1502 - Christopher Columbus left Spain for his final trip to the Western Hemisphere.
1671 - Thomas "Captain" Blood stole the crown jewels from the Tower of London.
1754 - The first newspaper cartoon in America showed a divided snake "Join or die" in "The Pennsylvania Gazette."
1785 - Joseph Bramah patented the beer-pump handle.
1825 - The Chatham Theatre opened in New York City. It was the first gas-lit theater in America.
1837 - "Sherrod" burns in Mississippi River below Natchez MS; 175 dies
1868 - A little town in Northwestern Nevada was named Reno after General Jesse Lee Reno, a Union officer of the Civil War. The town was first settled by the Washoe Indians who used the area for festivals and ceremonies
1882 - Telegraph Hill RR Company organized
1896 - 1st horseless carriage show in London (featured 10 models)
1899 - Lawn mower patented
1901 - In Australia, the Duke of Cornwall and York declared the First Commonwealth Parliament open.
1930 - A starting gate was used for the first time in a Triple Crown race. The gate was rolled into place at the Preakness at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. Gallant Fox won the race.
1932 - Piccadilly Circus, 1st lit by electricity
1936 - The first sheet of postage stamps of more than one variety went on sale in New York City.
1944 - Country singer Jimmie Davis became the Governor of Louisiana. He wrote the song "You Are My Sunshine."
1946 - 1st hour long entertainment TV show, "NBC's Hour Glass" premieres
1949 - Britain's 1st launderette opens in Queensway London
1958 - Richard Burton made his network television debut in the presentation of "Wuthering Heights" on CBS-TV.
1960 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for sale an oral birth-control pill for the first time
1961 - FCC Chairman Newton N Minow criticizes TV as a "vast wasteland"
1962 - A laser beam was successfully bounced off Moon for the first time.
1977 - Hotel Poland in Amsterdam destroyed by fire, 33 killed
1980 - A Liberian freighter hit the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay in Florida. 35 motorists were killed and a 1,400-foot section of the bridge collapsed.
1987 - 183 die aboard a Polish jetliner that crashes in Warsaw
1992 - A methane gas explosion roared through the Westray coal mine in Plymouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, killing 26 miners. The bodies of 11 men were recovered. Further recovery was called off due to the danger of a cave-in.
1993 - Landslide in Nambija Ecuador, kills 300
1994 - Nelson Mandela was chosen to be South Africa's first black president.
1995 - Kinshasa, Zaire under quarantine after an outbreak of Ebola virus
2002 - In Kaspiisk, Russia, 39 people were killed and at least 130 were injured when a remote-controlled bomb exploded during a holiday parade.
2002 - In Bahrain, people were allowed to vote for representatives for the first time in nearly 30 years. Women were allowed to vote for the first time in the country's history.
44960 Category:(History) Created:(5/9/2008 9:06:00 AM)