History, anything goes, including pictures

24 May 1883 – The Brooklyn Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic after 14 years of construction.

The New York and Brooklyn Bridge was opened for use on 24 May 1883. On opening day, a total of 1,800 vehicles and 150,300 people crossed what was then the only land passage between Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Emily Warren Roebling was the first to cross the bridge.

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Emily Warren Roebling is known for her contribution to the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge after her husband Washington Roebling suffered a paralysing injury as a result of "caisson disease”, now called the bends or decompression sickness, shortly after ground was broken for the Brooklyn tower foundation on 3 January 1870. He was a civil engineer and the Chief Engineer during the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. Emily stepped in after he was incapacitated as the "first woman field engineer" and saw out the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge. As the only person to visit her husband during his sickness, Emily was to relay information from Washington to his assistants and report the progress of work on the bridge.

For fourteen years, Emily's dedication to the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge was unyielding. She took over much of the chief engineer's duties, including day-to-day supervision and project management. The couple jointly planned the bridge's continued construction. Emily dealt with politicians, competing engineers, and all those associated with the work on the bridge to the point where people believed she was behind the bridge's design.
 

25 May 1420 – Henry the Navigator is appointed governor of the Order of Christ.

Infante D. Henrique of Portugal, Duke of Viseu (1394–1460), better known as Prince Henry the Navigator, was a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and in the 15th-century European maritime discoveries and maritime expansion.

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Through his administrative direction, he is regarded as the main initiator of what would be known as the Age of Discovery. Henry was the third child of the Portuguese king John I and responsible for the early development of Portuguese exploration and maritime trade with other continents through the systematic exploration of Western Africa, the islands of the Atlantic Ocean, and the search for new routes.
 
25 May 1935 – Jesse Owens of Ohio State University breaks three world records and ties a fourth at the Big Ten Conference Track and Field Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (1913–1980) was an American track and field athlete and four-time Olympic gold medalist in the 1936 Games Owens specialised in the sprints and the long jump and was recognised in his lifetime as "perhaps the greatest and most famous athlete in track and field history".

Jesse Owens achieved four world records in 45 minutes on 25 May 1935.
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Owens's achieved track and field immortality in a span of 45 minutes on 25 May 1935, during the Big Ten meet at Ferry Field in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he set three world records and tied a fourth. This feat has been called "the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport" and has never been equalled.

At the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, Owens won international fame with four gold medals: 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump, and 4 × 100 meter relay. He was the most successful athlete at the Games and, as a black man, was credited with "single-handedly crushing Hitler's myth of Aryan supremacy", although he "wasn't invited to the White House to shake hands with the President, either".

Jesse Owens winning the 100m at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.
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In Germany, Owens had been allowed to travel with and stay in the same hotels as whites, at a time when African Americans in many parts of the United States had to stay in segregated hotels that accommodated only blacks. When Owens returned to the United States, he was greeted in New York City by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and honoured with a Manhattan ticker-tape parade.

After the parade, Owens was not permitted to enter through the main doors of the Waldorf Astoria New York and instead forced to travel up to the event in a freight elevator to reach the reception honouring him. President Franklin D. Roosevelt never invited Jesse Owens to the White House following his triumphs at the Olympics games.
 
25 May 2011 – Oprah Winfrey airs her last show, ending her twenty-five-year run of The Oprah Winfrey Show.

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The Oprah Winfrey Show, often referred to simply Oprah, was an American syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986 to May 25, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. Produced and hosted by its namesake, Oprah Winfrey, it remains the highest-rated daytime talk show in American television history.
 
26 May 47 BC – Julius Caesar visits Tarsus on his way to Pontus, where he meets enthusiastic support, but where, according to Cicero, Cassius is planning to kill him at this point.

Tarsus is a historic city in south-central Turkey, 20 km inland from the Mediterranean with a population of 3 million people with a history going back over 6,000 years. After spending the first months of 47 BC in Egypt, Caesar went to the Middle East, where he annihilated the king of Pontus. On his way to Pontus, Caesar visited Tarsus from 27 to 29 May 47 BC, where he met enthusiastic support, but where, according to Cicero, Cassius was planning to kill him at this point.

Julius Caesar near Tarsus in 47 BC.

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In 41 BC, Mark Antony during his struggle against Octavian, allied himself with Cleopatra VII in Tarsus. For Cleopatra and Mark Antony, Tarsus was the scene of the celebrated feasts they gave during the construction of their fleet in 41 BC. Tarsus was also the city where, according to the Acts of the Apostles, "Saul of Tarsus" was born, but he was "brought up" in Jerusalem. Paul was a Roman citizen "from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city". Saul became Paul the Apostle after his encounter with Christ, and he returned to Tarsus after his conversion.

Remains of Roman road leading from Tarsus. Cleopatra's Gate in Tarsus, the second important gate of the city walls of ancient Tarsus and the only one surviving today.

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26 May 1805 – Napoléon Bonaparte assumes the title of King of Italy and is crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy in Milan Cathedral, the gothic cathedral in Milan.

The Iron Crown of Lombardy is both a reliquary and one of the oldest royal insignias of Christendom. It was made in the Early Middle Ages, consisting of a circlet of gold and jewels fitted around a central silver band, which tradition holds to be made of iron beaten out of a nail of the True Cross. The crown became one of the symbols of the Kingdom of the Lombards and later of the medieval Kingdom of Italy. It is kept in the Cathedral of Monza, outside Milan.

The Iron Crown is so called because it was believed to contain a one centimetre-wide band of iron within it, said to be beaten out of a nail used at the crucifixion of Jesus. The outer circlet of the crown is made of six segments of beaten gold, partly enamelled, joined together by hinges. It is set with twenty-two gemstones that stand out in relief, in the form of crosses and flowers.

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Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself as King of Italy with the Iron Crown of Lombardy on 26 May 1805, with suitable splendour and magnificence. He took the iron crown, and placing it on his head, exclaimed, being part of the ceremony used at the enthronement of the Lombard kings, "Dieu me la donne, gare à qui la touche”, ‘God gives it to me, beware whoever touches it'.
 
26 May 1830 – The Indian Removal Act is passed by the U.S. Congress.

The Indian Removal Act authorised the president to negotiate with southern Native American tribes for their removal to federal territory west of the Mississippi River in exchange for their lands. The act has been referred to as a genocide. On 26 May 1830, the House of Representatives passed the Act by a vote of 101 to 97. On 28 May 1830, the Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson. It was enforced under his administration and that of Martin Van Buren.

Trail of Tears.

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The relocated peoples suffered from exposure, disease, and starvation while en route to their new designated reserve, and many died before reaching their destinations. The forced removals included members of the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), Seminole, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Ponca nations.

The act enjoyed strong support from the non-Indian peoples of the South, but there was a large amount of resistance from the Indian tribes, the Whig Party, and whites in the northeast, especially New England. The Cherokee worked together as an independent nation to stop this relocation. However, the Cherokee were unsuccessful in their attempt to keep their land and were eventually forcibly removed by the United States government in a march to the west that later became known as the Trail of Tears.
 
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Mine workers are X-rayed at the end of every shift before leaving the diamond mines, in case they try to smuggle any diamonds by swallowing them. Kimberley, South Africa, October 1954.

Imagine what an x-ray taken every day would do to their body.

Exposure to high radiation levels can have a range of effects, such as vomiting, bleeding, fainting, hair loss, and the loss of skin and hair.
 
27 May 1703 – Tsar Peter the Great founds the city of Saint Petersburg.

Peter the Great (1672–1725) ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from 7 May 1682 until his death in 1725, jointly ruling before 1696 with his elder half-brother, Ivan V. Through war, he expanded the Tsardom into a much larger empire that became a major European power. Peter the Great was interested in seafaring and maritime affairs, and he intended to have Russia gain a seaport in order to be able to trade with other maritime nations. On 1 May 1703, during the Great Northern War, Peter the Great captured the Swedish fortress of Nyenskans.

On 27 May 1703, closer to the estuary 5 km inland from the gulf, on Zayachy Island, he founded the Peter and Paul Fortress, which became the first brick and stone building of the new city called Saint Petersburg.

The Peter and Paul Fortress in Saint Petersburg. Peter the Great. The Peterhof Palace is a series of palaces and gardens located in Petergof, Saint Petersburg, Russia, laid out on the orders of Peter the Great.

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27 May 1930 – The 1,046 feet Chrysler Building in New York City, the tallest man-made structure at the time, opens to the public.

The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco-style skyscraper located on the East Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. At 1,046 feet, the structure was the world's tallest building for 11 months before it was surpassed by the Empire State Building in 1931. It is the tallest brick building in the world with a steel structure.

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Chrysler Building's construction was characterised by a competition with 40 Wall Street and the Empire State Building to become the world's tallest building. Although the Chrysler Building was built and designed specifically for the car manufacturer, the corporation did not pay for its construction and never owned it, as Walter P. Chrysler decided to pay for it himself, so that his children could inherit it.
 
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Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist who was shot and almost killed by the Taliban for promoting girls’ right to an education and who, at age 17, became the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize, graduated from Oxford University in June 2020.

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In June 2020, a photo of Malala after her "trashing," - an Oxford tradition where students are covered with cake and confetti once they have successfully completed their exams. Photograph: Malala Yousafzai
 
mellowyellow said:
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Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist who was shot and almost killed by the Taliban for promoting girls’ right to an education and who, at age 17, became the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize, graduated from Oxford University in June 2020.

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In June 2020, a photo of Malala after her "trashing," - an Oxford tradition where students are covered with cake and confetti once they have successfully completed their exams. Photograph: Malala Yousafzai
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On 8 March 2021, a multiyear partnership between Malala Yousafzai and Apple was announced. She will work on programming for Apple’s streaming service, Apple TV+. The work will span “dramas, comedies, documentaries, animation, and children’s series, and draw on her ability to inspire people around the world.”
 
28 May 1588 – The Spanish Armada, with 130 ships and 30,000 men, sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal, heading for the English Channel.

The Spanish Armada was a fleet of 130 ships with the purpose of escorting an army from Flanders to invade England. The strategic aim was to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I of England and the Tudor establishment of Protestantism in England, with the expectation that this would put a stop to English interference in the Spanish Netherlands and to the harm caused to Spanish interests by English and Dutch privateering.

The Spanish Armada and English ships in August 1588 – unknown artist.

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On 28 May 1588, the Armada set sail from Lisbon and headed for the English Channel. The fleet was composed of 130 ships, 8,000 sailors and 18,000 soldiers, and bore 1,500 brass guns and 1,000 iron guns. The fleet was sighted in England on 19 July when it appeared off the Lizard in Cornwall so an English force led by Sir Francis Drake left Plymouth to meet it. The news was conveyed to London by a system of beacons that had been constructed all the way along the south coast.

It is said that on the 18th July, Drake was involved in a game of bowls at Plymouth Hoe when he was notified that the Spanish Armada were approaching. His immortalised response was that “We still have time to finish the game and to thrash the Spaniards, too.”

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The Armada chose not to attack the English fleet at Plymouth, then failed to establish a temporary anchorage in the Solent, after one Spanish ship had been captured by Francis Drake in the English Channel. The Armada finally dropped anchor off Calais where it was scattered by an English fireship attack. The Armada managed to regroup and, driven by southwest winds, withdrew north, with the English fleet harrying it up the east coast of England. The Armada was disrupted during severe storms in the North Atlantic and a large number of the vessels were wrecked on the coasts of Scotland and Ireland. Of the initial 130 ships over a third failed to return.
 
28 May 1900 – The Gare d'Orsay railway station is inaugurated in Paris.

The Gare d'Orsay was the first electrified urban rail terminal in the world and opened on 28 May 1900, in time for the 1900 Exposition Universelle.

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In 1977 the French Government decided to convert the station to a museum. The building was listed as a historical monument in 1978 and reopened as the Musée d'Orsay in December 1986. The chief architect for the conversion was the Italian Gae Aulenti. There is a huge station clock which still works in the main terminal housing the museum.

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The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1914, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. It houses the largest collection of impressionist and post-Impressionist masterpieces in the world, by painters including Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gauguin, and Van Gogh.

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Angela Merkel unveiled Europe’s longest subsea electricity line in an online ceremony today, allowing the exchange of Norwegian hydropower and German wind and solar energy through a 400-mile cable along the bottom of the North Sea.

The €1.8 billion NordLink project is sometimes described as Germany’s “battery”, allowing it to export some of the vast surpluses of renewable electricity the north of the country produces on windy and sunny days.

In return, the German grid will be able to import clean Norwegian power during the fallow periods known as the Dunkelflaute (dark doldrums), when production from its wind turbines and solar farms falls short.
 
DNA to settle where Christopher Columbus came from

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Christopher Columbus landed in the New World in 1492
ALAMY

The voyages of Christopher Columbus helped Europeans discover America, but the famous explorer’s own origins have long been shrouded in mystery.

But now scientists are hoping to shed more light on the great man’s ancestry - thanks to the latest advances in genetic technology.

Tests being carried out on Columbus’s bones the University of Granada will seek to determine whether he was indeed born in Genoa, as most historians think, or whether, as some others believe, he had Spanish, Portuguese, Croatian or even Polish origins.

José Antonio Lorente, professor of legal and forensic medicine at the University of Granada, is one of the scientists leading the project.
 
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Tiananmen Massacre vigil on June 4

Hong Kong’s Security Bureau has warned Hongkongers not to take part in this year’s Tiananmen Massacre vigil on June 4, or commemorative long-distance run this Sunday.

“The relevant meetings and procession are unauthorised assemblies. No one should take part in it, or advertise or publicise it, or else he or she may violate the law,” a statement said on Saturday.

Citing the Public Order Ordinance, the bureau warned that offenders face up to five years in prison for attending part or a year in jail for promoting it.

It added that whether or not the event involved violence was not relevant: “If anyone attempts to challenge the law, including the Prohibition on Group Gathering, Public Order Ordinance, Hong Kong National Security Law, etc., the Police will deal with it seriously in accordance with the law.

Source: Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP)
 
30 May 1431 – Joan of Arc is burned at the stake in Rouen, France.

The Hundred Years' War was a long-running struggle from 1337 to 1453 between two royal dynasties, the Plantagenets of England and the Valois of France, for the throne of France. On 23 May 1430, Joan of Arc was captured at Compiègne by the Burgundian faction, which was allied with the English. She was later handed over to the English and put on trial by the pro-English Bishop of Beauvais Pierre Cauchon on a variety of charges. After Cauchon declared her guilty she was burned at the stake on 30 May 1431, dying at about nineteen years of age.

Joan of Arc's Death at the Stake, by Hermann Stilke, 1843. A plaque marking the place where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, Old Marketplace, Rouen.

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The Hundred Years' War continued for twenty-two years after Joan of Arc’s death. A posthumous retrial opened after the war ended. A formal appeal followed in November 1455. The appellate court declared Joan of Arc innocent on 7 July 1456.

Joan of Arc was formally canonised as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church on 16 May 1920 by Pope Benedict XV in Saint Peter's Basilica. Over 60,000 people attended the ceremony.
 
30 May 1922 – The Lincoln Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.

The Lincoln Memorial is an American national monument built to honour the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., across from the Washington Monument.

Commission president William H. Taft, who was then Chief Justice of the United States, dedicated the Memorial on 30 May 1922 and presented it to President Warren G. Harding, who accepted it on behalf of the American people. Lincoln's only surviving son, 78-year-old Robert Todd Lincoln, was in attendance.

View of the World War II Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial from the top of the Washington Monument.

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The Lincoln Memorial has always been a major tourist attraction, and since the 1930s has been a symbolic centre focused on race relations. On 28 August 1963, the memorial grounds were the site of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which proved to be a high point of the American Civil Rights Movement. It is estimated that approximately 250,000 people came to the event, where they heard Martin Luther King Jr., deliver his historic I Have a Dream speech before the memorial honouring the president who had issued the Emancipation Proclamation 100 years earlier.
 
30 May 1942 – During WWII, one thousand British bombers launch a 90-minute attack on Cologne, Germany.

The German city of Cologne was bombed in 262 separate air raids by the Allies during World War II, all by the Royal Air Force. A total of 34,711 long tons of bombs were dropped on the city by the RAF. The first bombing took place on 12 May 1940 but the main attack on Cologne was the first 1,000 bomber raid on 30/31 May 1942.

Codenamed Operation Millennium, the massive raid was launched for two primary reasons:
• It was expected that the devastation from such raids might be enough to knock Germany out of the war or at least severely damage German morale.
• The raids were useful propaganda for the Allies and particularly for RAF Bomber Command head Arthur Harris's concept of a Strategic Bombing Offensive. Bomber Command's poor performance in bombing accuracy during 1941 had led to calls for the force to be split up and diverted to other urgent theatres.

Cologne in 1945. The city's cathedral is clearly visible. It survived the war, despite being hit dozens of times by Allied bombs.

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A headline-grabbing heavy raid on Germany was a way for Harris to demonstrate to the War Cabinet that given the investment in numbers and technology Bomber Command could make a vital contribution to victory. 3,330 non-residential buildings were destroyed, 2,090 seriously damaged and 7,420 lightly damaged, making a total of 12,840 buildings. The damage to civilian homes, most of them apartments in larger buildings, was considerable: 13,010 destroyed, 6,360 seriously damaged, 22,270 lightly damaged.

The only military installation damaged in Operation Millennium was the was the flak barracks.
 


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