Today In History

May 09

Today in History: May 9, Mandela chosen to lead South Africa

Today in History

In 1860, writer J.M.
A smiling Nelson Mandela, South Africa's President-elect, waves to the large crowd gathered on the Grand Parade in Central Cape Town Monday May 9, 1994. Mr. Mandela, who is to be formally inaugurated on Tuesday, earlier pledged his allegiance in parliament. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
May 09

Today in History: May 9, Mandela chosen to lead South Africa

Today’s Highlight in History:

In 1860, writer J.M.
May 08

Today in History: May 8, Truman announces Nazi surrender

Today in History

Today is Monday, May 8, the 128th day of 2023. There are 237 days left in the year.

In 1846, the first major battle of the Mexican-American War was fought at Palo Alto, Texas; U.S. forces led by Gen. Zachary Taylor were able to beat back Mexican forces.
May 08

Today in History: May 18, Mount St. Helens erupts

Today in History

On May 18, 1980, the Mount St.
President Truman sits before a microphone, holding his speech, at the White House, Washington, DC, May 8, 1945, after he had finished reading his announcement to the nation that Allied Armies have won unconditional surrender from the German forces on all fronts. (AP Photo/stf)
May 08

Today in History: May 8, Truman announces Nazi surrender

Today’s Highlight in History:

In 1846, the first major battle of the Mexican-American War was fought at Palo Alto, Texas; U.S. forces led by Gen. Zachary Taylor were able to beat back Mexican forces.
May 07

Today in History: May 7, Germany’s surrender

Today in History

Today is Sunday, May 7, the 127th day of 2023. There are 238 days left in the year.

In 1975, President Gerald R. Ford formally declared an end to the “Vietnam era.”
British civilians and Allied service men and women gather, as part of a huge crowd, outside Rainbow Corner, the American Red Cross club, near Piccadilly Circus, London, May 7, 1945, to hear the final announcement of Germany's total surrender. (AP Photo)
May 07

Today in History: May 7, Germany’s surrender

Today’s Highlight in History:

In 1975, President Gerald R. Ford formally declared an end to the “Vietnam era.” In Ho Chi Minh City — formerly Saigon — the Viet Cong celebrated its takeover.

May 06

Today in History: May 6, the Hindenburg crashes

Today in History

In 1935, the Works Progress Administration began operating under an executive order signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

FILE - In this May 6, 1937 file photo, the German dirigible Hindenburg crashes to earth in flames after exploding at the U.S. Naval Station in Lakehurst, N.J. (AP Photo/Murray Becker, File)
May 06

Today in History: May 6, Hindenburg crash

Today’s Highlight in History:

In 1935, the Works Progress Administration began operating under an executive order signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

May 05

Today in History: May 5, Shepard is first American in space

Today in History

Today is Friday, May 5, the 125th day of 2023. There are 240 days left in the year.

On May 5, 1961, astronaut Alan B.
Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr., the first American to journey into space, peers into his Freedom 7 space capsule after it is recovered from the Atlantic Ocean and taken aboard the aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain, May 5, 1961. The Freedom 7 (MR-7) spacecraft was launched by a Redstone vehicle at 9:34 a.m. EST. Shepard's flight, return from space, the splashdown at sea and recovery were seen on television by millions of viewers around the world. (AP Photo)
May 05

Today in History: May 5, Shepard is first American in space

Today’s Highlight in History:

In 1821, Napoleon Bonaparte, 51, died in exile on the island of St. Helena.
May 04

Today in History: May 4, four killed at Kent State

Today in History

In 1932, mobster Al Capone, convicted of income-tax evasion, entered the federal penitentiary in Atlanta. (Capone was later transferred to Alcatraz Island.)

Ohio National Guardsmen throw tear gas at students across the campus lawn at Kent State University during an anti-Vietnam War demonstration at the university on May 4, 1970. The Guard killed four students and wounded nine. (AP Photo)
May 04

Today in History: May 4, four killed at Kent State

Today’s Highlight in History:

In 1932, mobster Al Capone, convicted of income-tax evasion, entered the federal penitentiary in Atlanta. (Capone was later transferred to Alcatraz Island.)

May 03

Today in History: May 3, Margaret Thatcher elected

Today in History

In 1948, the Supreme Court, in Shelley v. Kraemer, ruled that covenants prohibiting the sale of real estate to Blacks or members of other racial groups were legally unenforceable.

Mrs. Margaret Thatcher shown with her son, Mark, as she gives a jubilation wave at her party HQ on May 4, 1979 in London. (AP Photo/Dear)
May 03

Today in History: May 3, Margaret Thatcher elected

Today’s Highlight in History:

In 1948, the Supreme Court, in Shelley v. Kraemer, ruled that covenants prohibiting the sale of real estate to Blacks or members of other racial groups were legally unenforceable.

May 02

Today in History: May 2, Nelson Mandela claims victory

Today in History

In 1863, during the Civil War, Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson was accidentally wounded by his own men at Chancellorsville, Virginia; he died eight days later.
Nelson Mandela, African National Congress leader, and Coretta Scott King, widow of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., sing and dance at a victory celebration for Mandela in Johannesburg, May 2, 1994, after Mandela and the ANC appeared to take the majority of the votes in the country's first integrated elections. (AP Photo/David Brauchli)
May 02

Today in History: May 2, Nelson Mandela claims victory

Today’s Highlight in History:

In 1863, during the Civil War, Confederate Gen.
FILE - In this Oct. 31, 2017, file photo, former President Barack Obama, right, and former first lady Michelle Obama appear at the Obama Foundation Summit in Chicago. Michelle Obama was joined by her husband Monday on her popular online series “Mondays With Michelle Obama.” (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)
May 01

Today in History: May 1, Americans hear of bin Laden’s death

Today in History

Today is Monday, May 1, the 121st day of 2023. There are 244 days left in the year.

On May 1, 2011, President Barack Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden during a U.S. commando operation.
FILE - In this Sunday, May 1, 2011 file picture, Penn State senior Jake Librizzi holds an American flag as he and others fill Beaver Canyon Avenue in downtown State College, Pa., shortly after learning about the death of Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. (AP Photo/Andy Colwell)
May 01

Today in History: May 1, Americans hear of bin Laden’s death

Today’s Highlight in History:

On May 1, 2011, President Barack Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden during a U.S. commando operation.
April 30

Today in History: April 30, George Washington’s oath

Today in History

In 1947, President Harry S. Truman signed a resolution officially confirming the name of Hoover Dam, which had also come to be known as “Boulder Dam.”
The subway rush hour is brought to a standstill in New York City, May 1, 1945 as the report of Hitler's death was received. (AP Photo)
April 30

Today in History: April 30, Adolf Hitler takes his own life

Today’s Highlight in History:

In 1947, President Harry S. Truman signed a resolution officially confirming the name of Hoover Dam, which had also come to be known as “Boulder Dam.”
April 29

Today in History: April 29, Dachau is liberated

Today in History

In 1945, during World War II, American soldiers liberated the Dachau (DAH’-khow) concentration camp. Adolf Hitler married Eva Braun inside his “Fuhrerbunker” and designated Adm. Karl Doenitz (DUHR’-nihtz) president.

FILE - Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge stand outside Westminster Abbey after their Royal Wedding in London, April 29, 2011. The Duchess of Cambridge, who turns 40 on Sunday Jan. 9, 2022, has emerged as Britain’s reliable royal. After Prince Harry and Meghan’s stormy departure to California in 2020, the death of Prince Philip last year, and now sex abuse allegations against Prince Andrew, the former Kate Middleton remains in the public eye as the smiling mother of three who can comfort grieving parents at a children's hospice or wow the nation by playing piano during a televised Christmas concert. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
April 29

Today in History: April 29, Dachau is liberated

Today’s Highlight in History:

In 1945, during World War II, American soldiers liberated the Dachau (DAH’-khow) concentration camp. Adolf Hitler married Eva Braun inside his “Fuhrerbunker” and designated Adm. Karl Doenitz (DUHR’-nihtz) president.

FILE -- The Kon Tiki is seen at sea in a 1947 file photo. Fifty years ago this month, six men left the Peruvian port of Callao on the balsa wood raft Kon-Tiki to cross the Pacific Ocean. The daring expedition in the exotic South Seas captured the world's imagination, especially for those still reeling from the devastation of World War II. On Friday, April 18, 1997, the leader of the expedition, 83-year-old Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl, seen in a 1947 photo aboard the Kon Tiki with a shark fished from the ocean, will be the guest of honor at the anniversary celebrations at the Kon-Tiki museum in Oslo, Norway. (AP Photo)
April 28

Today in History: April 28, Mussolini is executed, Kon-Tiki sets sail

Today’s Highlight in History:

In 1952, war with Japan officially ended as a treaty signed in San Francisco the year before took effect. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower resigned as Supreme Allied commander in Europe; he was succeeded by Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway.

April 28

Today in History: April 28, Mussolini is executed

Today in History

In 1952, war with Japan officially ended as a treaty signed in San Francisco the year before took effect. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower resigned as Supreme Allied commander in Europe; he was succeeded by Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway.

April 27

Today in History: April 27, deadly Alabama tornadoes

Today in History

On April 27, 1994, former President Richard M.
FILE - In this April 27, 2011 file photo, residents survey the destruction after a tornado hit Pratt City, Ala., just north of downtown Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill, file)
April 27

Today in History: April 27, deadly Alabama tornadoes

Today’s Highlight in History:

In 1973, acting FBI Director L. Patrick Gray resigned after it was revealed that he’d destroyed files removed from the safe of Watergate conspirator E. Howard Hunt.

April 26

Today in History: April 26, Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster

Today in History

On April 26, 1986, an explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine caused radioactive fallout to begin spewing into the atmosphere.
FILE - This April 26, 1986 file photo shows an aerial view of the Ukrainian Chernobyl nuclear plant, with damage from an explosion and fire in reactor four on that sent large amounts of radioactive material into the atmosphere. The vast and empty Chernobyl Exclusion Zone around the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident is a baleful monument to human mistakes. Yet 35 years after a power plant reactor exploded, Ukrainians also look to it for inspiration, solace and income. (AP Photo/ Volodymyr Repik)
April 26

Today in History: April 26, Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster

Today’s Highlight in History:

On April 26, 1986, an explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine caused radioactive fallout to begin spewing into the atmosphere.
April 25

Today in History: April 25, Union fleet captures New Orleans

Today in History

In 1862, during the Civil War, a Union fleet commanded by Flag Officer David G. Farragut captured the city of New Orleans.

Delegates to the United Nations? security conference listen attentively to the Voice of President Truman whose radio address opened the First Plenary Session of the parley at San Francisco on April 25, 1945. (AP Photo)
April 25

Today in History: April 25, Union fleet captures New Orleans, United Nations organized

Today’s Highlights in History:

In 1862, during the Civil War, a Union fleet commanded by Flag Officer David G. Farragut captured the city of New Orleans.