This Day In History

On May 7, 1915, a German U-boat torpedoed the British ocean liner Lusitania off the coast of Ireland. The ship sank in about 18 minutes, killing nearly 1,200 people and pushing the United States closer to World War I.

On May 6, 1937, the Hindenburg caught fire while preparing to land in Lakehurst, New Jersey, and was destroyed in less than a minute. The disaster killed 35 people aboard the airship and one worker on the ground, ending a famous chapter in passenger airship travel.

On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American to travel into space when he launched aboard Freedom 7. The brief suborbital flight lasted just over 15 minutes, but it marked a turning point in the United States’ early space efforts.

On May 4, 1942, the World War II Battle of the Coral Sea began. It became the first naval battle fought mainly by aircraft carriers, with opposing fleets striking each other by air while their ships never came into direct sight.

On May 4, 1942, the World War II Battle of the Coral Sea began. It became the first naval battle fought mainly by aircraft carriers, with opposing fleets striking each other by air while their ships never came into direct sight.

On April 29, 1947, the United States issued its first aerogram, then called an air letter sheet. It was a simple folded sheet of paper, but it offered Americans a cheaper and faster way to send personal messages overseas in the growing age of air travel.

On April 24, 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was inaugurated as Pope Benedict XVI, becoming the 265th Pope of the Catholic Church before a crowd of more than 300,000 in St. Peter’s Square. The 78-year-old German theologian — once nicknamed “God’s Rottweiler” for his doctrinal rigor — surprised the world eight years later by becoming the first pope to resign in nearly 600 years.

On April 22, 1993, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum opened in Washington, DC — a building so deliberately unsettling in its design that its…

President Harry S. Truman was born in Lamar, Missouri on May 8, 1884. America’s 33rd president, he led America through the final months of WWII and the early years of the Cold War.

The first king of the Kingdom Hawaii, King Kamehameha I, is believed to have died on May 8, 1819. Kamehameha was the first chief to unite the Hawaiian islands and remains a revered figure in the state today.

On May 8, 1846, future President Zachary Taylor led US forces to their first major victory of the Mexican-American War at the Battle of Palo Alto.

On May 8, 1911, the US Navy purchased its first airplane. This date is celebrated as the birth of US naval aviation.