1189 Emperor Frederik I Barbarossa & 100,000 crusaders depart Regensburg 1330 Constantinople (Istanbul) becomes new capital by Roman Emperor Constantine for Eastern Roman Empire 1421 Jews are expelled from Styria Austria 1502 Columbus begins 4th & last trip to "Indies" 1548 Great fire in Brielle 1625 Boers besiege Frankenburg estate in Upper-Austria 1674 Netherlands & Cologne sign peace treaty 1678 French Admiral Jean d'Estrées' fleet runs aground on Aves-islands, Curaçao 1689 Battle of Bantry Bay, French & English naval battle 1690 English troops of W Phips conquer Port Royal Nova Scotia 1745 Battle of Fontenoy (Doornik): Austrian Succession war 1749 British parliament accept Consolidation Act: fleet reorganization 1751 1st US hospital founded (Pennsylvania Hospital) 1752 1st US fire insurance policy issued (Philadelphia) 1772 Amsterdam theater destroyed by fire, 18 killed 1784 England & Tippu Sahib van Mysore sign peace treaty 1792 Columbia River discovered & named by US Captain Robert Gray 1812 Waltz introduced into English ballrooms - Most observers consider it disgusting & immoral. No wonder it caught on! 1814 Americans defeat British at Battle of Plattsburgh 1816 American Bible Society forms (New York) 1818 Cincinnati Reds Hod Eller no-hits St Louis Cardinals, 6-0 1833 "Lady-of-the-Lake" strikes iceberg & sinks in N Atlantic; kills 215 1850 Work starts on 1st brick building in San Fransisco 1858 Minnesota admitted as 32nd US state 1862 Confederates scuttle CSS Virginia off Norfolk VA 1864 General J E B Stuart is mortally wounded in Battle of Yellow Tavern VA (Sheridan's Raid, South Anna Bridge) 1865 Jeff Thompson surrenders 1867 Treaty of London drawn, concerning Luxembourg 1875 George "Charmer" Zettlein pitches the 1st 9 inning shutout 1881 Bedrich Smetana's opera "Libusa" premieres in Prague 1887 13th Kentucky Derby: Isaac Lewis aboard Montrose wins in 2:39¼ 1888 16th Preakness: F Littlefield aboard Refund wins in 2:49 1892 18th Kentucky Derby: Lonnie Clayton aboard Azra wins in 2:41½ 1893 Henri Desgrange establishes 1st bicycle-world record (35.325 km) 1894 American RR Union strikes Pullman Sleeping Car Co 1897 Washington Senator catcher Charlie Farrell throws out 8 attempted stealers 1900 James J Jeffries KOs James J Corbett in 23 for heavyweight boxing title 1904 Andrew Carnegie donates $1.5 million to build a peace palace 1907 Bank of San Fransisco incorporated 1910 Montana's Glacier National Park forms 1912 38th Kentucky Derby: Carol H Shilling aboard Worth wins in 2:09.4 1916 Einstein's Theory of General Relativity presented 1917 Britain grants Royal Letters Patent to New Zealand 1918 44th Kentucky Derby: William Knapp on Exterminator wins in 2:10.8 1919 Yankees' Jack Quinn & Senators' Walter Johnson, 12 inning 0-0 tie 1921 Tel Aviv is 1st all Jewish municipality 1923 10 homeruns hit in Phillies 20-14 victory over St Louis Cardinals 1924 Cartel des Gauches wins French parliamentary election 1924 Pulitzer Prize awarded to Robert Frost (New Hampshire) 1925 Communist Party of Holland splits 1925 Kara-Kalpak Autonomous Region constituted in RSFSR 1926 Airship Norge leaves Spitsbergen for 1st air crossing of Arctic Ocean 1927 Belgium beats England 9-1 in soccer 1927 Louis B Mayer forms Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences 1928 56th Preakness: Raymond Sonny Workman aboard Victorian wins in 2:00.2 1928 63rd British Golf Open: Walter Hagen shoots a 292 at Royal St George's 1928 General Electric opens 1st TV-station (Schenectady NY) 1929 1st regularly scheduled TV broadcasts (3 nights per week) 1929 Dr Annie Webb Blanton forms Delta Kappa Gamma Society in Austin TX 1931 Credit-Anstalt, Austria's largest bank, fails beginning financial collapse of Central Europe 1935 61st Preakness: Willie Saunders aboard Omaha wins in 1:58.4 1940 66th Preakness: Fred A Smith aboard Bimelech wins in 1:58.6 1940 New York World's Fair reopens 1941 1st Messerschmidt 109F shot down above England 1942 Japanese troops conquer Kalewa 1943 Hermann Goering-division in Tunisia surrenders 1943 US 7th division lands on Attu, Aleutian, (1st US territory recaptured) 1944 Opposition group surprise attack post office washer 1944 Slomp Resistance fighter (Frits de Zwerver) freed from Arnhem prison 1945 US marines conquer Awatsha Draw Okinawa 1946 1st night game at Boston Braves Field (Giants 5, Braves 1) 1946 72nd Preakness: Warren Mehrtens aboard Assault wins in 2:01.4 1947 BF Goodrich manufactures 1st tubeless tire, Akron OH 1947 Laos accepts constitution for parliamentary democracy 1948 Haganah takes control of Safed & port of Haifa 1948 Luigi Einaudi elected President of Italy 1949 1st Polaroid camera sold $89.95 (NYC) 1949 By a vote of 37-12, Israel becomes 59th member of UN 1949 Siam renames itself Thailand 1950 Belgium mine disaster at Borinage, 39 die 1950 Eugène Ionesco's "La Cantatrice Chauve" premieres in Paris France 1951 Jay Forrester patents computer core memory 1953 Tornado kills 114 in Waco TX ($39 million damage) 1953 Winston Churchill criticizes John Foster Dulles domino theory 1955 Israel attacks Gaza 1956 Pinky Lee Show, last airs on NBC-TV 1957 Gabriel Paris forms Government of Colombia 1958 Beverly Hanson wins LPGA Lawton Golf Open 1958 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island 1958 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enwetak 1959 "Kookie, Kookie Lend Me Your Comb" by Byrnes & Connie Stevens hits #4 1959 Elvis Presley's 1st entry on UK charts with "Heartbreak Hotel" 1959 Rodgers & Barer's musical "Once Upon a Mattress" premieres in NYC 1959 Yankee catcher Yogi Berra's errorless streak of 148 games ends 1960 French liner "France" launched 1960 Israeli soldiers capture Adolf Eichmann in Buenos Aires 1962 Antonio Segni becomes President of Italy 1962 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island 1962 US sends troops to Thailand 1963 "Puff (The Magic Dragon)" by Peter, Paul & Mary hits #2 1963 Los Angeles Dodger Sandy Koufax 2nd no-hitter beats New York Giants, 8-0 1963 Racial bomb attacks in Birmingham AL 1965 "Flora, the Red Menace" opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 87 performances 1965 1st of 2 cyclones in less than a month kills 35,000 (India) 1965 Ellis Island added to Statue of Liberty National monument 1965 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR 1965 West Indies becomes 1st holders of the Frank Worrell Cricket Trophy 1966 Real Madrid wins 11th Europe Cup I 1967 "Sing, Israel Sing" opens at Brooks Atkinson Theater NYC for 14 performances 1967 100,000,000th US phone connected 1967 Great Britain, Ireland & Denmark apply for EG membership 1968 Richard Harris releases "MacArthur Park" 1968 Stanley Cup: Montréal Canadiens sweep St Louis Blues in 4 games 1968 Students & police battle in Paris, 100s injured 1969 Carol Mann wins LPGA Dallas Civitan Golf Open 1969 Monty Python comedy troupe forms 1970 Sammy Davis Jr weds Altovise 1971 Cleveland's Steve Dunning becomes last American League pitcher to hit grand slam 1972 John Lennon says his phone is tapped by the FBI on Dick Cavett Show 1972 San Francisco Giants trade Willie Mays to New York Mets for pitcher Charlie Williams & cash 1972 Stanley Cup: Boston Bruins beat New York Rangers, 4 games to 2 1972 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site 1973 Dutch Government of Uyl forms 1974 "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" by Frank Sinatra hits #83 1974 "Tubular Bells" by Mike Oldfield hits #7 1974 Steely Dan releases "Rikki Don't Lose that Number" 1975 Donna Caponi Young wins LPGA Lady Tara Golf Classic 1975 Flyers 1-Isles 2-Semifinals-Series tied at 3 games 1975 Israel signs an agreement with European Economic Market 1976 Emmy 3rd Daytime Award presentation 1976 Last broadcast of "Marcus Welby, MD" on ABC-TV 1977 Hamburger SV wins 17th soccer Europe Cup II 1977 Ted Turner manages an Atlanta Braves game 1978 Margaret A Brewer is 1st female general in the US Marine Corps 1980 Pam Higgins wins LPGA Lady Michelob Golf Tournament 1980 Pete Rose, 39, steals second, third, & home in one inning for Phillies 1981 Andrew Lloyd Webber/TS Eliot's musical "Cats" premieres in London 1981 Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes" hits #1, stay there 9 weeks 1983 "Dance a Little Closer" opens & closes at Minskoff Theater NYC 1983 Aberdeen wins 23rd Europe Cup II 1983 Comet C/1983 H1 (IRAS-Araki-Alcock) approaches 0.0312 astronomical units (AUs) of Earth 1984 Johan Cruijff quits soccer 1984 Tigers set best 30 game start record (26-4) 1984 Transit of Earth as seen on Mars 1985 40 die & 150 injured in fire at Bradford City football ground 1985 Booby trap bomb kills 86 people in India 1985 Dave Concepcion becomes 4th Cincinnati Red teammate to get 2,000 hits, the others include Pete Rose, Tony Perez & Cesar Cedeno 1985 Madonna's "Crazy For You" single goes #1 1985 Pope John Paul II arrives in Netherlands 1986 Muffin Spencer-Devlin wins LPGA United Virginia Bank Golf Classic 1987 1st heart-lung transplant take place (Baltimore) 1987 Corazon Aquino is elected President in the Philippines 1988 France performs nuclear test 1988 KV Mechelen wins 28th Europe Cup II 1988 Mario Andretti records fastest Indianapolis 500 lap (221.565 mph) 1989 217th & final episode of "Dynasty" is aired 1989 France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island 1989 Kenya announces worldwide ban on ivory to preserve its elephant herds 1989 President Bush orders nearly 2,000 troops to Panamá 1990 New York Yankees trade Dave Winfield to Angels for Mike Witt 1993 28th Academy of Country Music Awards: Garth Brooks wins 1993 Paramaribo Suriname TV studio destroyed by fire 1994 "Grease" opens at Eugene O' Neill Theater NYC for 1,503 performances 1994 "Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult" released in France 1994 6 white racists sentenced to death in South Africa 1994 Inter Milan wins 23rd UEFA Cup 1996 Florida Marlin Al Leiter no hits Colorado Rockies, 11-0 1996 Valujet DC-9 crashes in Miami, 109 die 1997 "Play On!" closes at Brooks Atkinson Theater NYC after 61 performances 1997 New York Mets C Everett & Butch Huskey are 9th to hit consecutive pinch HRs 1997 Paine Webber Senior Golf Invitational 1997 Sara Lee LPGA Classic 1997 Scott McCarron wins Bellsouth Golf Classic 1997 Terry-Jo Myers wins LPGA Sara Lee Classic =======================================================
Missing In Action...
1966 FENELEY FRANCIS J. CURTIS MI 1966 VILLEPONTEAUX JAMES H. JR. CORDESVILLE SC 1968 JIMENEZ JUAN M. SAN ANTONIO TX GROUND ATTACK POSS KIA 1969 DAUGHERTY LENARD E. THE ROCK GA 03/27/73 RELEASED BY PRG 1969 HORIO THOMAS TERUO HONOLULU HI 03/27/73 REL BY PRG 1969 JACQUEZ JUAN L. SANTA FE NM 03/27/73 RELEASED BY PRG 1969 RYAN WILLIAM C. JR. BOGOTA NJ 1972 ALLMOND BARRY K. FORT WORTH TX CACCF REMAINS RECOVERED DIED WHILE MISSING LISTED ON WALL NOT AS POW/MIA 1972 BLASSIE MICHAEL JOSEPH ST LOUIS MO "FROM ""UNKNOWN"" TO KNOWN 06/30/98" 1972 HASELTON JOHN HERBERT NEWPORT VT 04/74 REMAINS RECOVERED 1972 KITTINGER JOSEPH W. JR. ORLANDO FL 03/28/73 RELEASED BY DRV 1972 PADGETT JAMES P. CEDAR KEY FL 03/28/73 RELEASED BY DRV 1972 REICH WILLIAM J. CLINTON WI 03/28/73 RELEASED BY DRV 1972 STROBRIDGE RODNEY L. TORRANCE CA 1972 TALLEY WILLIAM H. SAYRE OK 03/28/73 RELEASED BY DRV 1972 WILLIAMS ROBERT J. DALEVILLE AL
BB-39 USS ARIZONA- 05-14-2006
Births which occurred on May 11:
1568 Christian I ruler of Anhalt-Bernburg (Battle of White Mountain) 1654 Cornelis van Alkemade Dutch historian 1722 Peter Camper Leyden Holland, anatomist/professor (Amsterdam) 1731 Johann Gottfried Seyfert composer 1772 Henri-Jean Rigel composer 1791 Jan Vaclav Hugo Vorisek composer 1807 Ira Aldridge Great 19th century black Shakespearian actor (Othello) 1811 Chang & Eng Bunker Chinese Siamese twins 1821 [Carlos] Charles John Stolbrand Brigadier General (Union volunteers) 1823 Alfred Stevens Belgian painter 1830 John Converse Starkweather Brigadier General (Union volunteers) 1840 Filippo Capocci composer 1841 Ernst von Possart German actor/stage manager/reciter 1847 Godefroid Kurth Belgian historian (La cité de Liège au moyen âge) 1852 Charles Warren Fairbanks ® 26th US Vice President (1905-09) 1854 John Blackham cricketer (Australia's 1st wicketkeeper) 1854 Ottmar Mergenthaler Hachtel Germany, inventor (linotype) 1855 Anatol Konstantinovich Lyadov Russian composer (Bewitched Lake) 1858 Carl Hauptmann writer 1869 Francisco Lacerda composer 1878 Mr Reyskens oldest male resident of Netherlands, ever 1881 Jan van Gilse composer/resistance fighter (Frau Helga von Staveren) 1881 Pascual Rogatis composer 1882 Joseph Marx Austrian composer/critic 1888 Irving Berlin [Isadore Balin] Temum Siberia, composer (White Xmas) 1888 P A J Losecaat Vermeer leader of Dutch High Council 1891 Henry Morgenthau Jr US Secretary of the Treasury (1934-45) 1892 Dame Margaret Rutherford Balham London England, actress (Murder Most Foul, Murder She Said, Arabella) 1894 Anton A Mussert Dutch Nazi leader (NSB) 1894 Florimond Cornellie Belgium, yachting (Olympics-gold-1920) 1894 Martha Graham Allegheny PA, choreographer (Appalachian Spring) 1895 Jan Parandowski writer 1895 Jiddu Krishnamurti India, spiritual philosopher (Songs of Life) 1895 William Grant Still Woodville MS, composer (Africao-American) 1896 Josip Slavenski composer 1896 Mari Sandoz Nebraska, author (Cheyenne Autumn) 1896 Philippo de Pisis Italian painter 1897 Izak W van der Merwe [Boerneef], South African writer (Tweetalige Woordeboek) 1902 Bidú Sayao Niteroi Brazil, soprano (Mimia-La Bohéme) 1902 Kaarlo Sarkia Finnish poet (Unen Kaivo) 1903 Charlie Gehringer Detroit Tigers' 2nd baseman (1924-42) 1904 Guus Weitzel Dutch radio-announcer 1904 Salvador Dali Figueras Spain, surrealist artist (Crucifixion) 1905 Marjorie Sykes peace campaigner 1907 Kent Taylor [Louis Weiss] Nashua IA, actor (Boston Blackie, Rough Riders) 1907 Rose Ausländer writer 1909 Herbert Murrill composer 1910 Jorge Croner de Vasconcelos composer 1911 Doodles Weaver Los Angeles CA, comedian (Spike Jones & City Slickers, Doodles Weaver) 1911 Edgar Beck president (John Mowlem) 1911 Roy James Alfred Kaulback soldier 1912 Foster Brooks Louisville KY, comedian/actor (Miles-Mork & Mindy) 1912 Phil Silvers Brooklyn NY, comedian (Sergeant Bilko-Phil Silvers Show) 1913 Clare Grundman composer 1913 Tutti Camarata Glen Ridge NJ, orchestra leader (Vic Damone Show) 1916 Camilo José Cela Spain, author (La Colmena-1951) 1917 Hon Montague Woodhouse Greek resistance organiser 1918 Richard P Feynman physicist (Feynman-diagrams/Nobel prize 1965) 1918 Robert Hunt CEO (Dowty Group) 1920 Beryl Bryden jazz singer 1920 Denver Pyle Bethune CO, actor (Dukes of Hazzard, Code 3, Tammy, Doris Day Show) 1921 Ian Percival QC/MP 1923 Joan Moriarty Brigadier matron-in-chief/director (Army Nursing Services) 1923 Lord Vincent Gordon "Gordy" Lindsay White English industrialist/multi-millionaire 1924 Antony Hewish radio astronomer 1924 Jackie Milburn English soccer star (Newcastle United) 1925 Rhodes Boyson MP 1926 Ernest Harrison CEO (Racal Electronics) 1926 Frank Thring Melbourne Australia, actor (El Cid, Ben-Hur) 1927 Justice Hollis 1927 Mort Sahl Montréal Canada, comedian/political satirist/beatnik (Big Party) 1927 Zilpha Keatly Snyder US, sci-fi author (Headless Cupid) 1928 Yaacov Agam Israeli sculptor 1929 Edward Anson British Vice-Admiral 1930 M J Hamlin Principal/Vice-Chancellor (Dundee University) 1930 Stanley L Elkin Brooklyn NY, writer/professor (The Living End) 1931 Stephen Smalley rev/dean (Chester) 1932 Henriette Santer clinical Psychologist 1932 Valentino [Garavani] Milan Italy, fashion designer 1933 Louis Farrakhan minister (black islam nation, million man march) 1934 James M Jeffords (Representative-R-VT, 1975- ) 1935 Doug McClure Glendale CA, actor (Checkmate, Virginian, Roots) 1936 Ulrich Berkes writer 1937 David Allan cricketer (West Indian wicketkeeper 1962-66) 1938 Carla Bley [Carla Borg] Oakland CA, musician (Escalator Over the Hill) 1938 Harvey Sollberger Cedar Rapids IA, flutist/composer (2 Oboes Troping) 1939 Milt Pappas baseball pitcher 1940 Ronald Anthony Pellegrino composer 1941 Eric Burdon Walker-on-Tyne England, rock vocalist (Animals-House of the Rising Sun) 1941 Ian Redpath cricketer (dependable Australian opening batsman 1964-76) 1942 Rachel Billington British writer 1942 Terry McGovern Berkley CA, actor (Jim-Charlie & Company, Nine Months) 1943 Arnie Satin rocker 1943 George Edwards composer 1943 Les Chadwick Liverpool England, bassist (Gerry & the Pacemakers-Ferry Cross the Mersey) 1943 Nancy Greene Canada, giant slalom (Olympics-gold-1968) 1944 John Benaud cricketer (brother of Richie; Australian bat 1972-73) 1947 Claude "Butch" Hudson Trucks drummer (Allman Brothers) 1948 Alfred Matt Austria, slalom (Olympics-bronze-1968) 1949 Joâo Botelho Lamego Portugal, director (Trafico, Hard Times) 1950 Dane Iorg baseball player (Phillies, Cardinals) 1950 Jeremy Paxman broadcaster 1951 Mike Sleman rugby player 1952 Darrow Igus Newark NJ, comedian (Fridays, Roll Out) 1953 Boyd Gaines Atlanta GA, actor (Mark-One Day at a Time, Sure Thing) 1954 Edgar Riley Jr rocker (Axe K) 1954 Judith Weir composer 1955 Jos Haagmans Dutch singer (Frank Boeijen Group) 1955 Mark Herndon Springfield MA, drummer (Alabama-Take Me Down) 1957 Luca Urbani Rome Italy, MD/astronaut (STS 78-alternate) 1958 Peter Antonie Australian rower (Olympics-96) 1958 Walt Terrell baseball player 1959 Martha Quinn Albany NY, MTV VJ/actress (Tracey-Bradys) 1960 Jürgen Schult German Federal Republic, discus thrower (world record 1986) 1961 Cecile Licad Manila Philippines, pianist (Leventritt Award-1981) 1961 Diana Lee[-Hsu] Seattle WA, playmate (May 1988) 1962 Steve Bono NFL quarterback (Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers-Superbowl 31) 1963 Blair Piercy Vancouver British Columbia, Canadian Tour golfer (1992 Cordova Bay Open) 1963 Mark Breland Brooklyn NY, welterweight boxer (Olympics-gold-1984) 1963 Natasha Richardson London England, actress (Gothic, Handmaid's Tale) 1964 Bobby Witt Arlington VA, pitcher (Texas Rangers) 1964 Drew Story San Clemente CA, canoe (alternate-Olympics-96) 1964 Floyd Youmans baseball pitcher (Expos) 1964 Jeff Sellers baseball pitcher (Red Sox) 1964 John Parrott snooker player 1964 Katie Wagner daughter of Robert Wagner/model/guest VJ (MTV) 1966 Chris Mohr NFL punter (Buffalo Bills) 1966 Trenidad Hubbard Chicago IL, outfielder (Colorado Rockies) 1967 Eric Young New Brunswick NJ, infielder (Colorado Rockies) 1967 Jamie Brayshaw cricketer (son of Ian; Western Australia & South Africa right-handed batsman) 1967 Kenneth Gould Chicago IL, Welterweight boxer (Olympics-bronze-1988) 1969 Amy Legacki Terrytown NY, 10k runner 1970 Dean Capobianco Australian 200 meter/400 meter (Olympics-92, 96) 1970 Michael Joubert Australian 400 meter/800 meter (Olympics-96) 1971 Corey Fuller NFL cornerback (Minnesota Vikings) 1971 Yo Murphy WLAF receiver (Scottish Claymores) 1972 Andrew Bonhomme Melbourne Victoria, Australasia golfer 1972 Hicham El-Mashtoub NFL center (Houston Oilers) 1972 Stefen Reid CFL linebacker (Montréal Alouettes) 1973 Dean Pullar Cobram Victoria Australia, diver (Olympics-96) 1973 Michelle Venturella US softball infielder (Olympics-gold-96) 1973 Patrick Sapp NFL offensive linebacker (San Diego Chargers) 1974 Roger Juffing soccer player (Fortuna Sittard 1980 Matthew Lawrence Philadelphia PA, actor (Dynasty, Matthew-Brotherly Love) 1981 Austin O'Brien actor (Apollo 13, My Girl 2, Lawnmower Man) 1982 Jonathan Jackson Orlando FL, actor (Lucky-General Hospital) =====================================================
Deaths which occurred on May 11:
1610 Matteo Ricci Italian missionary (China), dies 1631 Christoph Buel composer, dies at 57 1742 Francesco Stradivari Italian violin maker/son of Antonius, dies at 70 1772 Joseph Kerckhoff Limburg surgeon/robber captain, hanged 1778 William Pitt Sr English premier (1756-61, 66-68), dies at 69 1779 John Heart US farmer (signed Declaration of Independence), dies at about 68 1819 Caspar Furstenau composer, dies at 47 1845 Karoly Filtsch composer, dies at 14 1849 Carl Otto Ehrenfried Nicolai composer/conductor, dies at 38 1857 E François Vidocq French criminalogist/police officer, dies at 81 1871 John Herschel cataloguer of southern hemisphere stars, dies at 79 1881 Henri-Frédéric Amiel Swiss/French writer (Journal Intime), dies at 59 1885 Ferdinand Hiller German pianist/composer/conductor, dies at 73 1895 Feliks Jaronski composer, dies at 71 1907 John Albert Delany composer, dies at 54 1916 Karl Schwarzschild German astronomer (s-effect), dies 1916 Max [Johann] Reger German composer/pianist/organist, dies at 43 1917 Otto Adolf Klauwell composer, dies at 66 1920 William D Howells US author (A Woman's Reason), dies at 83 1927 General Henry Martyn Robert (Robert's Rules of Order), dies at 90 1927 Juan Gris Spanish cubist painter, dies at 40 1935 Edward H Thompson US archaeologist (Mayan civilization), dies at 78 1937 Viliam Figus composer, dies at 62 1938 Alfonsina Storni Argentine poet (El dulce daño/suicide), dies at 45 1938 Arnold Sauwen Flemish poet (Hours of Solitude), dies at 81 1944 Henk Hos resistance fighter, executed at 37 1947 Else JT Rangstrøm Swedish conductor/singer/composer/critic, dies at 62 1949 Adrianus de Kleyn throat/nose/otologist (ear doctor), dies at 65 1952 Giovanni Tebaldini composer, dies at 87 1953 Jean Adair dies at 80 1955 G L Jessop cricketer (match-winning batsman, brilliant field), dies 1956 Walter S Adams US astronomer/director of Mount Wilson, dies at 79 1960 John D Rockefeller Jr philanthropist, dies at 86 1965 Ludovicus H "Lode" Baekelmans Flemish playwright, dies at 86 1965 Roger Vailland French author, dies at 57 1973 Grigory M Kosinzev Russian director, dies 1976 Alvar Aalto architect (Finlandia House), dies at 78 1976 Camille Schmit composer, dies at 68 1976 J Anaya Bolivian military/ambassador to France, murdered 1978 John Clinge Doorenbos Dutch journalist/poet, dies at 93 1979 Joan Chandler dies at 55 1979 Lester Raymond Flatt musician (Flatt & Scruggs-Ballad of Jed Clampett), dies at 64 1981 Bob Marley reggae singer, dies of brain & lung cancer at 36 1981 Hoyt J Fuller editor (1st World magazine), dies at 57 1982 Leigh Snowden actress (Hot Rod Rumble), dies of cancer at 51 1982 Piet van Egmond organist/conductor, dies at 70 1983 Zenna [Chlarson] Henderson author (Anything Box), dies at 65 1985 Chester Gould cartoonist (Dick Tracy), dies at 84 1985 Garmt Stuiveling literatrary (Ego & Echo), dies at 77 1985 Jorja Curtright actress (Whistle Stop), dies of a heart attack 1985 Samuel Frith English co-founder of soccer team (Bradford City), dies 1988 H A R (Kim) Philby British double agent, dies 1991 Filip J Field dies at 67 1991 Ho Dam foreign minister North-Korea (1970-83), dies 1992 Carlos Herrera drink inventor (Margarita), dies at 90 1992 Elizabeth McDonald inventor (Spic & Span), dies at 98 1994 Alfred James Broomhall methodist Missionary, dies at 82 1994 Danny Overbea blues singer/guitarist, dies at 68 1994 Leonard Friedman violinist, dies at 63 1994 Lewis B Puller US writer (Pulitzer 1992), commits suicide at 48 1994 Timothy Carey dies of stroke at 64 1995 Arthur Lubin director (Francis The Talking Mule, Mr Ed), dies at 96 1995 David Avidan poet/writer, dies at 62 1995 William John Phillips actor (Nothing but a Man), dies at 80 1996 Bruce Boyce singer/teacher, dies at 85 1996 Joan Thirkettle journalist, dies at 48 1996 Malcolm MacEwen writer, dies at 84 1996 Nnamdi Azikiwe President of Nigeria (1963-66), dies 1996 Walter Hyatt Musician, dies at 46 1997 Brenda Carlin TV producer/wife of comedian George Carlin, dies at 57
BB-39 USS ARIZONA- 05-14-2006
1776 Washington recommends using German-American troops to Congress
On this day in 1776, in a letter addressed to the president of Congress, American General George Washington recommends raising companies of German-Americans to use against the German mercenaries anticipated to fight for Britain. Washington hoped this would engender “a spirit of disaffection and desertion” among Britain’s paid soldiers.
Washington surmised that “If a few trusty, sensible fellows could get with them, I should think they would have great weight and influence with the common Soldiery, who certainly have no enmity towards us, having received no Injury, nor cause of Quartell[sic] from us." Though Washington was correct in realizing that many so-called English colonists were actually German immigrants, he was apparently unaware that most Germans living in the American colonies spoke southern German dialects, and they might well be derided by the British mercenaries—Hessians from the central German territory of Hesse--if they could understand one another at all.
One third of Pennsylvania’s population was German speaking. Significant German-speaking populations also lived in the Shenandoah Valley of western Virginia and the Carolinas, as well as the Mohawk Valley of New York, the Raritan Valley of New Jersey and areas near Savannah, Georgia. However, the vast majority of these German speakers originated from the Rhineland-Palatinate, Swabia and Salzburg. Although fellow members of the Holy Roman Empire and possibly readers of Hoch-Deutsch, the German used by Luther in his translation of the Bible, their spoken language would have been extremely difficult for Germans from other regions to understand. In addition, many German-Americans remained neutral during the revolution, unwilling to oppose the empire that had offered them the opportunity to enjoy better and freer lives in its colonies than they had at home. =====================================================
1864 Confederate Cavalry General J.E.B. Stuart is mortally wounded
A dismounted Union trooper fatally wounds J.E.B. Stuart, one of the most colorful generals of the South, at the Battle of Yellow Tavern, just six miles north of Richmond. Stuart died the next day.
During the 1864 spring campaign in Virginia, General Ulysses S. Grant applied constant pressure on Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. In early May, the two armies clashed in the Wilderness and again at Spotsylvania Court House as they lurched southward toward Richmond. Meanwhile, Grant sent General Phil Sheridan and his cavalry on a raid deep behind Confederate lines. The plan was to cut Lee's supply line and force him out of the trenches in retreat. Sheridan's troops wreaked havoc on the Rebel rear as they tore up railroad tracks, destroyed supply depots, and held off the Confederate cavalry in several engagements, including the Battle of Yellow Tavern.
Although Sheridan's Federal troops held the field at the end of the day, his forces were stretched thin. Richmond could be taken, Sheridan wrote later, but it could not be held. He began to withdraw back to the north.
The death of Stuart was a serious blow to Lee. He was a great cavalry leader, and his leadership was part of the reason the Confederates had a superior cavalry force in Virginia during most of the war. Yet Stuart was not without his faults: He had been surprised by a Union attack at the Battle of Brandy Station in 1863, and failed to provide Lee with crucial information at Gettysburg. Stuart's death, like Stonewall Jackson's the year before, seriously affected Lee's operations. ======================================================
1919 Germans prepare to protest Versailles Treaty terms
During the second week of May 1919, the recently arrived German delegation to the Versailles Peace Conference, convened in Paris after the end of the First World War, pore over their copies of the Treaty of Versailles, drawn up in the months preceding by representatives of their victorious enemies, and prepare to lodge their objections to what they considered to be unfairly harsh treatment.
Presented with the treaty on May 7, 1919, the German delegation was given two weeks to examine the terms and submit their official comments in writing. The Germans, who had put great faith in U.S. President Woodrow Wilson’s notion of a so-called “peace without victory” and had pointed to his famous Fourteen Points as the basis upon which they sought peace in November 1918, were greatly angered and disillusioned by the treaty. As Ulrich von Brockdorff-Rantzau, Germany’s foreign minister, put it: “This fat volume was quite unnecessary. They could have expressed the whole thing more simply in one clause—Germany renounces its existence.”
Driven by French and British desires to make Germany pay for the role it had played in the most devastating conflict the world had yet seen, Wilson and the other Allied representatives at the peace conference had indeed moved away from a pure “peace without victory.” Germany was to lose 13 percent of its territory and 10 percent of its population. It was denied initial membership in the League of Nations, the international peace-keeping organization established by the treaty. The treaty also required Germany to pay reparations, though the actual amount ended up being less than what France had paid after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71.
The real German objection to the Treaty of Versailles, however, was to the infamous Article 231, which forced Germany to accept sole blame for the war in order to justify the reparations. Despite much debate among the Allies themselves and over strenuous German protests—including by Brockdorff-Rantzau, who wrote to the Allies on May 13 that “The German people did not will the war and would never have undertaken a war of aggression”—Article 231 remained in the treaty. The Germans were given a deadline of June 16 to accept their terms; this was later extended to June 23. Pressured by the Allies and thrown into confusion by crisis within the Weimar government at home, the Germans gave in and accepted the terms at 5:40 p.m. on May 23.
The Versailles Treaty was signed on June 28, 1919. Meanwhile, opposition to the treaty and its Article 231, seen as a symbol of the injustice and harshness of the whole document, festered within Germany. As the years passed, full-blown hatred slowly settled into a smoldering resentment of the treaty and its authors, a resentment that would, two decades later, be counted—to an arguable extent—among the causes of the Second World War. =====================================================
1944 Allies attack the Gustav line in drive for Rome
On this day in 1944, Allied forces begin a major assault on the Gustav Line, a German defensive line drawn across central Italy just south of Rome.
The Gustav Line represented a stubborn German defense, built by Field Marshal Albert Kesselring, that had to be broken before the Italian capital could be taken; the attack on the line was also part of a larger plan to force the Germans to commit as many troops to Italy as possible in order to make way for an Allied cross-Channel assault-what would become D-Day. With the Eighth Army's 1,000 guns, the Fifth Army's 600, and more than 3,000 aircraft, the Allied forces, which included British, French, Indian, Moroccan, and Polish corps, opened fire in a barrage of artillery from Cassino to the Mediterranean Sea. Despite the fact that the Allies outnumbered the Germans by a ratio of 3 to 1, it took seven days before the Gustav Line could be broken, with the Polish Corps occupying the famed Benedictine abbey of Monte Cassino. The Germans withdrew, to the Hitler Line, but that too was penetrated. The Allies would be in Rome by June 4. =====================================================
1961 President Kennedy orders more troops to South Vietnam
President Kennedy approves sending 400 Special Forces troops and 100 other U.S. military advisers to South Vietnam. On the same day, he orders the start of clandestine warfare against North Vietnam to be conducted by South Vietnamese agents under the direction and training of the CIA and U.S. Special Forces troops. Kennedy's orders also called for South Vietnamese forces to infiltrate Laos to locate and disrupt communist bases and supply lines there. =====================================================
1969 Paratroopers battle for "Hamburger Hill"
U.S. and South Vietnamese forces battle North Vietnamese troops for Ap Bia Mountain (Hill 937), one mile east of the Laotian border. The battle was part of Operation Apache Snow, a 2,800-man Allied sweep of the A Shau Valley. The purpose of the operation was to cut off North Vietnamese infiltration from Laos and enemy threats to Hue and Da Nang. U.S. paratroopers pushing northeast found the communist forces entrenched on Ap Bia Mountain. In fierce fighting directed by Maj. Gen. Melvin Zais, the mountain came under heavy Allied air strikes, artillery barrages, and 10 infantry assaults. The communist stronghold was captured on May 20 in the 11th attack, when 1,000 troops of the 101st Airborne Division and 400 South Vietnamese soldiers fought their way to the summit of the mountain.
During the intense fighting, 597 North Vietnamese were reported killed and U.S. casualties were 56 killed and 420 wounded. Due to the bitter fighting and the high loss of life, the battle for Ap Bia Mountain was dubbed "Hamburger Hill" by the U.S. media.
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