- In 1818, political philosopher Karl Marx, co-author of “The Communist Manifesto” and author of “Das Kapital,” was born in Prussia.
- In 1821, Napoleon Bonaparte, 51, died in exile on the island of St. Helena.
- In 1862, Mexican troops defeated French occupying forces in the Battle of Puebla.
- In 1891, New York’s Carnegie Hall (then named “Music Hall”) had its official opening night, featuring Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky as a guest conductor.
- In 1925, schoolteacher John T. Scopes was charged in Tennessee with violating a state law that prohibited teaching the theory of evolution. (Scopes was found guilty, but his conviction was later set aside.)
- In 1934, the first Three Stooges short for Columbia Pictures, “Woman Haters,” was released.
- In 1942, wartime sugar rationing began in the United States.
- In 1945, in the only fatal attack of its kind during World War II, a Japanese balloon bomb exploded on Gearhart Mountain in Oregon, killing the pregnant wife of a minister and five children. Denmark and the Netherlands were liberated as a German surrender went into effect.
- In 1961, astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. became America’s first space traveler as he made a 15-minute suborbital flight aboard Mercury capsule Freedom 7.
- Ten years ago: Texas health officials confirmed the first death of a U.S. resident with swine flu.
- One year ago: North Korea readjusted its time zone to match South Korea’s, saying it was an early step toward making the longtime rivals “become one.”
Today In History: Cinco De Mayo, Bonaparte’s Death, And German Surrender
In 1818, political philosopher Karl Marx, co-author of “The Communist Manifesto” and author of “Das Kapital,” was born in Prussia. In 18...
