From the ArcaMax Publishing, History & Quotes Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/quotes/s-346873-704271
In 1506, Christopher Columbus died in Spain.
In 1927, Charles Lindbergh took off from New York in his single-engine
monoplane, "The Spirit of St. Louis," bound for Paris. He landed 33
1/2 hours later, completing the first solo, non-stop trans-Atlantic
flight.
In 1974, Judge John Sirica ordered U.S. President Richard Nixon to
turn over tapes and other records of 64 White House conversations on
the Watergate affair.
In 1989, Chinese Premier Li Peng declared martial law in Beijing in
response to heightened student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square.
In 1991, national elections in India sparked political violence that
left 40 dead and hundreds injured.
In 1993, U.S. President Bill Clinton signed the so-called motor voter
bill, making it easier to register to vote.
In 1996, the United Nations agreed to let Iraq sell oil for the first
time since the Gulf War if it complied with the terms of the
cease-fire.
In 1999, a high school student in Georgia opened fire on his
classmates, wounding six of them before surrendering to school
authorities. The same day, U.S. President Bill Clinton and first lady
Hillary Clinton met in Littleton, Colo., with students, teachers and
families of the victims of the previous month's deadly shootings at
Columbine High School.
In 2002, East Timor, a small Pacific Coast nation, gained its
independence from Indonesia.
In 2003, North Korea warned that South Korea would suffer an
"unspeakable disaster" if it supports Washington's hard-line stance
over Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.
In 2004, U.S. forces and Iraqi police raided the Baghdad offices of
key U.S. ally and Shiite leader Ahmed Chalabi. He had been accused of
having misinformed the Pentagon about the situation in pre-war Iraq
and was accused in one report of passing U.S. intelligence to Iran.
In 2005, U.S. first lady Laura Bush opened a Middle East tour in
Jordan, followed by appearances in Israel, the West Bank and Egypt.
She encountered demonstrators at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
In 2006, in an unprecedented move, the FBI searched the Capitol Hill
office of U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., in an ongoing bribery
investigation.
Also in 2006, Iraq's parliament approved a new Cabinet although three
key ministerial posts -- Defense, Security and Interior -- were left
open so opposing parties could work out a compromise.
In 2006 sports, Barbaro, the unbeaten Kentucky Derby winner, entered
the Preakness a heavy favorite but pulled up shortly after it began
when he fractured his left hind leg. It ended his racing career and
eventually, led to his death. The race was won by Bernardini, owned by
the Dubai royal family.
In 2007, the U.S. military placed the Iraq war combat death toll for
Americans at 3,422.
Also in 2007, spring flooding caused by ice jams on four rivers forced
the evacuation of more than 3,500 people in the Russian Yakutia
Republic.