This Day In History

May 27th 1941: Bismarck sunk

On this day in 1941 during World War Two, the German battleship Bismarck was sunk in the North Atlantic. Of the 2,200-man crew, only 200 survived. The ship was named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the driving force behind German unification in 1871. Despite suffering heavy damage in the previous days, the cause of the ship’s sinking is disputed; some claim it was due to British torpedoes, others claim the crew deliberately sunk it. The wreck of the Bismarck was discovered in 1989 by Robert Ballard who, just four years earlier, had discovered the wreck of the Titanic.

May 26th 1868: President Johnson acquitted

On this day in 1868 President Andrew Johnson’s impeachment trial ended, finding him not guilty by one vote. Johnson became President in 1865 after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and oversaw the Reconstruction era after the Civil War. The unpopular President was impeached in February by the House of Representatives, with the main charge being that he violated the Tenure of Office Act by removing Edwin Stanton as Secretary of War. Johnson was then put on trial in the Senate, with Chief Justice Salmon Chase presiding, however he was found not guilty. He was one vote short of conviction and thus removal from office. Whilst Congress gave specific reasons for the impeachment, many still consider the affair mostly political. Johnson and Bill Clinton in 1998 are the only Presidents to have been impeached.

May 25th 1977: Star Wars released

On this day in 1977, the iconic film ‘Star Wars’ (later retitled ‘Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope’) was released. It was the first in a six film saga, and was written and directed by George Lucas. It was not expected to be a huge success, but when it was released it earned $460 million in the United States and $337 million overseas, thus defeating ‘Jaws’ as the highest-grossing film (surpassed by ‘E.T. the Extra Terrestrial’ in 1983). Star Wars was a groundbreaking piece of cinema and its popularity endures.

May 24th 1883: Brooklyn Bridge opens

On this day in 1883 the iconic Brooklyn Bridge in New York City opened. The bridge connects Manhattan and Brooklyn and when opened was the longest suspension bridge in the world. Thousands attended the opening ceremony, including President Chester A. Arthur and New York Mayor Franklin Edson who crossed the bridge to celebratory cannon fire. A few days after opening, a rumour spread that the bridge was unstable and would collapse. However, the rumours were ended on May 17th 1884 when famous circus master P.T Barnum showed its stability by having his famous attraction Jumbo the elephant lead a parade of elephants over the Brooklyn Bridge.

May 23rd 1934: Bonnie and Clyde killed

On this day in 1934 the infamous American bank robbing duo Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were ambushed by police and killed in Louisiana. Bonnie and Clyde and their gang were outlaws who robbed banks and killed several police officers and civilians from 1931 to 1934. The couple became legendary for their exploits and their love story, especially after Arthur Penn’s 1967 film ‘Bonnie and Clyde’.

“Some day they’ll go down together;
They’ll bury them side by side;
To few it’ll be grief-
To the law a relief-
But it’s death for Bonnie and Clyde.”
- from Bonnie’s poem about the duo

May 22nd 1980: Pac-Man released

On this day in 1980, Namco released the famous arcade game ‘Pac-Man’ in Tokyo. The game was developed by Namco employee Toru Iwatani and aimed to appeal to both genders, rather than just boys as games had previously been. It was originally called ‘Puck Man’, but its makers feared vandalism to the letter ‘P’ and thus changed its name to ‘Pac-Man’. It was immensely popular, mainly when it reached America, and became a social phenomenon spawning merchandise and a television series. Pac-Man is the highest grossing arcade game of all time, generating $3.5 billion by 1999.

Play the game here

May 21st 1924: Leopold and Loeb kill Bobby Franks

On this day in 1924, University of Chicago students Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold Jr murdered 14 year old Bobby Franks. The pair killed the boy as a ‘thrill killing’ in their attempt to perform the perfect crime. However, the two were caught and put on trial. They used their wealth and influence to hire famous defence lawyer Clarence Darrow who argued the pair could not be held morally accountable because they had been raised thinking they were superior and thus are not to blame for their actions. He was successful, and the men avoided the death penalty, instead getting life imprisonment.

May 20th 1927: Charles Lindbergh begins first solo flight across the Atlantic

On this day at 7.52am, Charles Lindbergh set off from Long Island in New York on the world’s first solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean. He landed in Paris at 10.22pm the next day. He covered nearly 3,600 miles in a purpose built single seat plane the Spirit of St. Louis. Lindbergh wanted the Orteig Prize, a $25,000 reward  offered by Raymond Orteig for the first non-stop solo flight between New York and Paris; many died in the pursuit of the prize, but Lindbergh won it.  Lindbergh was a US Air Mail pilot before his fame from this historic flight, for which he was awarded a Medal of Honor.

May 19th 1536: Anne Boleyn beheaded

On this day in 1536, the second wife of King Henry VIII of England was beheaded. Henry and Anne married in 1533 after the King divorced his first wife Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne, his mistress. When he tried to seek divorce, the Catholic Church protested, and thus the King split with the Church and assumed authority over religious matters. Many did not recognise the legitimacy of his second marriage. When Anne failed to produce a male heir Henry had her executed, using dubious charges of treason, adultery and incest. Henry soon after married Jane Seymour, who died in 1537.

May 18th 1896: Khodynka Tragedy

On this day in 1896 during the festivities celebrating the coronation of new Russian Tsar Nicholas II, a mass panic on Khodynka Field in Moscow led to 1,389 deaths. A banquet was planned for the people which was highly anticipated due to rumours of free beer, pretzels and gingerbread. Thousands gathered early in the morning, but a rumour spread that there was not enough food for everyone and in the ensuing panic and crush, 1,389 were trampled to death and a further 1,300 injured. The new Tsar visited the injured in hospital but still attended a ball at the French embassy in the evening which many thought showed a lack of care for his subjects (Nicholas had not wanted to go but his advisors considered it an insult to France). The incident marked the beginning of a series of events which undermined faith in Tsar Nicholas II and led to his removal from power in 1917, making him the last Tsar of Russia.