On This Day In History
On this day in 1961, a white mob in Montgomery, AL, ambushed the Freedom Riders after the city's Public Safety Commissioner offered the KKK time to attack the group without police interference. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/Y8VnsRUFnY
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) May 20, 2022
20 May 2012. Singer-songwriter, Robin Gibb, died (aged 62). He gained worldwide fame as a member of the sibling pop group Bee Gees, with older brother Barry and his twin Maurice. With record sales of 200 million, the Bee Gees are one of the most successful pop groups of all time. pic.twitter.com/mmbdE6cFyy
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 20, 2022
20 May 1899. New York resident, Jacob German, became the first American motor car driver to be charged with speeding. He was driving Taxi Cab No. 1,565, for the Electric Vehicle Company. The arresting police officer estimated he was travelling at 12 MPH. pic.twitter.com/TCAKniuSpR
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 20, 2022
20 May 1913. The first official Chelsea Flower Show was first held. It’s the most famous flower and landscape gardens show in the United Kingdom. In pre-pandemic times, the show was attended by members of the British Royal Family and attracted visitors from all over the world. pic.twitter.com/pU6dz3qHkw
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 20, 2022
PHOTO OF THE DAY. Cunard ocean liner, RMS Mauretania, (1906). Colourised by Marina Amaral. pic.twitter.com/TEFBprFWKJ
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 20, 2022
May 21st
1792 Mount Unzen on Japan's Shimabara Peninsula, erupts creating a tsunami, killing about 15,000; Japan's deadliest volcanic eruption
1832 1st US Democratic National Convention held in Baltimore
1871 -July 28] French regular troops attack Commune of Paris; 17,000 die
1927 Aviator Charles Lindbergh, in the Spirit of St Louis, lands in Paris after the first solo air crossing of Atlantic
1932 After flying for 17 hours from Newfoundland, Amelia Earhart lands near Londonderry, Northern Ireland, becoming the 1st transatlantic solo flight by a woman
Did You Know?
All My Children star Susan Lucci finally wins a Daytime Emmy after being nominated 19 times, the longest period of unsuccessful nominations in television history
Today in History in 1999
Would You Believe?
Stanislav Petrov awarded World Citizen Award for averting a potential nuclear war in 1983 after correctly guessing Russian early warning system at fault
Today in History in 2004
This day 88 years ago – 21 May 1932 – Amelia Earhart landed in Ballyarnett, near Culmore, becoming the first woman in the world to fly solo across the Atlantic.
She had taken off from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, the day before. She spent the night in the Gallagher family home. pic.twitter.com/aVWzKYduc3
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) May 21, 2020
Her sister, Cornelia Sorabji, was the 1st female graduate of Bombay Univ & the 1st woman to study law at Oxford Univ. In 1899 she became the first female advocate in India, in order to be able to defend purdahnashins—women forbidden to communicate with the outside world—in court. pic.twitter.com/tQv9AOVPen
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) May 21, 2022
On this day in 1961, a white mob terrorized 1,000 Black residents supporting civil rights inside Montgomery's First Baptist Church. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/IMMh9zTz6F
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) May 21, 2022
21 May 1924. 2 University of Chicago students, Nathan Leopold (left) and Richard Loeb (right), kidnapped and murdered 14-year-old, Bobby Franks in what they saw as the perfect crime, but they were caught. It’s thought the incident inspired the eerie Alfred Hitchcock film, Rope. pic.twitter.com/s5wbBRzLIS
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 21, 2022
21 May 1927. Charles Lindbergh landed at Le Bourget Field in Paris, France, to complete the 1st solo piloted flight across the Atlantic. It took 33 and a half hours and covered 3,600 miles. Lindbergh’s single-engine Ryan monoplane was called the Spirit of St. Louis. pic.twitter.com/rx7XHUUTng
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 21, 2022
21 May 1971. The classic concept album, What's Going On by Marvin Gaye, was released in the USA. The songs give the point of view of a Vietnam veteran returning to his home country to witness hatred, racism, suffering, and injustice. It’s regarded as one of the greatest albums. pic.twitter.com/26tSIlImLN
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 21, 2022
21 May 1991. Former Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi (aged 46), was assassinated. At 10:10 PM a suicide bomber, Thenmozhi Rajaratnam, approached Gandhi in public and greeted him. She then bent down to touch his feet and detonated a bomb belt that was tucked under her dress. pic.twitter.com/ZTD00GP4Z7
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 21, 2022
21 May 2000. Romantic novelist, Barbara Cartland, died (aged 98). She was one of the most prolific and commercially successful novelists of all time. Her 723 novels were translated into 38 languages and have sold over 750 million copies. pic.twitter.com/6LFi8NIS9T
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 21, 2022
PHOTO OF THE DAY. Madame Decourcelle, the first woman taxi driver in Paris (1909). pic.twitter.com/MaDZVLEKl3
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 21, 2022
May 22nd
334 BC The Macedonian army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus
1570 1st atlas 'Theatrum Orbis Terrarum' (Theatre of the World), published by Abraham Ortelius in Antwerp with 70 maps
1843 1st wagon train with 700 - 1000 migrants, departs Independence, Missouri for Oregon
1939 Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini sign "Pact of Steel" in Berlin, Germany
1946 First US rocket (WAC Corporal) to reach edge of space fired from White Sands Missile Range New Mexico
2014 Royal Thai Armed Forces, led by General Prayut Chan-o-cha stage a coup in Thailand, suspending the kingdom's constitution and taking control of the government, the 12th since the country's first coup in 1932
Did You Know?
The U.S. town of Hallam, Nebraska, is wiped out by a powerful F4 tornado that broke a width record at an astounding 2.5 miles wide. It also kills one local resident.
Today in History in 2004
Would You Believe?
First modern sighting of the Loch Ness Monster by Aldie and John Mackay saw "something resembling a whale"
Today in History in 1933
This day 22 years ago - 22 May 1998 - voters endorsed the Good Friday Agreement in referendums held concurrently in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland - 71.1% and 94.3%, respectively.
In total, 84.8% of votes cast on the island of Ireland were in favour of the accord. pic.twitter.com/F7gfs0qmCp
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) May 22, 2020
This day six years ago – 22 May 2015 – Ireland became the first country in the world to endorse same-sex marriage by popular vote.
62.07% of voters supported inserting an amendment to the constitution allowing marriage between “two persons without distinction as to their sex.” pic.twitter.com/tfi7YrieWg
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) May 22, 2021