Today in 1868, Memorial Day was observed for the first time in the U.S.
Today in 1896, the first automobile accident occurred in New York City. A Duryea Motor Wagon, driven by Henry Wells from Springfield, Massachusetts collided with a bicycle ridden by Evylyn Thomas of Manhattan.
Today in 1948, a dike along the flooding Columbia River broke, obliterating Vanport, Oregon within minutes. In the end, 15 people died and more than 17-thousand were left homeless.
Today in 1958, unidentified soldiers killed in World War II and the Korean conflict were buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Four unknown Americans who died in the Korean War were disinterred from the National Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii. Both caskets arrived in Washington on May 28, 1958, where they lay in the Capitol Rotunda until the morning of May 30th, when they were carried on caissons to Arlington National Cemetery. President Eisenhower awarded each the Medal of Honor, and the Unknowns of World War II and the Korean War were interred in the plaza beside their World War I comrade.
Today in 1966, NASA launched the “Surveyor 1” moon probe. Two days later, it soft-landed on the moon and transmitted over 11,000 pictures of the lunar surface.
Today in 2001, Barry Bonds hit career homer #522 passing Willie McCovey and Ted Williams to become 11th the all time list, and making him the number one lefty home run hitter in National League history. The round tripper is the 17th hit by the Giant outfielder in May breaking the record set by Mickey Mantle (1956) and Mark McGwire (1998). Too bad we later found out that he was a fan of the steroids.
Today in 2017, the Pentagon scored an important success in a test of its oft-criticized missile defense program, destroying a mock warhead over the Pacific Ocean with an interceptor.
Today in 2020, as SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launched carrying the Dragon capsule from Cape Canaveral to the International Space Station, SpaceX became the first private company to launch astronauts into space.
Today in 2021, at the Indianapolis 500: Brazilian Hélio Castroneves wins his record 4th title in 2:37:19.3846; new record for fastest running of the race with average speed 190.690 mph.