This Day In History

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 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 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 17th 1954: Brown v. Board of Education decision

On this day in 1954, the US Supreme Court handed down its unanimous decision in the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. The decision declared segregation on grounds of race in schools unconstitutional. The ruling overturned the 1896 decision Plessy v. Ferguson which allowed segregation under the doctrine ‘separate but equal’. The case had been bought by African-American parents, including Oliver L. Brown, against Topeka’s educational segregation. It was argued before the Court by the chief legal counsel of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP): Thurgood Marshall, who became the first African-American Supreme Court justice in 1967. The Court, led by Chief Justice Earl Warren, declared that segregation violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The landmark decision is considered the start of the Civil Rights Movement which led to racial integration and full legal rights for African-Americans.

“We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal”
- Warren’s opinion for the Court

May 16th 1929: First Academy Awards

On this day in 1929, the first Academy Awards ceremony was held at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, California. The ceremony was hosted by actor Douglas Fairbanks and director William C. de Mille. 15 awards were handed out, with William Wellman’s ‘Wings’ winning Best Picture and Charlie Chaplin and Warner Brothers being given Honorary Awards. The ceremony was a private brunch with 270 guests and only lasted 15 minutes; it is the only Oscars not to be broadcast on radio or television.

“I found that the best way to handle filmmakers was to hang medals all over them…If I got them cups and awards they’d kill them to produce what I wanted. That’s why the Academy Award was created”
- Louis B. Mayer (creator of the Awards)

May 14th 1804: Lewis and Clark Expedition departs

On this day in 1804 Meriwether Lewis & William Clark and their team departed from Camp Dubois, Illinois to explore the newly purchased Louisiana Territory and to reach the Pacific coast. The journey was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson in order to explore the new area and its plants and animal life, and to establish US sovereignty over native peoples along the Missouri River. Lewis and Clark were accompanied by a young Indian woman named Sacagawea and made numerous scientific and commercial discoveries on their journey. They returned in September, 1806.

May 7th 1915: RMS Lusitania sunk

On this day in 1915 during World War One, German submarine U-20 torpedoed and sank the British RMS Lusitania, killing 1,198 including 128 Americans. Public outcry in the United States turned many people against the Germans, thus contributing to America’s entry into World War One. The ship was supposedly targeted for its cargo which included ammunition and war supplies. US President Woodrow Wilson was initially reluctant to over-react but America eventually did enter the war on the Allied side in 1917.

May 4th 1970: Kent State shootings

On this day in 1970 during the Vietnam War, four unarmed students were killed and 9 injured by the Ohio National Guard who were sent to Kent State University to break up protests against the United States’ invasion of Cambodia. Some of those shot were not even protesters, but bystanders. The event caused national outrage and escalated opposition to the government which had been increasing due to the continued war with in Vietnam.