On May 28, 1863, the 54th Massachusetts Regiment departs Boston, assigned to operations near South Carolina. Under the command of a wealthy young colonel, Robert Gould Shaw, it is the second Union regiment to be formed entirely of African American volunteers (after the 1st Kansas Colored Voluntary Regiment). The 54th will march into "glory" on July 18 as the lead unit in an unsuccessful assault on Ft. Wagner, sustaining more than 40% casualties, including the death of Shaw. On May 28, 1754, Virginia militia under 22-year-old Lieutenant Colonel George Washington surprises and defeats a French reconnaissance party from Fort Duquesne in Pennsylvania, killing 10 Frenchmen including their commander, and taking 21 prisoners. It is the first engagement of the French and Indian War. On May 28, 1957, westward expansion of Major League Baseball begins when National League owners vote unanimously to allow the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers to move to San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively. It is a "both or neither" deal, both teams must move in order to ease the expenses other teams will incur in travelling to the West Coast for games. While the Dodgers and Giants will continue to play each other 20 times a year, historians of both clubs agree that the 380 miles distance between the two, after years of being separated by a mere subway ride, has cooled the fierce rivalry between the teams. New Yorkers, meanwhile, will get a replacement team in 1962 with the expansion Mets, but won't get another "Subway Series" (the Dodgers and Yankees had met in the '56 World Series) until 2000.
On May 29, 1953 at 11:30 am local time, Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa of Nepal, become the first explorers to reach the summit of Chomo-Lungma, the Tibetan name for Mount Everest, which at 29,035 feet above sea level is the highest point on earth. Westerners - mostly British - had been trying to scale Everest since 1921. On May 29, 1660 The Restoration of the Stuart Dynasty to the British throne begins when Charles II returns from 9 years of exile. Charles had fled the country following defeat at the hands of Oliver Cromwell. Charles returns Great Britain to monarchy in place of Cromwell's Commonwealth, but it is shortlived - the Glorious Revolution establishing Parliarment's authority over the ruling family is just 8 years away. On May 29, 1780, British and Loyalist troops under Colonel Banastre Tarleton defeat the only organized Patriot regiment in South Carolina. But word quickly spreads that Tarleton and his Tories continued to fire on the defeated Patriots even after their surrender, an act that came to be known as “Tarleton’s Quarter.” Patriots were quick to turn the defeat into a propaganda victory, as Continentals who had wavered on revolt now began to come to the aid of the Patriots. On May 29, 2005, 23-year-old Danica Patrick becomes the first female driver to lead a lap in the Indianapolis 500. Having previously distinguished herself in the Toyota Atlantic series, Patrick had qualified fourth for the 500–another best for a woman–in only her fifth Indy Racing League event. She took the lead with 10 laps remaining as other drivers pitted for fuel, but Patrick's team decided to gamble she could finish without the additional fuel stop. Driving conservatively to save fuel, the gamble fails; she's passed by Dan Wheldon with 4 laps remaining and finishes fourth, earning Rookie of the Year honors.
Looking back at this thread and noting we are approaching its one year anniversary. Hope I won't have to start repeating myself.
