Today in History

  • Friday, May 3, 2013 7:53pm
  • Life

Today’s highlight:

On May 4, 1776, Rhode Island declared its freedom from England, two months before the Declaration of Independence was adopted.

On this date:

In 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago, a labor demonstration for an 8-hour work day turned into a deadly riot when a bomb exploded.

In 1904, the United States took over construction of the Panama Canal.

In 1916, responding to a demand from President Woodrow Wilson, Germany agreed to limit its submarine warfare. (However, Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare the following year.)

In 1932, mobster Al Capone, convicted of income-tax evasion, entered the federal penitentiary in Atlanta. (Capone was later transferred to Alcatraz Island.)

In 1942, the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first naval clash fought entirely with carrier aircraft, began in the Pacific during World War II. (The outcome was considered a tactical victory for Imperial Japan, but ultimately a strategic one for the Allies.)

In 1959, the first Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Domenico Modugno won Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)”; Henry Mancini won Album of the Year for “The Music from Peter Gunn.”

In 1961, the first group of “Freedom Riders” left Washington, D.C., to challenge racial segregation on interstate buses and in bus terminals.

In 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire during an anti-war protest at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others.

In 1980, Marshal Josip Broz Tito, president of Yugoslavia, died three days before his 88th birthday.

In 1998, Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski was given four life sentences plus 30 years by a federal judge in Sacramento, Calif., under a plea agreement that spared him the death penalty.

Ten years ago: Tornadoes swept across the Central Plains and Midwest, resulting in 38 deaths and causing a wide swath of destruction. Police in Iraq’s capital returned to work in force. Pope John Paul II proclaimed five new saints before a crowd of 1 million people in Madrid. Two American astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut landed nearly 300 miles off course after returning from the international space station.

Five years ago: President George W. Bush visited Greensburg, Kan., where he hailed the resilience of the town and its tiny high school graduating class, one year after a tornado barreled through with astonishing fury. A river boat sank in a remote Amazon region in northern Brazil, killing at least 48 people. Iraq’s first lady (Hiro Ibrahim Ahmed) escaped unharmed from a bomb attack in downtown Baghdad that struck her motorcade.

One year ago: The U.S. and China outlined a tentative deal to send Chen Guangcheng (chehn gwahng-chung), a blind legal activist, to America for study and potentially bring a face-saving end to a delicate diplomatic crisis. (Chen left China on May 19, 2012.) Adam Yauch, 47, the gravelly-voiced rapper who helped make The Beastie Boys one of the seminal groups in hip-hop, died in New York. Game show producer Bob Stewart, 91, died in Los Angeles.

Today’s Birthdays: The former president of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, is 85. Opera singer Roberta Peters is 83. Katherine Jackson, matriarch of the Jackson musical family, is 83. Jazz musician Ron Carter is 76. Rock musician Dick Dale is 76. Pop singer Peggy Santiglia (The Angels) is 69. Actor Richard Jenkins is 66. Country singer Stella Parton is 64. Actor-turned-clergyman Hilly Hicks is 63. Irish musician Darryl Hunt (The Pogues) is 63. Singer Jackie Jackson (The Jacksons) is 62. Singer-actress Pia Zadora is 61. Rhythm-and-blues singer Oleta Adams is 60. Rhythm-and-blues singer Sharon Jones is 57. Country singer Randy Travis is 54. Actress Mary McDonough is 52. Comedian Ana Gasteyer is 46. Actor Will Arnett is 43. Rock musician Mike Dirnt (Green Day) is 41. Contemporary Christian singer Chris Tomlin is 41. TV personality and fashion designer Kimora Lee Simmons is 38. Rock musician Jose Castellanos is 36. Singer Lance Bass (‘N Sync) is 34. Actor Alexander Gould is 19. Actress Amara (uh-MAH’-ruh) Miller is 13.

Thought for Today: “When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt.” — Henry J. Kaiser, American industrialist (1882-1967).

Associated Press

Talk to us

More in Life

Dark gray wheels and black exterior accents provide extra visual appeal for the 2024 Subaru Impreza’s RS trim. (Subaru)
2024 Subaru Impreza loses a little, gains a lot

The brand’s compact car is fully redesigned. A couple of things are gone, but many more have arrived.

TSR image for calendar
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

This weekend in Snohomish: The Snohomish Blues Invasion and the Snohomish Studio Tour 2023.

Made by Bruce Hutchison, the poster for “A Momentary Diversion on the Road to the Grave” is an homage to 1985 classic “The Goonies.” (Photo provided)
Indie film premiering on Whidbey Island

Filmed almost entirely on Whidbey Island, “A Momentary Diversion on the Road to the Grave” is set to premiere in Langley.

This photo provided by OceanGate Expeditions shows a submersible vessel named Titan used to visit the wreckage site of the Titanic. In a race against the clock on the high seas, an expanding international armada of ships and airplanes searched Tuesday, June 20, 2023, for the submersible that vanished in the North Atlantic while taking five people down to the wreck of the Titanic. (OceanGate Expeditions via AP)
A new movie based on OceanGate’s Titan submersible tragedy is in the works: ‘Salvaged’

MindRiot announced the film, a fictional project titled “Salvaged,” on Friday.

A clump of flowering ornamental grass or pennisetum alopecuroides in an autumn garden.
My garden runneth over with fountain grasses, and for good reason

These late-blooming perennials come in many varieties. They work well as accents, groundcovers, edgings or in containers.

A woman diverts from her walk on Colby Avenue to take a closer look at a pickup truck that was partly crushed by a fallen tree during an overnight wind storm Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, in north Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / Herald file)
Storm season is coming. Here’s how to prepare for power outages.

The most important action you can take is to make an emergency preparedness kit.

Do you prefer green or red grapes? This antique Moser pitcher is decorated with enameled grapevines on shaded red-to-green glass.
Grapevine pitcher was made by renowned Bohemian company

Also, queries about grandmother’s coffee set and late husband’s Beatles records and memorabilia collection.

The city of Mukilteo is having a naming contest for its new $75,000 RC Mowers R-52, a remote-operated robotic mower. (Submitted photo)
Mukilteo muncher: Name the $75,000 robot mower

The city is having a naming contest for its new sod-slaying, hedge-hogging, forest-clumping, Mr-mow-it-all.

Death of parent with child. Piece of paper with parents and children is torn in half.
Helping children cope with the hard realities of divorce

I’s important to set aside one’s feelings and find a way to make this challenging transition as comfortable for children as you can.

Most Read