On June 4th 1989, Chinese troops stormed through Tiananmen Square in the centre of Beijing, killing and arresting thousands of pro-democracy protesters. The brutal Chinese government assault on the protesters shocked the West and brought denunciations and sanctions from the United States. In May 1989, nearly a million Chinese, mostly young students, crowded into central … Continue reading June 4 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre takes place
Tag: History
June 3 1990 Bush and Gorbachev end second summit meeting
On June 3rd 1990, President George Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ended their three-day summit meeting with warm words of friendship, but without any concrete agreement concerning German reunification.Bush and Gorbachev held their second summit conference in Washington, D.C. The main topic of conversation was the future of a reunified Germany. Communist rule … Continue reading June 3 1990 Bush and Gorbachev end second summit meeting
June 2 1989 Dead Poets Society released
On June 2nd 1989, the boys’ prep school drama Dead Poets Society, starring Robin Williams, was released in selected U.S. theatrestheaters. Set in 1959 at a fictional all-male preparatory school called Welton Academy, the film starred Robin Williams as John Keating, a charismatic English teacher who encourages his students to “seize the day” (“carpe diem” … Continue reading June 2 1989 Dead Poets Society released
June 1 1980 CNN launches
On June 1st 1980, CNN (Cable News Network), the world's first 24-hour television news network, made its debut. The network signed on at 6 p.m. EST from its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, with a lead story about the attempted assassination of civil rights leader Vernon Jordan. CNN went on to change the notion that news … Continue reading June 1 1980 CNN launches
May 31 1930 Clint Eastwood born
On May 31st 1930, the actor and Oscar-winning film maker, Clint Eastwood, was born in San Francisco, California. Clint Eastwood is best known to his many fans for one of his most memorable screen incarnations, San Francisco Police Inspector “Dirty” Harry Callahan. With his father, Eastwood wandered the West Coast as a boy during the … Continue reading May 31 1930 Clint Eastwood born
May 30 1593 Christopher Marlowe killed in tavern brawl
On May 30th 1593, playwright Christopher Marlowe, 29, was killed in a brawl over a bar tab. Marlowe, born two months before William Shakespeare, was the son of a Canterbury shoemaker. A bright student, he won scholarships to prestigious schools and earned his B.A. from Cambridge in 1584. He was nearly denied his master's degree … Continue reading May 30 1593 Christopher Marlowe killed in tavern brawl
May 29 2003 Bob Hope celebrates 100th birthday
On May 29th 2003, 35 U.S. states declared it to be Bob Hope Day, when the iconic comedic actor and entertainer turned 100 years old. In a public ceremony held in Hollywood, city officials renamed the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Avenue--famous for its historic buildings and as a central point on the Hollywood Walk … Continue reading May 29 2003 Bob Hope celebrates 100th birthday
May 28 1965 Mine explosion kills hundreds in India
On May 28th 1965, methane gas caused a mine explosion near Dharbad, India, that killed 375 people and injured hundreds more. The blast was so powerful that even workers on the surface of the mine were killed. The mine was located 225 miles northwest of Calcutta near the town of Dharbad and employed hundreds of … Continue reading May 28 1965 Mine explosion kills hundreds in India
May 27 1905 Battle of Tsushima Strait Begins
On May 27th 1905, during the Russo-Japanese War, the Russian Baltic Fleet is nearly destroyed at the Battle of Tsushima Strait. The decisive defeat, in which only 10 of 45 Russian warships escaped to safety, convinced Russian leaders that further resistance against Japan's imperial designs for East Asia was hopeless. On February 8t, 1904, following … Continue reading May 27 1905 Battle of Tsushima Strait Begins
May 25 1977 Chinese government removes ban on Shakespeare
On May 25th 1977, a new sign of political liberalisation appeared in China, when the communist government lifted its decade-old ban on the writings of William Shakespeare. The action by the Chinese government was additional evidence that the Cultural Revolution was over. In 1966, Mao Tse-Tung, the leader of the People's Republic of China, … Continue reading May 25 1977 Chinese government removes ban on Shakespeare
May 24 1943 Auschwitz gets a new doctor: “the Angel of Death”
On May 24th 1943, the extermination camp at Auschwitz, Poland, received a new doctor, 32-year-old Josef Mengele, a man who would earn the nickname "the Angel of Death." Born March 16, 1911, in Bavaria, Mengele studied philosophy under Alfred Rosenberg, whose racial theories highly influenced him. In 1934, already a member of the Nazi Party, … Continue reading May 24 1943 Auschwitz gets a new doctor: “the Angel of Death”
May 23 1960 Tsunami hits Hawaii
On May 23rd 1960, a tsunami caused by an earthquake off the coast of Chile travelled across the Pacific Ocean and killed 61 people in Hilo, Hawaii. The massive 8.5-magnitude quake had killed thousands in Chile the previous day. The earthquake, involving a severe plate shift, caused a large displacement of water off the coast … Continue reading May 23 1960 Tsunami hits Hawaii
May 22 2004 Controversial documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 wins Palme d’Or
On May 22nd 2004, Michael Moore’s documentary film Fahrenheit 9/11 beat out 18 other films to win the coveted Palme d’Or, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival. It became the first documentary to triumph at Cannes since The Silent World, co-directed by Jacques Cousteau and Louis Malle, won the Palme d’Or in 1956. … Continue reading May 22 2004 Controversial documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 wins Palme d’Or
May 21 1932 Amelia Earhart completes transatlantic flight
On May 21st 1932, five years to the day that American aviator Charles Lindbergh became the first pilot to accomplish a solo, nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean, female aviator Amelia Earhart became the first pilot to repeat the feat, landing her plane in Ireland after flying across the North Atlantic. Earhart travelled over 2,000 … Continue reading May 21 1932 Amelia Earhart completes transatlantic flight
May 20 2007 The Simpsons airs 400th episode
On May 20th 2007, Fox’s long-running animated series The Simpsons aired its 400th episode. The Simpsons was created by Matt Groenig, whose comic strip Life Is Hell caught the attention of the Hollywood producer James L. Brooks. Brooks enlisted Groenig to create a cartoon short that would run during the Fox sketch comedy series The … Continue reading May 20 2007 The Simpsons airs 400th episode
May 19 1588 Spanish Armada sets sail
On May 19 1588, a massive Spanish fleet, known as the "Invincible Armada," set sail from Lisbon on a mission to secure control of the English Channel and transport a Spanish invasion army to Britain from the Netherlands. In the late 1580s, Queen Elizabeth's support of the Dutch rebels in the Spanish Netherlands led King … Continue reading May 19 1588 Spanish Armada sets sail
May 18 2001 Shrek released
On May 18th 2001, the fledgling movie studio Dreamworks SKG, founded by Hollywood heavyweights Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen, released what would become its most successful film to date: the animated feature Shrek. Based on William Steig’s 1990 children’s book, Shrek was vividly re-imagined by Dreamworks animators as a subversive twist on the … Continue reading May 18 2001 Shrek released
May 17 2005 Toyota announces plans for hybrid Camry
On May 17th 2005, Toyota Motor Company announced its plans to produce a gasoline-electric hybrid version of its bestselling Camry sedan. Built at the company's Georgetown, Kentucky, plant, the Camry became Toyota's first hybrid model to be manufactured in the United States. Toyota introduced the Camry--the name is a phonetic transcription of the Japanese word … Continue reading May 17 2005 Toyota announces plans for hybrid Camry
May 16 1770 Louis marries Marie Antoinette
On May 16th 1770, at Versailles, Louis, the French dauphin, married Marie Antoinette, the daughter of Austrian Archduchess Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I. France hoped their marriage would strengthen its alliance with Austria, its longtime enemy. In 1774, with the death of King Louis XV, Louis and Marie were crowned king and … Continue reading May 16 1770 Louis marries Marie Antoinette
May 15 1756 The Seven Years War begins
On May 15th 1756, the Seven Years War, a global conflict known in America as the French and Indian War, officially began when England declared war on France. However, fighting and skirmishes between England and France had been going on in North America for years. In the early 1750s, French expansion into the Ohio River … Continue reading May 15 1756 The Seven Years War begins
May 13 1568 Mary Queen of Scots defeated at Battle of Langeside
On May 13th 1568, at the Battle of Langside, the forces of Mary Queen of Scots were defeated by a confederacy of Scottish Protestants under James Stewart, the regent of her son, King James VI of Scotland. During the battle, which was fought out in the southern suburbs of Glasgow, a cavalry charge routed Mary's … Continue reading May 13 1568 Mary Queen of Scots defeated at Battle of Langeside
May 11 1988 Soviet double agent Kim Philby dies
On May 11th 1988, Kim Philby, a former British Secret Intelligence Service officer and double agent for the Soviet Union, died in Moscow at the age of 76. Philby was perhaps the most famous of a group of British government officials who served as Russian spies from the 1930s to the 1950s. Philby came from … Continue reading May 11 1988 Soviet double agent Kim Philby dies
May 10 1990 China releases Tiananmen Square prisoners
On May 10th 1990, the government of the People's Republic of China announced that it was releasing 211 people arrested during the massive protests held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing in June 1989. Most observers viewed the prisoner release as an attempt by the communist government of China to dispel much of the terrible publicity … Continue reading May 10 1990 China releases Tiananmen Square prisoners
May 9 1671 Captain Blood steals crown jewels
On May 9th 1671, in London, Thomas Blood, an Irish adventurer better known as "Captain Blood," was captured attempting to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. Blood, a Parliamentarian during the English Civil War, was deprived of his estate in Ireland with the restoration of the English monarchy in 1660. In 1663, … Continue reading May 9 1671 Captain Blood steals crown jewels
May 8 1963 Sean Connery stars in his first Bond movie, Dr. No
On May 8th 1963, with the release of Dr. No, moviegoers get their first look--down the barrel of a gun--at the super-spy James Bond (codename: 007), the immortal character created by Ian Fleming in his now-famous series of novels and portrayed onscreen by the relatively unknown Scottish actor Sean Connery. Connery had acted in repertory … Continue reading May 8 1963 Sean Connery stars in his first Bond movie, Dr. No
Craig Hill 