared its freedom from England, two months before the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
In 1854, Joseph Tussaud returns to London with the well-used blade of the guillotine he purchased from Clement Sanson, the last in a line of Sansons who held the office of Executioner of Paris for over 150 years. The blade is now part of Tussaud's Wax Museum collection.
In 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago, a labor demonstration for an eight-hour work day turned into a deadly riot when a bomb exploded.
In 1904, the United States took over construction of the Panama Canal.
In 1916, responding to a demand from President Woodrow Wilson, Germany agreed to limit its submarine warfare, thereby averting a diplomatic break with Washington. (However, Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare the following year.)
In 1932, mobster Al Capone, convicted of income-tax evasion, entered the federal penitentiary in Atlanta. (Capone was later transferred to Alcatraz Island.)
In 1945, during World War II, German forces in the Netherlands, Denmark and northwest Germany agreed to surrender.
In 1946, a two-day riot at Alcatraz prison in San Francisco Bay ended, the violence having claimed five lives.
In 1959, the first-ever Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Domenico Modugno won Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)"; Henry Mancini won Album of the Year for "The Music from Peter Gunn."
In 1961, a group of "Freedom Riders" left Washington, D.C. for New Orleans to challenge racial segregation on interstate buses and in bus terminals.
In 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on anti-war protesters at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others.
In 1989, Fired White House aide Oliver North was convicted of shredding documents and two other charges stemming from the Iran-Contra affair.
In 1994, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat signed an accord on Palestinian autonomy that granted self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.
In 1998, Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski was given four life sentences plus 30 years by a federal judge in Sacramento, Calif., under a plea agreement that spared him the death penalty.
In 1999, work crews struggled to restore electricity across Serbia after NATO strikes on major power grids left Belgrade and other cities in the dark.
In 2000, The "I Love You" computer worm rampages through Internet email systems, inflicting damages somewhere in the $2-to-$15 billion range. The worm spreads by exploiting design flaws in the Microsoft Outlook mail client and also the gullibility of your typical computer user. A variety of Filipino suspects is ultimately narrowed down to an AMA Computer College student from Manila. Londoners elected their mayor for the first time.
In 2001, Bonny Lee Bakley, wife of actor Robert Blake, was shot to death as she sat in a car in Los Angeles. (Blake, accused of the killing, was acquitted in a criminal trial but was found liable by a civil jury and ordered to pay damages.)
In 2004, the Army disclosed that the deaths of 10 prisoners and abuse of 10 more in Iraq and Afghanistan were under criminal investigation, as U.S. commanders in Baghdad announced interrogation changes. The United States walked out of a U.N. meeting to protest its decision minutes later to give Sudan a third term on the Human Rights Commission.
In 2008, President George W. Bush visited Greensburg, Kan., where he hailed the resilience of the town and its tiny high school graduating class, one year after a tornado barreled through with astonishing fury. A river boat sank in a remote Amazon region in northern Brazil, killing at least 48 people. Iraq's first lady, Hiro Ibrahim Ahmed, escaped unharmed from a bomb attack in downtown Baghdad that struck her motorcade.
In 1776, Rhode Island declared its freedom from England, two months before the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
In 1854, Joseph Tussaud returns to London with the well-used blade of the guillotine he purchased from Clement Sanson, the last in a line of Sansons who held the office of Executioner of Paris for over 150 years. The blade is now part of Tussaud's Wax Museum collection.
In 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago, a labor demonstration for an eight-hour work day turned into a deadly riot when a bomb exploded.
In 1904, the United States took over construction of the Panama Canal.
In 1916, responding to a demand from President Woodrow Wilson, Germany agreed to limit its submarine warfare, thereby averting a diplomatic break with Washington. (However, Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare the following year.)
In 1932, mobster Al Capone, convicted of income-tax evasion, entered the federal penitentiary in Atlanta. (Capone was later transferred to Alcatraz Island.)
In 1945, during World War II, German forces in the Netherlands, Denmark and northwest Germany agreed to surrender.
In 1946, a two-day riot at Alcatraz prison in San Francisco Bay ended, the violence having claimed five lives.
In 1959, the first-ever Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Domenico Modugno won Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)"; Henry Mancini won Album of the Year for "The Music from Peter Gunn."
In 1961, a group of "Freedom Riders" left Washington, D.C. for New Orleans to challenge racial segregation on interstate buses and in bus terminals.
In 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on anti-war protesters at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others.
In 1989, Fired White House aide Oliver North was convicted of shredding documents and two other charges stemming from the Iran-Contra affair.
In 1994, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat signed an accord on Palestinian autonomy that granted self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.
In 1998, Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski was given four life sentences plus 30 years by a federal judge in Sacramento, Calif., under a plea agreement that spared him the death penalty.
In 1999, work crews struggled to restore electricity across Serbia after NATO strikes on major power grids left Belgrade and other cities in the dark.
In 2000, The "I Love You" computer worm rampages through Internet email systems, inflicting damages somewhere in the $2-to-$15 billion range. The worm spreads by exploiting design flaws in the Microsoft Outlook mail client and also the gullibility of your typical computer user. A variety of Filipino suspects is ultimately narrowed down to an AMA Computer College student from Manila. Londoners elected their mayor for the first time.
In 2001, Bonny Lee Bakley, wife of actor Robert Blake, was shot to death as she sat in a car in Los Angeles. (Blake, accused of the killing, was acquitted in a criminal trial but was found liable by a civil jury and ordered to pay damages.)
In 2004, the Army disclosed that the deaths of 10 prisoners and abuse of 10 more in Iraq and Afghanistan were under criminal investigation, as U.S. commanders in Baghdad announced interrogation changes. The United States walked out of a U.N. meeting to protest its decision minutes later to give Sudan a third term on the Human Rights Commission.
In 2008, President George W. Bush visited Greensburg, Kan., where he hailed the resilience of the town and its tiny high school graduating class, one year after a tornado barreled through with astonishing fury. A river boat sank in a remote Amazon region in northern Brazil, killing at least 48 people. Iraq's first lady, Hiro Ibrahim Ahmed, escaped unharmed from a bomb attack in downtown Baghdad that struck her motorcade.
