On This Day In History
Remembering the 39 innocent victims of the Heysel Tragedy, which happened #OTD in 1985. RIP. pic.twitter.com/iyQcOJpKop
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 29, 2022
29 May 1999. The Space Shuttle Discovery crew completed the first docking with the International Space Station. In total, 34 shuttle missions were flown during construction of the space station. The International Space Station serves as the world’s leading space laboratory. pic.twitter.com/iqlqKhrgAh
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 29, 2022
29 May 2010. Hollywood legend, Dennis Hopper, died (aged 74). His many films include: Rebel WIthout a Cause, Giant, Speed, Apocalypse Now, Easy Rider, Cool Hand Luke, Hang Em’ High, Waterworld and the eerie, Blue Velvet. pic.twitter.com/CnMT5fqISP
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 29, 2022
30th May
1431 Hundred Years' War: 19 year old Joan of Arc is burned at the stake by an English-dominated tribunal in Rouen, France
1539 Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto's expedition of 10 ships and 700 men lands in Florida
1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo between US and Mexico comes into force, giving New Mexico, California and parts of Nevada, Utah, Arizona and Colorado to the US in return for $15 million
1868 "Decoration Day", later called Memorial Day is first observed in Northern US states
1896 Khodynka Tragedy: Stampeding crowd on Khodynka Field, Moscow, during the festivities for coronation of Russian Tsar Nicholas II, results in the deaths of about 1,300 people
1913 Treaty of London signed by the Great Powers, the Ottoman Empire and the victorious Balkan League (Serbia, Greece, Kingdom of Bulgaria, and Montenegro) bringing an end to the First Balkan War
Did You Know?
Former Chad dictator Hissène Habré convicted of crimes against humanity by the Extraordinary African chambers, 1st ex-head of state convicted of the charge
Today in History in 2016
Would You Believe?
Future US President Andrew Jackson kills Charles Dickinson in a duel after Dickinson accused Jackson's wife of bigamy
Today in History in 1806
This day 35 years ago – 30 May 1986 – Knock Airport was officially opened, around 3.5 miles from Charlestown in Co Mayo.
Monsignor James Horan said,
“This is the greatest thing that has happened in Connacht in the last 100 years and this is the greatest day of my life.” pic.twitter.com/9HP4lsawm1
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) May 30, 2021
#OTD in 1876, Victorine Meurent's self portrait appeared in the Paris Salon exhibition. A respected artist, her work was exhibited there six times. However, we know her best as an artist's model—eg for Manet's Olympia. Most of her paintings have been lost. https://t.co/6mNRpQYhJb pic.twitter.com/lNGF1ri5H6
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) May 30, 2022
On this day in 1943, white sailors and soldiers in Los Angeles attacked Latino youth wearing zoot suits, beating them with belt buckles and ropes, and stripping them of their clothes. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/Dod138hYoS
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) May 30, 2022
30 May 1381. The English Peasants’ Revolt began. It grew out of a build up of socio-economic tensions, but the final trigger was the attempt to collect unpaid poll taxes in Brentwood. The revolt then spread across the south-east region. pic.twitter.com/UAp5YXqyTa
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 30, 2022
30 May 1536. Just eleven days after his second wife Anne Boleyn was beheaded, Henry VIII married, Jane Seymour, his third wife (depicted in the painting). She had been a lady-in-waiting to his first two wives. pic.twitter.com/mmW4KCV2hL
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 30, 2022
30 May 1842. John Francis fired a gun shot at Queen Victoria, as she was travelling in a horse-drawn carriage with Prince Albert, on Constitution Hill, London. Francis missed from close range. His attempt was one of 8 failed assassination attempts during her long reign. pic.twitter.com/jQRHa0KtNq
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 30, 2022
30 May 1960. Russian author, Boris Pasternak, died (aged 70). He was the author of Doctor Zhivago which later became a successful Hollywood film. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958, which enraged the Soviet government which forced him to decline the prize. pic.twitter.com/mY5Ex9IOLJ
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 30, 2022
30 May 1989. The 33-foot high “Goddess of Democracy” statue was unveiled in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China, by student demonstrators. It was destroyed on 4 June 1989 by Chinese soldiers clearing protesters from Tiananmen Square. pic.twitter.com/kSgD6bVOvz
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 30, 2022
30 May 2020. The Crew Dragon Demo-2 launched from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, USA, to become the first crewed orbital spacecraft to launch from the United States since 2011. pic.twitter.com/RRKO6dhJt8
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 30, 2022
PHOTO OF THE DAY. Norwell Roberts, London's first black police officer, on traffic duty, near Charing Cross Station (1968). pic.twitter.com/tVg8TUaLmH
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 30, 2022
May 31st
1279 BC Ramesses II, also known as Ramesses the Great becomes Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt (19th Dynasty)
1578 Martin Frobisher sails from Harwich, England, to Frobisher Bay, Canada. Eventually mines fools gold, famously used to pave the streets of London.
1902 Boer War Ends; Treaty of Unity signed, Britain annexes Transvaal
1910 Union of South Africa declares its independence from the United Kingdom
1916 Battle of Jutland: Largest naval battle of World War I between the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet which killed 8,645 in an inconclusive battle but strategic British victory. German fleet never puts to sea again in WWI.
1935 7.7 magnitude earthquake destroys Quetta in Balochistan, British India (now Pakistan) killing an estimated 40,000 people
1947 Communists seize power in Hungary
1970 7.75 Ancash earthquake off coast of Peru kills 66-70,000 and sets off world's deadliest avalanche
Did You Know?
Citing poor eyesight, English civil servant Samuel Pepys records the last event in his famous diary
Today in History in 1669
Would You Believe?
The Who set the record for the loudest concert of all time, 120 decibels at 50 metres, at The Valley in Charlton, London, England
Today in History in 1976
This day 80 years ago – 31 May 1941 – the Luftwaffe dropped four bombs on the North Strand area of Dublin.
28 people were killed, 90 injured, and 300 homes destroyed.
Germany later admitted responsibility, paying the Irish government £327,000 in compensation in 1958. pic.twitter.com/SZc6XbmbKf
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) May 31, 2021
#OTD in 1921, a white mob came to Greenwood, Tulsa—the 'Black Wall Street'—razing 35 blocks to the ground & killing up to 300 citizens. Journalist Mary E Jones Parrish's book The Nation Must Awake gathered eye-witness accounts of the 'Tulsa Race Massacre'. https://t.co/xbepkqj4QI pic.twitter.com/OHaWijtT8u
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) May 31, 2022
On this day in 1930, a white mob stormed the Grady County jail in Oklahoma and lynched Henry Argo, a Black 19-year-old, despite the presence of the National Guard who were ordered to protect him. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/qC6p4EPIcW
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) May 31, 2022