Hello. We are glad you are here!
Welcome to your weekend. It’s both Derby Day and May 4th, the day that Star Wars fans get to embrace all things Jedi and beyond from a galaxy far, far away.
But here on Earth, your weekend might already seem full. That’s why we like to take some time on Saturday morning to simply slow things down a bit. It’s a “scroll down memory lane.” A look back at events that happened on these dates in history before we head out to make new history today.
So, before you mix a mint julep or grab your light saber, snag your favorite sippin’ drink and let’s scroll!
Tomorrow is Sunday, May 5th, the 126th day of the year.
On this day:
In 1821, former French ruler Napoleon Bonaparte died while living in exile on the island of Saint Helena off the coast of Africa.
In 1862, outnumbered Mexican forces defeated French troops sent by Napoleon the Third in the Battle at Puebla: Cinco de Mayo.
In 1922, construction began on Yankee Stadium in New York City.
In 1925, John T. Scopes, a teacher in Dayton, Tennessee, was arrested in Tennessee for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution in violation of state statute. His trial became the play and movie “Inherit The Wind”
In 1956, Jim Bailey became the first runner to break four-minute mile in the United States. He finished in three-minutes, 58-and-a-half seconds.
In 1961, astronaut Alan B. Shepard became America’s first space traveler as he made a 15-minute suborbital flight aboard the Freedom Seven capsule.
In 1973, jockey Ron Turcotte rode Secretariat to victory in the Kentucky Derby. The legendary horse would go on to claim the Triple Crown.
In 1981, Irish Republican Army hunger striker Bobby Sands died in his 66th day without food.
In 1986, Cleveland, Ohio, was announced as the site of the Rock and Roll Hall-of-Fame and Museum.
In 1987, the Iran-Contra hearings began.
In 1994, American teenager Michael Fay was caned in Singapore for vandalism. Fay’s controversial sentence was reduced from six lashes to four after U.S pleas.
In 1997, a jury in Jacksonville, Florida, found R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company was not responsible for the death of Jean Connor, a lifelong smoker.
In 1999, the Swiss-British team of Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones set an official record by becoming the first team to circle the Earth non-stop in a hot-air balloon. The international aeronautics body FAI said the duo neither refueled or stopped during their journey, adding that Jones and Piccard had traveled farther, faster, and longer by balloon than anyone.
In 2002, movie producer/director George Sidney died at the age of 85.
In 2004, a federal judge in New York rejected domestic diva Martha Stewart’s bid for a new trial. U.S. District Judge Mirriam Goldman Cedarbaum said Stewart received a fair trial when she was convicted in March of lying to investigators about her suspicious sale of ImClone stock.
In 2004, it was reported that the Walt Disney Company had asked its Miramax division not to release a documentary by Michael Moore. The film, titled “Fahrenheit 911,” criticized President Bush’s actions before and after the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S.
In 2006, Porter Goss resigned as head of the CIA after less than two years in the job. No explanation was given for the move and Goss later told reporters that his decision to leave was, quote, “just one of those mysteries.”
In 2009, Connie Culp, the woman who became the first person to receive the first face transplant surgery ever performed in the United States, unveiled her new face at a press conference in Cleveland, Ohio.
In 2016, Jurors convicted Lonnie Franklin Junior, known as the “Grim Sleeper,” of killing nine women and a teenage girl in Los Angeles. The murders happened over a 20-year span beginning in the mid-1980s.
In 2016, the FDA set the minimum age to buy any type of smoking product from e-cigarettes to pipe tobacco and cigars at 18.
In 2018, Justify became the champion of the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby. Justify with jockey Mike Smith went off as the 5-to-2 favorite and was first to the finish line on a muddy track at Churchill Downs.
In 2021, President Biden temporarily lifted patent protection on COVID-19 vaccines with the World Health Organization.
In 2022, Karine Jean-Pierre was appointed White House Press Secretary. She is the first Black and out LGBTQ person to hold the position.
And that brings us here to this day. Whatever plans you have for your weekend, here’s hoping there are moments along the way to record on the pages of your own personal history book.
Thanks for stopping by!
