This Day in History

[Gravdigr]

Today is May 23.

World Turtle Day is observed today, because as we all know, it's turtles all the way down.

Originally Posted by Gravdigr

May 23

1430 – Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to raise the Siege of Compiègne.

1701 – After being convicted of piracy and of murdering William Moore, Captain William Kidd is hanged in London, England.

1934 – The American bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde



are ambushed by police and killed in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.

1939 – The U.S. Navy submarine USS Squalus sinks off the coast of New Hampshire during a test dive, causing the death of 24 sailors and two civilian technicians. The remaining 32 sailors and one civilian naval architect are rescued the following day.

1945 – World War II: Heinrich Himmler, the head of the Schutzstaffel (SS), commits suicide while in Allied custody.

1958 – The satellite Explorer 1



ceases transmission.

1995 – The first version of the Java programming language is released.

2004 – Part of Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport's Terminal 2E collapses, killing four people and injuring three others.

2010 – Jamaican police begin a manhunt for drug lord Christopher Coke, after the United States requested his extradition, leading to three days of violence during which at least 73 gunmen, policemen and bystanders are killed.

2013 – The Interstate 5 bridge



over the Skagit River collapses in Mount Vernon, Washington.

2014 – Seven people, including the perpetrator, are killed and another 14 injured in a killing spree near the campus of University of California, Santa Barbara.

2015 – At least 46 people are killed as a result of floods caused by a tornado in Texas and Oklahoma.


Births

1707 – Carl Linnaeus; 1820 – James Buchanan Eads; 1824 – Ambrose Burnside; 1883 – Douglas Fairbanks; 1910 – Scatman Crothers, Artie Shaw; 1912 – John Payne; 1928 – Rosemary Clooney; 1931 – Barbara Barrie; 1933 – Joan Collins; 1934 – Robert Moog (invented the Moog synthesizer); 1936 – Charles Kimbrough (anchorman on "Murphy Brown"); 1942 – Zalman King; 1946 – Michael Morrison (porn actor); 1954 – Marvin Hagler; 1956 – Buck Showalter; 1958 – Mitch Albom, Drew Carey; 1961 – Karen Duffy ('Duff', MTV vj); 1963 – Wally Dallenbach Jr.; 1973 – Maxwell; 1974 – Jewel, Ken Jennings

Deaths

1701 – William Kidd; 1868 – Kit Carson; 1906 – Henrik Ibsen; 1934 – Clyde Barrow, Bonnie Parker; 1937 – John D. Rockefeller; 1945 – Heinrich Himmler; 1975 – Moms Mabley; 1981 – George Jessel; 1986 – Sterling Hayden; 1994 – Joe Pass; 1999 – Owen Hart; 2002 – Sam Snead; 2006 – Lloyd Bentsen ("Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy."; 2015 – Anne Meara; 2015 – Alicia Nash & John Forbes Nash, Jr. (subject of the movie A Beautiful Mind)

[Gravdigr]

1960, The Everly Brothers started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Cathy's Clown', which also spent seven weeks at No.1 in the UK. It became the Everly Brothers' biggest hit single and their third and final US chart topper, selling eight million copies worldwide.

1964, Ella Fitzgerald became the first artist to have a hit with a Beatles cover when her version of 'Can't Buy Me Love' entered the UK chart.

1970, The Grateful Dead played their first gig outside the US at 'The Hollywood Rock Music Festival', in Newcastle under Lyme, Staffs, England.

1973, Jefferson Airplane were prevented from giving a free concert in Golden Gate Park when San Francisco authorities passed a resolution banning electronic instruments. The group later wrote 'We Built this City' about the ban.

1979, Due to a record company dispute, Tom Petty was forced to file for bankruptcy owing $575,000 (£338,235). A long-running battle with his record company followed.

1982, The UK Musicians Union moved a resolution to ban synthesizers and drum rhythm machines from sessions and live concerts fearing that their use would put musicians out of work.

1987, Twelve former members of the Doobie Brothers reunited for a charity concert at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The show raised $350,000 for Vietnam veterans, about two-thousand of whom attended the show for free.

1991, Photographer Michael Lavine took what would be the publicity shots for Nirvana's Nevermind album at Jay Aaron Studios in Los Angeles. The idea for the front cover shot of the baby swimming was taken after Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl saw a TV documentary on water babies and was taken by Kirk Weddle. Several babies were used; five-month old Spencer Eldon's photo came out best.

1992, A statement issued by Freddie Mercury's attorneys stated that Mercury had bequeathed the majority of his estate (£10 million - $17 million) to his long-time friend Mary Austin.

2006, The King of Sweden presented the surviving members of Led Zeppelin with the Polar Music Prize in Stockholm recognising them as "great pioneers" of rock music. Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones were joined by the daughter of drummer John Bonham, who died in 1980.

2010, The Rolling Stones scored their first UK No.1 album for 16 years with the re-release of their classic 1972 double LP Exile On Main Street. The album, which was first released in 1972, had been reissued with previously unheard tracks. Their last No.1 album was 1994's Voodoo Lounge.

2014, The parents of a camera assistant who was killed after being hit by a train while shooting footage for a biopic about Gregg Allman were suing the musician and the film's producers. The case claimed film-makers "selected an unreasonably dangerous site for the filming location" and failed to take actions to adequately protect the crew.

[xoxoxoBruce]

1973, Jefferson Airplane were prevented from giving a free concert in Golden Gate Park when San Francisco authorities passed a resolution banning electronic instruments. The group later wrote 'We Built this City' about the ban.

When a few in the audience booed 'We Built This City', Grace explained to us the 'We' wasn't referring to the Airplane, but the rock and roll generation.

[glatt]

Maybe they were booing because the song is horrible.

[Gravdigr]

1987, Twelve former members of the Doobie Brothers reunited for a charity concert at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The show raised $350,000 for Vietnam veterans, about two-thousand of whom attended the show for free.

How many bands can boast twelve former members?