Saturday, May 11, 2013

On This Day In History - May 11 (incomplete)

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

Side note - for now, I have not yet fully organized this, but will get to it later, after work. Hopefully, it will be ready at some time later tonight!



May 11, 1934: Dust storm sweeps from Great Plains across Eastern states

On this day in 1934, a massive storm sends millions of tons of topsoil flying from across the parched Great Plains region of the United States as far east as New York, Boston and Atlanta.  

At the time the Great Plains were settled in the mid-1800s, the land was covered by prairie grass, which held moisture in the earth and kept most of the soil from blowing away even during dry spells. By the early 20th century, however, farmers had plowed under much of the grass to create fields. The U.S. entry into World War I in 1917 caused a great need for wheat, and farms began to push their fields to the limit, plowing under more and more grassland with the newly invented tractor. The plowing continued after the war, when the introduction of even more powerful gasoline tractors sped up the process. During the 1920s, wheat production increased by 300 percent, causing a glut in the market by 1931.  

That year, a severe drought spread across the region. As crops died, wind began to carry dust from the over-plowed and over-grazed lands. The number of dust storms reported jumped from 14 in 1932 to 28 in 1933. The following year, the storms decreased in frequency but increased in intensity, culminating in the most severe storm yet in May 1934. Over a period of two days, high-level winds caught and carried some 350 million tons of silt all the way from the northern Great Plains to the eastern seaboard. According to The New York Times, dust "lodged itself in the eyes and throats of weeping and coughing New Yorkers," and even ships some 300 miles offshore saw dust collect on their decks.  

The dust storms forced thousands of families from Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas and New Mexico to uproot and migrate to California, where they were derisively known as "Okies"--no matter which state they were from. These transplants found life out West not much easier than what they had left, as work was scarce and pay meager during the worst years of the Great Depression.  

Another massive storm on April 15, 1935--known as "Black Sunday"--brought even more attention to the desperate situation in the Great Plains region, which reporter Robert Geiger called the "Dust Bowl." That year, as part of its New Deal program, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration began to enforce federal regulation of farming methods, including crop rotation, grass-seeding and new plowing methods. This worked to a point, reducing dust storms by up to 65 percent, but only the end of the drought in the fall of 1939 would truly bring relief.


330 - Constantinople, previously the town of Byzantium, was founded and capital of Roman Empire

1189 - Emperor Frederik I Barbarossa & 100,000 crusaders depart Regensburg

1310 - Fifty-four members of the Knights Templar are burned at the stake in France for being heretics.

1421 - Jews are expelled from Styria Austria

1502 - Columbus begins and last trip to "Indies"

1548 - Start of great fire in Brielle

1573 - Henry of Anjou became the first elected king of Poland.

1625 - Boers besiege Frankenburg estate in Upper-Austria

1647 - Peter Stuyvesant arrived in New Amsterdam and became governor

1674 - Netherlands and Cologne sign peace treaty

1678 - French admiral Jean d'Estrees' fleet runs aground on Aves-islands, Curaaao

1689 - Battle of Bantry Bay - French and English naval battle takes place.
.   1745 - French forces defeat an Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian army at Fontenoy.

1690 - English troops of W Phips conquer Port Royal Nova Scotia

1745 - Battle of Fontenoy (Doornik): Austrian Succession war - French forces defeat an Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian army.

1749 - British parliament accept Consolidation Act: fleet reorganization

1751 - 1st hospital founded (Pennsylvania Hospital) in the 13 Colonies in America

1752 - First US fire insurance policy issued (Philadelphia)

1772 - Amsterdam theater destroyed by fire, 18 killed

1784 - England and Tippu Sahib van Mysore sign peace treaty

1792 - Columbia River was discovered and named by US Capt Robert Gray

1812 - British prime Minster Spencer Perceval was shot by a bankrupt banker John Bellingham in the lobby of the House of Commons in London.

1812 - Waltz introduced into English ballrooms. Most observers consider it disgusting & immoral. No wonder it caught on!

1813 - In Australia, William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth, lead an expedition westwards from Sydney. Their route opens up inland Australia for continued expansion throughout the 19th century.

1814 - Americans defeat British at Battle of Plattsburgh

1816 - The American Bible Society was formed in New York City.

1820 - Launch of HMS Beagle the ship that took young Charles Darwin on his scientific voyage.

1833 - "Lady-of-the-Lake" strikes iceberg & sinks in N Atlantic; kills 215

1841 - Lt. Charles Wilkes lands at Fort Nisqually in Puget Sound.

1850 - Work starts on 1st brick building in SF

1857 - Revolt in Sepoy - Indian mutineers seized Delhi from the British.

1858 - Minnesota was admitted as the 32nd U.S. state.

1860 - Giuseppe Garibaldi landed at Marsala, Sicily.

1862 - Confederates scuttle CSS Virginia off Norfolk, VA

1864 - Battle of Yellow Tavern, VA (Sheridan's Raid, South Anna Bridge)

1864 - Gen J E B Stuart is mortally wounded at Yellow Tavern

1865 - Jeff Thompson surrenders

1867 - Treaty of London drawn, concerning Luxembourg

1875 - George "Charmer" Zettlein pitches the 1st 9 inning shutout

1881 - Bedrich Smetana's opera "Libusa," premieres in Prague

1887 - 13th Kentucky Derby: Isaac Lewis aboard Montrose wins in 2:39.25

1888 - 16th Preakness: F Littlefield aboard Refund wins in 2:49

1889 - Major Joseph Washington Wham takes charge of $28,000 in gold and silver to pay troops at various points in the Arizona Territory. The money was stolen in a train robbery.

1891 - The Otsu Scandal takes place.

1892 - 18th Kentucky Derby: Lonnie Clayton aboard Azra wins in 2:41½

1893 - Henri Desgrange establishes first bicycle-world record (35.325 km)

1894 - Workers at the Pullman Palace Car Company in Illinois went on strike.

1897 - Wash Senator catcher Charlie Farrell throws out 8 attempted stealers

1900 - James J Jeffries KOs James J Corbett in 23 for heavyweight boxing title

1904 - Andrew Carnegie donates $1.5M to build a peace palace

1907 - Bank of SF incorporated

1907 - A derailment outside Lompoc, California kills 32 Shriners when their chartered train jumps off the tracks at a switch near Surf Depot.

1910 - Glacier National Park in Montana was established.

1911 - The United States becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.

1912 - 38th Kentucky Derby: Carol H Shilling aboard Worth wins in 2:09.4

1916 - Einstein's Theory of General Relativity presented

1917 - Britain grants Royal Letters Patent to New Zealand

1918 - 44th Kentucky Derby: William Knapp on Exterminator wins in 2:10.8

1919 - Cincinnati Reds Hod Eller no-hits St Louis Cards, 6-0

1919 - Yanks' Jack Quinn and Senators' Walter Johnson, 12 inning 0-0 tie

1921 - Tel Aviv is 1st all Jewish municipality

1923 - 10 HRs hit in Phillies 20-14 victory over St Louis Cards

1924 - Cartel des Gauches wins French parliamentary election

1924 - Pulitzer Prize awarded to Robert Frost (New Hampshire)

1924 - Mercedes-Benz is formed by Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz merging the two companies.

1925 - Communist Party of Holland splits

1925 - Kara-Kalpak Autonomous Region constituted in RSFSR

1926 - Airship Norge leaves Spitsbergen for 1st air crossing of Arctic O

1927 - Belgium beats England 9-1 in soccer

1927 - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was founded.

1927 - Louis B Mayer forms Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences

1928 - 54th Kentucky Derby: Chick Lang aboard Reigh Count wins in 2:10.4

1928 - 54th Preakness: Raymond Sonny Workman aboard Victorian wins in 2:00.2

1928 - 63rd British Golf Open: Walter Hagen shoots a 292 at Royal St George's

1928 - General Electric opens first TV-station (Schenectady, NY)

1929 - First regularly scheduled TV broadcasts (3 nights per week)

1929 - Dr Annie Webb Blanton forms Delta Kappa Gamma Society in Austin Tx

1931 - Credit-Anstalt, Austria's largest bank, fails beginning financial collapse of Central Europe

1934 - A severe two-day dust storm stripped the topsoil from the great plains of the U.S. and created a "Dust Bowl." The storm was one of many.

1935 - 61st Preakness: Willie Saunders aboard Omaha wins in 1:58.4

1940 - 66th Preakness: Fred A Smith aboard Bimelech wins in 1:58.6

1940 - NY World's Fair reopens

1941 - First Messerschmidt 109F shot down above England

1942 - Japanese troops conquer Kalewa

1942 - William Faulkner's collections of short stories, Go Down, Moses, is published.

1943 - Hermann Goering-division in Tunisia surrenders

1943 - US 7th div lands on Attu, Aleutian, (1st US territory recaptured)

1944 - Opposition group surprise attack post office Washer

1944 - A major offensive was launched by the allied forces in central Italy.

1944 - Slomp Resistance fighter (Frits de Zwerver) freed from Arnhem prison

1945 - US marines conquer Awatsha Draw Okinawa

1946 - First night game at Boston Braves Field (Giants 5, Braves 1)

1946 - 72nd Preakness: Warren Mehrtens aboard Assault wins in 2:01.4

1946 - UMNO is created.

1947 - The creation of the tubeless tire was announced by the B.F. Goodrich Company in Akron, Ohio

1947 - Laos accepts constitution for parliamentary democracy

1948 - Haganah takes control of Safed & port of Haifa

1948 - Luigi Einaudi elected president of Italy

1949 - First Polaroid camera sold $89.95 (NYC)

1949 - By a vote of 37-12, Israel becomes 59th member of UN

1949 - Siam changed its name to Thailand.

1950 - Belgium mine disaster at Borinage, 39 die

1950 - Eugene Ionesco's "La Cantatrice Chauve," premieres in Paris

1951 - Jay Forrester patents computer core memory

1953 - Tornado kills 114 in Waco Texas ($39M damage)

1953 - Winston Churchill criticizes John Foster Dulles domino theory

1955 - Israel attacks Gaza

1956 - Pinky Lee Show, last airs on NBC-TV

1957 - Gabriel Paris forms government of Colombia

1958 - US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enwetak

1958 - US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island

1959 - "Kookie, Kookie Lend Me Your Comb" by Byrnes and Connie Stevens hits #4

1959 - Elvis Presley's 1st entry on UK charts with "Heartbreak Hotel"

1959 - Rodgers and; Barer's musical "Once upon a mattress," premieres in NYC

1959 - Yankee catcher Yogi Berra's errorless streak of 148 games ends

1960 - French liner "France" launched

1960 - Israeli soldiers captured Adolf Eichmann in Buenos Aires.

1960 - The first contraceptive pill is made available on the market.

1962 - Antonio Segni becomes president of Italy

1962 - US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island

1962 - US sends troops to Thailand

1963 - "Puff (The Magic Dragon)" by Peter, Paul & Mary hits #2

1963 - LA Dodger Sandy Koufax 2nd no-hitter beats NY Giants, 8-0

1963 - Racial bomb attacks in Birmingham Alabama

1965 - "Flora, the Red Menace" opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 87 performances

1965 - 1st of 2 cyclones in less than a month kills 35,000 (India)

1965 - Bangladesh windstorm kills 17,000

1965 - Ellis Island added to Statue of Liberty National monument

1965 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

1965 - West Indies becomes 1st holders of the Frank Worrell Cricket Trophy

1966 - Real Madrid wins 11th Europe Cup I

1967 - "Sing, Israel Sing" opens at Brooks Atkinson Theater NYC for 14 perfs

1967 - 100,000,000th US phone connected

1967 - Great Britain, Ireland & Denmark apply for EG membership

1968 - Richard Harris releases "MacArthur Park"

1968 - Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens sweep St Louis Blues in 4 games

1968 - Students and police battle in Paris, 100s injured

1968 - The Toronto Transit Commission opens the largest expansion of its Bloor-Danforth Line, going to Scarborough in the east, and Etobicoke in the west.

1969 - Monty Python comedy troupe forms

1970 - Henry Marrow is murdered in a violent racially-motivated crime in Oxford, North Carolina.

1971 - Cleveland's Steve Dunning becomes last AL pitcher to hit grand slam

1972 - Giants trade Willie Mays to Mets for pitcher Charlie Williams and cash

1972 - John Lennon says his phone is tapped by FBI on Dick Cavett Show

1972 - Stanley Cup: Boston Bruins beat NY Rangers, 4 games to 2

1972 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1973 - Dutch government of Uyl forms

1973 - Citing government misconduct, Daniel Ellsberg has his charges for his involvement in releasing the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times dismissed.

1974 - "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" by Frank Sinatra hits #83

1974 - "Tubular Bells" by Mike Oldfield hits #7

1974 - Steely Dan releases "Rikki Don't Lose that Number"

1975 - Israel signs an agreement with European Economic Market

1976 - Emmy 3rd Daytime Award presentation

1976 - Last broadcast of "Marcus Welby, MD" on ABC-TV

1977 - Hamburger SV wins 17th soccer Europe Cup II

1977 - Ted Turner manages an Atlanta Braves game

1978 - Margaret A Brewer is 1st female general in the US Marine Corps

1980 - Pete Rose, 39, steals second, third, and home in one inning for Phillies

1981 - Andrew Lloyd Webber/TS Eliot's musical "Cats," premieres in London

1981 - Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes" hits #1, stay there 9 weeks

1983 - "Dance a Little Closer" opens & closes at Minskoff Theater NYC

1983 - Comet C/1983 H1 (IRAS-Araki-Alcock) approaches 0.0312 AUs of Earth

1984 - Johan Cruijff quits soccer

1984 - Detroit Tigers set best 30 game start record (26-4)

1984 - Transit of Earth as seen on Mars

1985 - 40 die and 150 injured in fire at Bradford City football ground, England

1985 - Booby trap bomb kills 86 people in India

1985 - Madonna's "Crazy For You," single goes #1

1985 - Pope John Paul II arrives in Netherlands

1985 - Dave Concepcion becomes 4th Cin Red teammate to get 2,000 hits, others include Pete Rose, Tony Perez and Cesar Cedeno

1987 - First heart-lung transplant take place (Baltimore)

1987 - Corazon Aquino is elected president in the Philippines

1988 - France performs nuclear test

1988 - KV Mechelen wins 28th Europe Cup II

1988 - Mario Andretti records fastest Indianapolis 500 lap (221.565 mph)

1989 - 217th and final episode of "Dynasty" is aired

1989 - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island

1989 - Kenya announces worldwide ban on ivory to preserve its elephant herds

1989 - President Bush orders nearly 2,000 troops to Panama

1990 - NY Yankees trade Dave Winfield to Angels for Mike Witt

1993 - 28th Academy of Country Music Awards: Garth Brooks wins

1993 - Paramaribo Suriname TV studio destroyed by fire

1994 - "Grease," opens at Eugene O' Neill Theater NYC for 1,503 performances

1994 - "Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult," released in France

1994 - 6 white racists sentenced to death in South Africa

1994 - Inter Milan wins 23rd UEFA Cup

1995 - In New York City, more than 170 countries decide to extend the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty indefinitely and without conditions.

1996 - Florida Marlin Al Leiter no hits Colo Rockies, 11-0

1996 - Valujet DC-9 crashes in Miami, 109 die

1997 - "Play On!" closes at Brooks Atkinson Theater NYC after 61 performances

1997 - NY Mets C Everett & Butch Huskey are 9th to hit consecutive pinch HRs

1997 - Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov 3.5-2.5 in chess

1998 - India conducts three underground nuclear tests in Pokhran, including a thermonuclear device.

2002 - Last performance of the musical Cats in London's West End.

2002 - Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands unveils the Man With Two Hats monument in Ottawa and Apeldoorn (May 2), 2000, symbolically linking both the Netherlands and Canada for their assistance throughout the Second World War.

2007 - Pope Benedict XVI canonizes the first Brazilian-born saint, Frei Galvão.

2009 - An American soldier in Iraq opened fire on a counseling center at Camp Liberty in Bagdhad, leaving 5 other US soldiers dead and 3 soldiers wounded.

2012 - Chinese scientists break world record by transferring photons over 97 kilometers using quantum teleportation


                           1967 - The siege of Khe Sanh ended.   1985 - More than 50 people died when a flash fire swept a soccer stadium in Bradford, England.   1995 - The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty was extended indefinitely. The treaty limited the spread of nuclear material for military purposes.   1996 - An Atlanta-bound ValuJet DC-9 caught fire shortly after takeoff from Miami and crashed into the Florida Everglades. All 110 people on board were killed.   1997 - Garry Kasparov, world chess champion, lost his first ever multi-game match. He lost to IBM's chess computer Deep Blue. It was the first time a computer had beat a world-champion player.   1998 - India conducted its first underground nuclear tests, three of them, in 24 years. The tests were in violation of a global ban on nuclear testing.   1998 - A French mint produced the first coins of Europe's single currency. The coin is known as the euro.   2001 - U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft announced his decision to approve a 30-day delay of the execution of convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. McVeigh had been scheduled to be executed on May 16, 2001. The delay was because the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had failed to disclose thousands of documents to McVeigh's defense team. (Oklahoma)


1858 Minnesota became the 32nd state in the United States. 1894 The Pullman Strike began. 1949 Siam changed its name to Thailand. 1960 Israeli agents captured Nazi Adolf Eichmann in Argentina. 1973 Charges against Daniel Ellsberg for his role in the Pentagon Papers case were dismissed. 1981 Reggae performer Bob Marley died of cancer in Miami at the age of 36. 1997 IBM's supercomputer, Deep Blue defeated Garry Kasparov, the reigning world champion, in a six game chess match (2 for blue, 1 for Kasparov, and 3 ties). 1998 India set off atomic blasts. 2003 91% of Lithuanian voters opted to join the European Union—the first former Soviet nation to do so.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/may11.htm

http://www.historyorb.com/day/may/11

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory/May-11

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