Headlines & tidbits from the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s.
Front Page News:
1937: Dirigible Hindenburg explodes in flames at Lakehurst, NJ (36 die)
1944: Gandhi freed from prison
1946: 5 die in a 2 day riot at Alcatraz prison in San Francisco bay
1960: President Eisenhower signs Civil Rights Act of 1960
1961: Alan Shepard becomes 1st American in Space (aboard Freedom 7)
1970: Ohio National Guard troops opened fire on anti-war protesters
at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others,
one permanently disabled.
1977: 1414 arrested in ongoing protests at proposed nuclear power plant site in Seabrook, New Hampshire.
1980: World Health Organization announced smallpox had been eradicated
1982: IBM releases PC-DOS version 1.1
1984: American veterans of the Vietnam War reached a $180-million out-of-court settlement with seven chemical companies in their class-action suit relating to the use of herbicide Agent Orange in Vietnam.
American Living:
1961: President John F. Kennedy officially proclaims Sunday, May 13 as Mother’s Day. “The American Mother, as the heart of the American Home, by her labor and love instills in our homes and nurtures in our children the spirit of our country.”
1970: Now available at Texaco Stations – lead free gasoline.
Movies & TV:
1957: Last broadcast of “I Love Lucy” on CBS-TV
1983: “Laverne & Shirley,” last airs on ABC-TV
Music:
1959: 1st Grammy Awards: Perry Como & Ella Fitzgerald win
1962: West Side Story soundtrack album goes to #1 & stays #1 for 54 weeks which is more than 20 weeks longer than any other album
1966: Mamas & Papas “Monday Monday” hits #1
1970: The Let It Be album was released in 1970.
1970: The soundtrack to the first Woodstock festival was released
1976: Kiss performs their 1st concert
1977: The Eagles’ masterpiece, “Hotel California,” was at number 1 on the singles chart in the U.S. for its only week
1981: Bob Marley died of lung cancer and a brain tumour
Hollywood Headlines:
1960: Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz divorce
1977: Joan Crawford, actress, dies at 69
1987: Actor Tom Cruise (27) & actress Mimi Rogers (33), marry
The Arts:
1940: Pulitzer prize awarded to John Steinbeck (Grapes of Wrath)
1953: Pulitzer prize awarded to E Hemingway (Old Man & The Sea)
1955: “Damn Yankees” opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 1022 performances
Sports:
1965: Willie Mays 512th HR breaks Mel Ott’s 511th NL record
1971: Joe Frazier beats Muhammad Ali at Madison Square Garden
May 5, 1978: Pete Rose reaches 3,000 career hits.
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