This day in history...

On May 4, 1970 is the third consecutive day that anti-war protesters and Ohio National Guardsmen will clash at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. The first confrontation dispersed peacefully, but the Guardsmen used teargas to break up the 2nd day. On May 4, 28 Guardsmen are sent in to disperse a crowd of about 2,000 protesters. They again fire teargas canisters, but this time the protesters respond with rocks and verbal taunts. Without further warning, the Guardsmen open fire, killing four students, wounding eight, and permanently paralyzing another. Investigations showed that the closest range from weapon to target when the firing began was 20 yards, and the farthest was almost 250 yards. Still, a federal court dismissed all charges against the Guardmen, and the tragedy only served to further the nation-wide divide over the Vietnam War.


On May 4, 1776, Rhode Island becomes the first North American colony to renounce its allegiance to King George III.

On May 4, 1979, Margaret Thatcher, leader of the Conservative Party, is sworn in as Britain’s first female prime minister. The "Iron Lady" will serve 3 consecutive terms and be one of the most influential voices of global politics of the 1980's.

On May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago, a bomb is thrown at a squad of policemen attempting to break up a labor rally. The police responded with wild gunfire, killing several people in the crowd and injuring dozens more.

 

On May 5, 1961, Navy Commander Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel in space. The suborbital flight of Freedom 7 is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and lasts 15 minutes, reaching an altitude of 116 miles. But for now, the Soviets still hold the lead in the "space race;" having sent Yuri Gagarin into space for one orbit less than a month earlier.


On May 5, 1821, former French ruler Napoleon Bonaparte, who once ruled an empire that stretched across Europe, dies as a British prisoner on the remote island of Saint Helena in the southern Atlantic Ocean, most likely of stomach cancer. Napoleon was exiled to the island after his army's crushing defeat at Waterloo in 1815. (below: Napoleon on Saint Helena, by Franz Josef Sandmann)


On May 5, 1945 in Lakeview, Oregon, Mrs. Elsie Mitchell and five neighborhood children find a large balloon in some nearby woods and begin to drag it home. They don't know that the balloon is one of several sent aloft by the Japanese Empire in hopes that they will reach the North American continent, nor do they realize the attached package contains a bomb, which soon explodes, killing all six. They will be the only known continental American civilian casualties of World War II.

On May 5, 1921, French fashion designer Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel brings her first perfume to the market. Her chemists had brought her 10 sample choices a few months earlier, and Chanel, who all her life had an affinity for the number 5, chose the 5th sample. Up until that time, women's perfumes had basically fallen into two categories; the scent of a single flower for the sophisticated woman, and animal musks for....well, the not as sophisticated. OK, slutty. But the women's lib movement is beginning to take hold, and Chanel wanted something that would appeal across the board. Today, Chanel No. 5 remains one of the most popular perfumes of all time.

 

Saturday Night Live came close, they did a parody spot with Gilda Radner for a perfume called "Hey, You!" Marketed as "The perfume for one night stands." Its not on YouTube, and I don't have Vimeo at work, but here's a link, hope it works.

 

So no one thinks I forgot, today is also Cinco de Mayo, which in America has become a reason to get drunk (because we need more reasons to get drunk). In Mexico, it is a remembrance of the May 5, 1862 Battle of Puebla, in which a poorly equipped, outnumbered collection of Mexican nationalists defeated a well-equipped and trained French force at Puebla de Los Angeles. While not considered a major strategic win, the defense galvanized Mexican resistance to Napoleon III's invasion, and six years later the French invasion force withdrew from Mexico.

 

One more from the sports world.....on May 5, 1973, in front of the largest crowd to have ever attended a North American horse race at the time, Secretariat wins the Kentucky Derby in a track record time of 1:59 2/5 for a mile and a quarter. He's the first horse to break 2 minutes in the Derby, a feat that's only been equaled once since (Monarchos in 2001, 1:59.97). In winning the Derby, Secretariat broke last out of the gate, went from last to first, and improved his quarter mile split time at each quarter pole, meaning he was still accelerating at the finish. More to come....