May 7th
Today in 1718,the city of New Orleans was founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne De Bienville.Try saying that name five times really fast…
Today in 1800,the Northwest Territory was divided into two parts. The western part became the Indiana Territory and the eastern section remained as the Northwest Territory.
Today in 1914,Congress unanimously passed the first “Mother’s Day” bill.It was the idea of a teacher from West Virginia, who had begun promoting it six years earlier.
Today in 1915,a German torpedo sank the British passenger liner "Lusitania" off the Irish coast. It took only 18 minutes for giant ship to slip beneath the sea and one-thousand, one-hundred, and nineteen of the 1,924 aboard died. The dead included 114 Americans.
Today in 1945,Germany signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters in Rheims, France.
Today in 1975,President Gerald Ford officially declared an end to the “Vietnam Era,” a week after the fall of Saigon.
Today in 1984,a $180-million out-of-court settlement was announced in the Agent Orange class-action suit brought by Vietnam veterans who said they’d been injured by exposure to the defoliant.
Today in 1985,baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth announced plans for mandatory drug testing of all baseball personnel,except the major league players! That changed in 2002.
Today in 1993,18-year-old Sherry Annette Johnson came forwardas the sixth patient to contract AIDS from the late Dr. David Acer, her dentist. No one has ever been able to explain how those six people were infected by Acer.
Today in 1998,Daimler-Benz bought Chrysler Corp. for close to $40-billion. It was the largest industrial merger on record.
Today in 1999,NATO jets, which were led by the United States, fired missiles,which struck the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, killing three people and injuring 20. President Clinton called the attack a "tragic mistake."
Today in 1999,a jury ruled that "The Jenny Jones Show" and Warner Bros. were liable in the shooting death of Scott Amedure. Another guest on the show killed him. The jury's award was $25-million. Jonathan Schmitz admitted killing agay admirer after the man revealed his crush on him during taping of the show, was sentenced to a maximum of 50 years in prison. Schmitz had been fighting alcoholism, depression and a thyroid condition when show producers ambushed him. See the segment,HERE.The Michigan Court of Appeals overturned the award in October 2002, a decision that was later upheld by the Michigan Supreme Court. As for the criminal case, Schmitz was found guilty of second-degree murder in 1996 and sentenced to 25–50 years in prison, but his conviction was overturned on appeal. Uponretrial, he was found guilty of the same charge once again and his sentence was re-instated.
Today in 2008,President George W. Bush, addressing the Council of the Americas,said Cuba’s post-Fidel Castro leadership had made only “empty gestures at reform” as he rejected calls for easing U.S. restrictions on the communist island.
Today in 2012,Paleoclimatological research claimed dinosaur flatulence may have warmed the earth. In other words, dinosaur farts contributed to global warming allllllll the way back then.
Today in 2013,Delaware became the 11th US State to legalize same-sex marriage.
Today in 2017,MTV became the first major awards show to adopt gender-neutral categories– Emma Watson won best film actor, and Millie Bobby Brown took home honors for best TV actor.
Today in 2017,former President Barack Obama accepted the annual John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award at the JFK presidential library in Boston.