LeftyToker
Registered on
Jan-21-2003
More User Info
|
Message #114395 posted by LeftyToker (Info) May 06, 2008 05:47:33 ET
May 6 1527
Mercenaries sack the city of Rome, an event considered by many to mark
the end of the Renaissance.
May 6 1626
Manhattan purchased by Dutch governor Peter Minuet for the equivalent
of $24 in goods, which compounded at 6% annually is approximately $78
billion. But some scholars feel the actual value of the goods transferred to
be in excess of $500, which translates to $1.6 trillion for the island when
compounded.
May 6 1853
Ignoring signals, a train travels through an open drawbridge and into the
Norwalk river in Connec ticut, killing 46 passengers. The engineer and
crew jumped clear, not warning the others of their fate.
May 6 1862
Henry David Thoreau, author of Walden and the essay Civil Disobedience,
dead at age 44. His last words were "Moose.. Indian".
May 6 1937
Zepp elin Hindenberg explodes at Lakehurst NJ, leaving 36 dead and
others seriously burned. Official cause of the explosion is listed as "St.
Elmo's Fire," although it probably also involved the flammable silver paint
the Germans used to coat the thing.
May 6 1983
West German authorities announce that the recently discovered " (Broken
link for Hitler Diaries)" are counterfeits, made from paper not available until
at least 1955. Parties unknown managed to swindle the German magazine
Stern out of an undisclosed sum, and esteemed historian Hugh
Trevor-Roper was so convinced of their authenticity that he proclaimed
"I'm staking my reputation on it."
May 6 1987
Disgraced televangelist Jim Bakker is formally defrocked by the
Assemblies of God.
May 6 1993
Disgruntled postal worker Mark Richard Hilburn (recently fired) enters the
Dana Po int, CA post office and shoots two former coworkers, killing one.
May 6 1993
Disgruntled 27-year veteran Lawrence Jasion enters the garage area of
the Dearborn, Michigan post office and whips out a .38 revolver. He
proceeds to kill mechanic Gary Montes and wound two other coworkers.
Before anyone can react, Jasion then blows his brains out. The Dearborn
office was infamous for its authoritarian policies.
May 6 2002
Dutch right-wing politician Pim Fortuyn is shot six times in the head as he
leaves a recordi n g studio in Hilversum, near Amsterdam. His party platform
was based on repeal of the discrimination clause of the constitution, an
odd position considering that Fort uyn was homosexual. It is not clear what
assassin Volkert van der Graaf's motive was, speculations ranging from
Fortuyn's public statements regarding fur farming (van der Graaf is a
founder of that country's Animal Liberation Front) to his sympathies
towards Dutch Muslims.
mmi
|
