EVENTS
- 1869 – The First Transcontinental Railroad, connecting the eastern and western USA, is completed.
- 1872 – Victoria Woodhull is the first woman nominated for President of the US.
- 1889 – A riot erupted outside the Astor Place Opera House in New York as British actor William Charles Macready performed inside. Angry crowds revolted against dress requirements for admission and against Macready’s public statements on the vulgarity of American life. The mob then shattered theater windows. Troops were called out and ordered to fire, killing 22 and wounding 26.
- 1908 – Mother’s Day is observed for the first time.
- 1924 – J. Edgar Hoover becomes Director of the FBI.
- 1933 – Nazis ceremonially burn about 25,000 allegedly “un-German” books. The book burnings were part of the right-wing German Student Union’s Action against the Un-German Spirit. Among the burnt books were works by Albert Einstein, Bertolt Brecht, Sigmund Freud, and Franz Kafka.
- 1940 – Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of the UK.
- 1941 – Adolf Hitler’s deputy, Rudolf Hess, parachutes into Scotland to broker a peace agreement. Hess was captured and interrogated. He was the last in a long line of prominent figures to be incarcerated in the Tower of London. Hitler characterized his peace mission four years before the end of World War II as treason.
- 1954 – Bill Haley releases “Rock Around the Clock”. It was the first rock song to top the Billboard charts and has become a classic of the early rock era.
- 1994 – Former political prisoner Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as president of South Africa. Mandela had won the first free election in South Africa despite attempts by various political foes to deter the outcome.
BIRTHDAYS
- 214 – Claudius II (Roman Emperor)
- 1899 – Fred Astaire (Dancer and Actor)
- 1838 – John Wilkes Booth (Assassinated President Abraham Lincoln)
- 1946 – Donovan (Scottish/English singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, actor)
- 1957 – Sid Vicious (Singer)
- 1957 – Phil and Steve Mahre (Twin olympic skiers)
- 1960 – Bono (Singer for U2)
- 1977 – Nick Heidfeld (German race car driver)
- 1977 – Amanda Borden (Gymnast)
DEATHS
- 1774 – Louis XV of France
- 1818 – Paul Revere (American military officer)
- 1863 – Stonewall Jackson (American general)
- 1897 – Andrés Bonifacio (Filipino activist)
- 1977 – Joan Crawford (American actress)