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CHANCELLORSVILLE - A STUNNING VICTORY
General Robert E. Lee was greatly outnumbered when he gathered his Confederate soldiers at a Virginia crossroads in early May, 1863. Despite the disparity in troop
strength, Lee had at least one significant advantage: Stonewall Jackson.
A brilliant strategist, Jackson devised a way to surprise about 70,000
Union troops who were not expecting a late-afternoon attack. It
was said of Jackson that he loved the Union, but he loved the state
of Virginia more.
EMPIRE STATE BUILDING - A 14-MONTH MARVEL
It took just 410 days for a group of Depression-era workers to build the Empire State Building. This video clip, incorporating historic footage of the construction
process, is even more stunning when we consider the building was the tallest in the world when it opened on May 1, 1931.
THE U-2 SPY PLANE INCIDENT
President Eisenhower was serving his last year as America’s leader when a U-2 spy plane, piloted by Francis Gary Powers, was shot down over the Soviet Union. The
United States and the USSR were already at odds, during the Cold War, but this incident (which took place on May 1, 1960) made relations between the two countries much worse.
IN FLANDERS FIELDS - BACKGROUND of the FAMOUS POEM
John McCrae - a medical doctor, serving as a Major with the Canadian artillery in Ypres, Belgium - was horrified when he saw Alexis Helmer (his young friend and former student)
blown apart by a German attack on May 2, 1915. Helmer died during WWI’s Second Battle of Ypres. Soon thereafter, while gazing at his poppy-filled surroundings, McCrae heard the larks singing amidst the devastation. He wrote "In Flanders Field," an emotion-filled fifteen lines of poetry. In this clip, it is recited by Anthony
Davies.
LEONARDO da VINCI
Leonardo da Vinci, a leading figure of the Renaissance, was born in 1452, just outside
the village of Vinci (in Italy). Called "the first modern mind in history," Leonardo was denied an excellent education because of his status at birth. That fact hardly stopped his quest for knowledge, however. What he did not learn in school he learned
by other means. On the 2nd of May, 1519, Leonardo died in France. Who was this famous man of the Renaissance?
GERMAN RADIO ANNOUNCEMENT - HITLER is DEAD
On the 1st of May, 1945, German Radio announced that Adolf Hitler had died in the Reich’s Chancery, fighting the Soviets. This clip depicts how people in
Britain heard the news, the following day.
FALKLANDS WAR - SINKING the GENERAL BELGRANO
During the Falklands War, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher learned that the Belgrano - an Argentinian ship - was approaching Britain's declared exclusion zone. Worried
that the Belgrano carried exocet missiles, which could sink both of Britain's aircraft carriers deployed to the area, Thatcher gave the order to sink the Belgrano. It was destroyed by torpedoes from a British submarine - HMS Conqueror - which was trailing the Argentinian vessel.
EXOCET MISSILE in ACTION - SINKING the HMS SHEFFIELD
Retaliating against the loss of the General Belgrano, Argentinian forces used an exocet missile to sink the HMS Sheffield during the Falklands War. The ship was
lost on the 4th of May, 1982.
FRIENDLY FIRE FELLS STONEWALL JACKSON
After stunning Union troops, at Chancellorsville, Stonewall Jackson wanted to plan his next attack. Leaving the protection of his camp, he was shot by Confederate troops
who mistook him and his staff for Union personnel. Carrying their general on a stretcher, Jackson’s assistants dropped him. He could have survived the initial wounds, but not the pneumonia caused by the fall.
PETER MINUIT BUYS MANHATTAN ISLAND
Sent to New Netherland, in 1626, Peter Minuit was instructed to buy land for the Dutch colony and to serve as its first director-general. Arriving in the part of America we call New York, he decided Manhattan Island was the best land for farming and pasturing. In this clip, see the legendary spot where he made his deal - with Native Americans - and hear the language the colonists spoke at the time.
MARGARET MITCHELL
- GONE with the WIND
Writing a story about the Southern way of life - which was blown away like dust in the wind during America’s civil war - Margaret Mitchell won a Pulitzer Price on May 3, 1937.
Did Mitchell base her famous story on real people, in addition to real events (like the burning of Atlanta)? The discovery of her Aunt’s scrapbook gives us a glimpse into Mitchell’s private world - and the surprising source for some of her characters.
SCARLETT O’HARA
- MARGARET MITCHELL’S HEROINE
The lead character in Gone with the Wind, Scarlett O’Hara was played by a relatively unknown actress - Vivien Leigh - when the film-version role was cast in late 1937.
Who was Vivien Leigh, the private person? What opinions did she have of the film which made her famous (and of film-making in general)?
BRITAIN’S FIRST FEMALE PRIME MINISTER
Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s first female prime minister on the 4th of May, 1979. As she worked her way up the political ladder, she changed her appearance
and her speaking voice. We can hear how she sounded before and after Laurence Olivier - the famous actor - recommended that she study with a voice tutor at London’s National Theatre.
INSIDE NUMBER 10 - PRIME MINISTER’S RESIDENCE
Take a virtual trip to Number 10 Downing Street - the London residence of Britain's Prime Minister - to see the "White Room" (where visiting dignitaries meet the sitting PM). Its current decor still reflects Margaret Thatcher's influence.
KUBLAI KHAN - NEW RULER
A grandson of Genghis, Kublai became the Great Khan in 1260. He moved his capital to Beijing, built the Forbidden City and was ruler of China when Marco Polo paid a visit (then remained in China for seventeen years). What was life like in China - on the 5th of May, 1260 - when Kublai became the country’s new ruler?
FREEDOM RIDERS
- 50TH ANNIVERSARY
While laws prohibiting racial segregation - on various forms of interstate public transportation - were on the books, by 1961, those laws were not enforced - including by the
federal government. A group of civil-rights activists decided to give the issue a higher national profile. On the 4th of May, 1961, the first group of "Freedom Riders" boarded a bus in Washington, D.C. Intending to reach New Orleans by the 17th of that month, they were non-violent resistors prepared to endure every depredation which came their way. Many did.
KENT STATE SHOOTINGS
At 12:24 PM, Eastern Daylight Time, shooting erupted on the campus of Kent State University. It was May 4, 1970, and students were gathering for a protest against
the Vietnam war. Instead of raising their collective voices, however, four people were shot dead while nine others were injured. This video clip contains historical footage of the tragedy.
FIRST AMERICAN in SPACE
Alan Shepard was the first American to blast into space when he made the fifteen-minute trip on the 5th of May, 1961. With schoolchildren throughout the country watching television in their classrooms, Shepard was shaking so hard inside his capsule that he could hardly read the instrument panel. The following decade, he made a trip to the Moon (where
he walked on its surface). This clip, from NASA, incorporates
the launch and other historic footage.
BUILDING the EIFFEL TOWER
After two years of construction, the Eiffel Tower was opened to the public on the 6th of May, 1889. Built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of
the French Revolution - and to welcome visitors to the Universal Exposition
celebrating the event - the Tower was originally set to be disassembled
just twenty years after it was erected. What caused French officials
to change their minds, allowing the Tower to remain standing?
LAST MESSAGE from CORREGIDOR
When the U.S. government temporarily abandoned American soldiers and their allies, who were fighting in the Philippines, the exhausted men had no choice but to surrender.
Irving Strobing, an American corporal, sent Morse-Code messages during
the final hours before Corregidor fell to the Japanese on May 6, 1942.
Those messages - heard in this video clip - were received in Hawaii
and, weeks later, their transcriptions were published in American newspapers.
Strobing, by then a prisoner of war, did not realize he had become a
national hero.
HINDENBURG EXPLOSION
As the Hindenburg was about to land at Lakehurst, New Jersey it suddenly burst into flames. In less than a minute, the entire dirigible was destroyed. Herb
Morrison was recording the event for later broadcast and was sure no
one could have lived through the ordeal. Many people did survive,
however, and the event remains one of the most sensational occurrences
of the 20th century.
SINKING of the LUSITANIA
Lusitania left New York City, bound for her home port of Liverpool, on the 1st of May, 1915. Two weeks earlier, the German Embassy in Washington
had issued a warning that any ship flying under the flag of Great Britain,
or any of her allies, was subject to attack. On the 7th of May, the Lusitania was attacked by a German submarine. She sank in eighteen minutes, causing the deaths of a reported 1,198 people.
TOMB of HEROD the GREAT
For more than three decades, a team of archaeologists painstakingly searched the ancient site of Herodium, in search of a tomb. They were looking for the burial site of King Herod the Great. Following the writings of first-century historian, Josephus, Professor Ehud Netzer and his team believed they found what they were looking for on the 7th of May, 2007.
V-E DAY - WORLD WAR II ENDS in EUROPE
After telling the British people that Hitler was dead, Winston Churchill declared that May 8, 1945 would be VE (Victory in Europe) Day. Responding to the Prime Minister's
announcement, more than a million people crowded London's streets to celebrate the end of the war. This historic footage captures those moments of joy.
CAPTURE OF U-110 and the ENIGMA CODES
Before the Enigma Codes were captured by a Royal Navy crew - on the 9th of May, 1941 - German U-Boats were causing all kinds of damage in the North Atlantic.
But when U-110 was captured, the Allies had the ability to begin
deciphering Germany’s ingenious system.
"LOOK THE OTHER WAY" - SLAVE TRADE
After trying, for so long, to convince Parliament to abolish the slave trade, William Wilberforce presented evidence of slave-trade brutalities during May of 1789.
On the 12th of May, he chided fellow members of the House of Commons with these words: "You can look the other way, but you can no longer say you didn’t know."
CORONATION of GEORGE VI and ELIZABETH
It was a dreary day, weather-wise, but the crowds lining the streets of London on the 12th of May, 1937, were jubilant as their new King was officially crowned at
Westminster Abbey. George VI, who had never planned to become Britain's monarch, grew in stature among his people - particularly during the Second World War. His young daughters, Elizabeth (the current Queen) and Margaret, are also featured in this video clip.
CHURCHILL: "BLOOD, TOIL, TEARS AND SWEAT"
Three days after he became Britain’s Prime Minister, Winston Churchill addressed Parliament. He said he had nothing to offer except his "blood, toil, tears
and sweat." This is a clip from that famous speech which Churchill gave on May 13, 1940.
RECORDED VOICE of VIRGINIA WOOLF
On the 14th of May, 1925, Virginia Woolf published her famous novel, Mrs. Dalloway. A single recording of Virginia Woolf’s voice survives. You can
hear her in this clip.
THE FALL of HOLLAND
Following massive bombing of The Netherlands, including its major port city of Rotterdam, Hitler forced Holland’s surrender. How did Germans learn the news regarding
the events of that significant week (of May 15th, 1940)? This contemporary German weekly newsreel, translated into English, provides some insight.
DEATH of JACKIE KENNEDY
During her lifetime, Mrs. Kennedy was one of the most-admired women in the world. She died, of cancer, on the 19th of May, 1994. We can learn more about her
from the famous tour of the White House which she made for television
viewers in 1962.
THE SWIFT FALL of ANNE BOLEYN
A mere seventeen days passed between the date Anne Boleyn was arrested and the day she was beheaded. Was it justice which moved the clock so quickly, for King Henry VIII’s
Queen Consort, or something else?
FIRST TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT
Charles A. Lindbergh completed the world’s first solo transatlantic flight in his specially designed plane called "Spirit of St. Louis." Lindbergh left Long
Island at 7:52 AM - on the 20th of May, 1927 - and touched-down
in Paris at 11:22 PM the next evening.
AMELIA EARHART - FIRST TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT
Five years to the day after Lindbergh left Long Island for his trek across the Atlantic, Amelia Earhart began her first transatlantic flight. She left Harbour
Grace, Newfoundland around dusk on May 20, 1932. She landed at
Culmore, Northern Ireland the next day.
BISMARCK versus HMS HOOD
Two great ships - the Hood (pride of the Royal Navy) and the Bismarck (pride of the Third Reich) fought each other in May of 1941. When the Hood was struck by a Bismarck shell - exploding and sinking within three minutes - Churchill issued his famous order: "Sink the Bismarck!" A few days later, Germany’s battleship went to the bottom of the Atlantic.
DEATH of BONNIE and CLYDE
Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker were notorious outlaws during the Great Depression. On the 23rd of May, 1934, they drove their stolen car into an ambush. Shooting
to kill, the six-member posse had waited two days and two nights for
the pair to pass by on a rural Louisiana road. When the law officers
stopped shooting, the stolen car was marked with 167 bullet holes.
TRIAL of JOAN of ARC
When the English tried the French heroine, Joan of Arc, as a relapsed heretic - in May of 1431 - her fate was a foregone conclusion. Her trial transcripts reveal
that she was afraid of death by burning at the stake.
SAMUEL MORSE SENDS 1st TELEGRAPHIC MESSAGE
On the 24th of May,
1844, Samuel Morse sent the first telegraphic message which traveled
between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland. But ... was
Morse really responsible for developing the famous code ... or ... did
he have help from someone else?
JESSE OWENS
- SHATTERS WORLD RECORDS
During a college track-and-field
meet - on the 25th of May, 1935 - Jesse Owens was representing
his school - Ohio State University - when he shattered three world records,
and tied a fourth, all within the span of 45 minutes. Learn more
about him via this video interview.
SCALING MT. EVEREST
On the 29th of May,
1953, two men - Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay - reached the top of
Mount Everest. Their achievement is the first reported scaling
of the world’s tallest mountain.
DEATH of JOAN of ARC
On the 30th of May, 1431, nineteen-year-old
Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in Rouen, France. Carl Theodor
Dreyer’s feared-lost-but-found silent movie, "The Passion of
Joan of Arc," recreates the event. Maria Falconetti portrays
Joan.
BIG BEN
- HOW DOES IT KEEP TIME?
Big Ben - London’s famous
clock - began keeping time on May 31, 1859. Have you ever seen
how it works? Did you know that to reach the clock a person has
to walk-up 334 steps? Have a look at this video to learn the story
behind one of Britain’s most-recognizable attractions.
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