Today in
History ~ May 8
Events
1429 - Siege of Orleans Broken During the Hundred Years' War, the English siege of Orleans was broken after six months, thanks in large part to the efforts of Joan of Arc
1541 - Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River.
1792 - British Capt George Vancouver sights - names Mt Rainier - Wash
1792 - Congress Passes Conscription Act In the first draft of civilians in U.S. history
1792 - President George Washington authorized the mint of the first US copper coins.
1846 - The first major battle of the Mexican War was fought at Palo Alto, Texas, resulting in victory for Gen. Zachary Taylor's forces.
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1886 - Atlanta pharmacist John Styth Pemberton invented the flavor syrup for Coca-Cola.
1893 - Alexander Graham Bell and his thirteen-year-old prodigy Helen Keller broke ground for the new Volta Bureau Building,
1902 - Mt Pele erupts - wipes out St Pierre - Martinique
1933 - Calling All Cars! The first police radio system, connecting headquarters to patrol cars and patrol cars to one another, was installed in Eastchester Township, New York
1942 - Battle of Coral Sea ends
1944 - The first "eye bank" was established, in New York City.
1945 - President Truman announced in a radio address that World War II had ended in Europe.
1946 - Red Sox Johnny Pesky scores 6 runs in 1 game
1951 - Dacron men's suits introduced
1954 - 1st shot-put over 60 feet - Parry O'Brien - Los Angeles - Ca
1958 - Vice President Nixon was shoved, stoned, booed and spat upon by anti-American protesters in Lima, Peru.
1961 - 1st practical sea water conversion plant - Freeport Texas
1961 - Alan Shepard receives NASA Distinguished Service Medal - Washington
1962 - Yhe musical comedy "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" opened on Broadway.
1968 - Jim (Catfish) Hunter of Oakland pitches perfect game vs Twins
1970 - The Beatles' final original album -- "Let It Be" -- was released.
1970 - Construction workers broke up an antiwar protest on New York's Wall Street.
1970 - Knicks beat Lakers for basketball championship
1971 - Joe Frazier beats Muhammad Ali at Madison Sq Garden
1972 - President Nixon ordered the mining of North Vietnam ports in an effort to force the communists to end the Vietnam War.
1973 - A 71-day siege at Wounded Knee in South Dakota ended when members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) surrendered. In an effort to bring attention to the plight of Native Americans at Wounded Knee
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1978 - David R. Berkowitz pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn courtroom to the "Son of Sam" killings that had terrified New Yorkers.
1984 - The Soviet Union declared it would NOT take part in the Los Angeles Olympics, citing fears over security for its athletes.
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1987 - Gary Hart, dogged by questions about his personal life, including his relationship with Miami model Donna Rice, withdrew from the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
1991 - CIA Director William H. Webster announced his retirement; he was eventually succeeded by Robert Gates.
1991 - General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, commander of American forces in the Persian Gulf War, received a hero's welcome as he addressed Congress.
1991 - To pressure the government of El Salvador into agreeing to a cease-fire, Salvadoran leftist guerillas sabotaged a power system, leaving the country with half its normal electrical supply.
1992 - President George H.W. Bush wound up two emotional days in riot-ravaged Los Angeles, promising to work harder in Washington to enact a "common-sense agenda" of conservative proposals to help urban America.
1996 - Julie Andrews declined her Tony Award nomination after her show, "Victor/Victoria," was snubbed for best musical.
1996 - Postal inspectors wrapped up a two-year sting operation in 36 states against the nation's biggest child pornography ring.
1996 - South Africa took another step from apartheid to democracy by adopting a constitution that guaranteed equal rights for blacks and whites. Its bill of rights included the right to food, housing and education.
1997 - President Clinton assured Central American leaders during a summit in Costa Rica that they need not fear mass deportations of immigrants who'd sought refuge in the United States during U.S.-backed conflicts.
1997 - After months of railing against Democrats for taking foreign money, the Republican Party announced it had returned $122,400 in contributions from a Hong Kong company.
1998 - The tobacco industry reached a settlement with Minnesota and with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. The deal came as the first trial of a state lawsuit against cigarette makers was about to go to the jury.
2000 - The remains of Cardinal John O'Connor were entombed inside New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral after a funeral Mass that drew thousands of mourners, including President Clinton.
2000 - The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to ban discrimination based on weight or height.
2001 - China protested the resumption of U.S. surveillance flights off its coast and said it would refuse to let the United States fly out a crippled Navy spy plane.
2001 - Pope John Paul II began the final leg of a historic pilgrimage as he arrived in the Mediterranean island nation of Malta.
Birthdays
Today
1737 - Edward Gibbon, historian, "The History of the Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire"
1786 - Thomas Hancock, founded British rubber industry
1828 - Henri Dunant, founded Red Cross, YMCA.
1829 - Louis Moreau Gottschalk, 1st internationally recognized US pianist
1847 - Oscar Hammerstein I (playwright, producer)
1884 - Harry S "Give 'em Hell" Truman (33rd U.S. President) was born near Lamar, Mo.
1895 - Bishop Fulton Sheen (TV clergyman: Life Is Worth Living)
1895 - Jos‚ Gomez (Joselito el Gallo),
bullfighter
1906 - Roberto Rossellini (director: Seven Deadly Sins, The Messiah)
1911 - Robert Johnson (Blues Hall of Famer: singer, songwriter, guitarist: Sweet Home Chicago, Cross Road Blues, Me and the Devil Blues; subject of film, Crossroads; inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [1986])
1919 - Lex Barker (actor: A Place Called Glory, La Dolce Vita, Apaches Last Battle, Away All Boats, Executioner of Venice)
1920 - Sloan Wilson, American novelist
1926 - David Attenborough, Environmentalist
1926 - Don Rickles (comedian, actor: CPO Sharkey, Casino, Blazing Saddles, Kelly's Heroes, Beach Blanket Bingo, The Rat Race)
1928 - Theodore (Ted) Sorenson (government official)
1930 - Gary Snyder, beat poet (Rip Rap and Cold Mountain Poems)
1930 - Doug Atkins, NFL defensive end (Cleveland Chicago New Orleans)
1932 - Sonny (Charles) Liston (World Heavyweight Boxing Champion [1962 & 1963]; International Boxing Hall of Famer)
1935 - Salome Jens, in Milwaukee Wisconsin
1937 - Sen Dennis DeConcini, D-Ariz
1937 - Mike Cuellar (baseball: Baltimore Orioles: Cy Young Award Winner [1969])
1940 - Peter Benchley (author: Jaws, The Deep, The Island)
1940 - Ricky (Eric) Nelson (actor: The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Rio Bravo, Wackiest Ship in the Army, Love and Kisses; singer: I'm Walking, Be-Bop Baby, Poor Little Fool, Lonesome Town, Never Be Anyone Else But You, Travelin' Man, Garden Party; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer [1987])
1941 - James Mitchum (actor: In Harm's Way, Code Name: Zebra, Hollywood Cop, Marked for Murder, Ride the Wild Surf)
1942 - Angel Cordero, Jockey
1943 - Toni Tennille (singer: Love Will Keep Us Together, The Way I Want To Touch You, Lonely Night [Angel Face], Muskrat Love)
1944 - Gary Glitter (Paul Gadd) (singer: Rock And Roll (Parts I & II), I'm the Leader of the Gang (I am), I Love You Love Me Love, Hello Hello I'm Back Again, Do You Wanna Touch, Another Rock 'n' Roll Christmas)
1949 - Bob Christiansen (football)
1964 - Melissa Gilbert (actress: Little House on the Prairie, The Miracle Worker)
Famous
deaths
1319 - Haakon V, King of Norway (1299-1319), dies
1725 - John Lovewell, US indian fighter, dies in battle
1794 - Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier, chemist (identified oxygen), guillotined for his former role as tax collector.
1880 - Gustave Flaubert, French writer (Salammbo), dies
1887 - Alexander Ulyanov, brother of Lenin/hanged for assassination of tsar
1891 - Helena Petrovina ("Madame") Blavatsky, Russian theosophist, dies
1988 - Robert A Heinlein, sci-fi writer (Friday), dies at 80
1992 - Brian Moore, writer (Catholics), dies at 59
1994 - George Peppard, actor (Breakfast at Tiffanys, A-Team), dies at 65
1996 - Luis Miguel Domiguin, bullfighter, dies at 69
1991 - Concert pianist Rudolf Serkin died in Guilford, Vt., at age 88.
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