On This Day In History
Did You Know?
American management consultant Marilyn Loden first coins the term "glass ceiling" to describe invisible career barriers for women
Today in History in 1978
Would You Believe?
In the Judgment of Paris, wine testers rate wines from California higher than their French counterparts, challenging the notion of France being the foremost producer of the world's best wines
Today in History in 1976
This day 98 years ago – 24 May 1923 – the Irish Civil War came to an end.
Éamon de Valera issued a statement:
“Further sacrifice of life would now be vain and continuance of the struggle in arms unwise in the national interest and prejudicial to the future of our cause.” pic.twitter.com/aTN2yVZxHu
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) May 24, 2021
In May 1993, director Jane Campion became the first woman to win a Palme D'or award at Cannes, for 'The Piano'. Her screenplay for the film had already won an Oscar. This year she took a directors' Oscar with 'Power of the Dog'. https://t.co/6ddAFWMl5K pic.twitter.com/kwic4eVz8R
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) May 24, 2022
On this day in 1911, a white lynch mob in Okfuskee County, Oklahoma, abducted Laura Nelson, a Black woman, and her young son, L.D., from a jail and hanged them from a bridge. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/vHEX9DVDtY
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) May 24, 2022
24 May 1543. Polish astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus, died (aged 70). He placed the Sun not the Earth-as was then believed- as the centre of the solar system. It’s been shown that Aristarchus of Samos, a Greek astronomer, had originally formulated this model 18 centuries earlier. pic.twitter.com/xgJDTkT0Lg
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 24, 2022
24 May 1901. A huge explosion ripped through the Universal Colliery in Senghenydd, just north of Caerphilly, Wales: 81 miners were killed, which was a ghastly toll for such a small south Wales community, but luckily it happened between shifts, when most men were on the surface. pic.twitter.com/VVB3LQt9eU
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 24, 2022
24 May 1930. British pilot, Amy Johnson, became the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia. Flying G-AAAH Jason, she left Croydon Airport on 5 May and landed at Darwin, Northern Territory on 24 May, having travelled 11,000 miles. pic.twitter.com/6F5Lo4XluB
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 24, 2022
24 May 1956. The first Eurovision Song Contest was held in Lugano, Switzerland. The host country won with Lys Assia. Seven countries participated, with each performing two songs, for a total of 14. This was the only contest when more than one song per country was ever performed. pic.twitter.com/ENDR2vLgR4
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 24, 2022
24 May 1974. Legendary American jazz bandleader and pianist, Duke Ellington (“Sir Duke”), died (aged 75). He wrote more than one thousand compositions: his extensive body of work is the largest recorded jazz legacy, and many of his pieces have become standards. pic.twitter.com/Baf0XaHF4B
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 24, 2022
May 25th
1720 The Ship "Le Grand St Antoine" reaches Marseille, bringing Europe's last major plague outbreak. Kills around 100,000.
1810 In the May Revolution, citizens of Buenos Aires expel the Spanish Viceroy Cisneros during Semana de Mayo
1914 British House of Commons passes the Irish Home Rule Bill
1961 JFK announces US goal of putting a man on the Moon before the end of decade
2020 Video of African American George Floyd's arrest and murder while restrained in Minneapolis police custody shows he was pinned to the ground by police officer Derek Chauvin's knee for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, ignites widespread condemnation and nationwide protests
2021 US CDC says half of all US adults are now fully vaccinated, with 61% having had their first shot
Did You Know?
Hands Across America - 6.5 million people hold hands from California to NY
Today in History in 1986
Would You Believe?
32-year-old Erik Weihenmayer, of Boulder, Colorado, becomes the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest
Today in History in 2001
This day 124 years ago – 25 May 1895 – Oscar Wilde was convicted in the Old Bailey of gross indecency. He was sentenced to two years hard labour.
Wilde was incarcerated from 25 May 1895 to 18 May 1897, after which he fled to France, never to return to Great Britain or Ireland. pic.twitter.com/jXAfKwczth
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) May 25, 2019
#OTD in 1465, Elizabeth Woodville was crowned queen consort of England. Some of her banners and saddle decorations were supplied by silkwoman Ellen Langwith, one of a number of named women operating at the highest level of that trade. https://t.co/X3bd04JEU6 pic.twitter.com/QGWZpWZj8s
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) May 25, 2022
On this day in 1943, white workers rioted at the Alabama Dry Dock Shipping Company in Mobile, AL, after 12 Black workers were promoted to positions previously reserved for only white employees. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/Dj8BQOyQND
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) May 25, 2022
25 May 1871. The House of Commons passed the Bank Holiday Act, which created public holidays on Easter Monday, Whit Monday and Christmas Day. pic.twitter.com/8eizDROL52
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 25, 2022
25 May 1961. US President, John F. Kennedy, announced in Congress his goal was to put a “man on the Moon” during 1960s. It was a bold promise, as at that point, the total time spent in space by an American astronaut was barely 15 minutes. pic.twitter.com/9HvBHgtIEE
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 25, 2022
25 May 1967. Celtic became the 1st British club to win the European Cup by beating Inter Milan 2-1. The final took place at the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon, Portugal, in front of a crowd of 45,000. All of Celtic’s players were born within a 30-mile radius of their Glasgow stadium. pic.twitter.com/lFp80CcVaI
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 25, 2022
25 May 1974. Pam Courson, the former partner of rock star, Jim Morrison, died, due to a heroin overdose (aged 27). On 3 July 1971, she had found Morrison dead in the bathtub of their apartment in Paris. Courson was portrayed by Meg Ryan in Oliver Stone’s 1991 film, The Doors. pic.twitter.com/JacEUWXVRc
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 25, 2022
25 May 1977. Star Wars was released in the USA. It was the first instalment of the original Star Wars trilogy. It grossed 775 million dollars (worth 7.8 billion now), surpassing Jaws (1975), to become the highest-grossing film ever at the time, until the release of ET in 1982. pic.twitter.com/3WRk0WiY4h
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 25, 2022
25 May 2007. NASA’s Phoenix spacecraft landed on Mars, and operated until November of the same year. Its computerised instruments were used to research the history of water and investigate possible life on Mars. pic.twitter.com/URsKVph8Dk
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 25, 2022