Monthly Archives: May 2025

British liner RMS Lusitania warned of German submarine activity 110 years ago this hour (May 6 1915)

1910s, World War I


Video: 'Terror At Sea Sinking Of The Lusitania Documentary' (May 6, 1915, at 21:10)

(Thursday, May 6, 1915, 7:50 p.m. GMT; during World War I) — Captain William Thomas Turner of the British liner RMS Lusitania, approaching the Irish Sea on a journey from New York to Liverpool with nearly 2,000 aboard, was given a warning message twice tonight and took what he felt were prudent precautions. Continue reading British liner RMS Lusitania warned of German submarine activity 110 years ago this hour (May 6 1915) →

Babe Ruth hits his first major-league home run 110 years ago this afternoon (May 6 1915)

1910s


Video: 'May 6th 1915: Babe Ruth Hits His First Home Run'

(Thursday, May 6, 1915; during World War I) — Rookie pitcher Babe Ruth, 20, hit the first of his 714 major-league home runs today as a player for the Boston Red Sox in the top of the third inning off Yankee right-hander Jack Warhop at the the Polo Grounds in Upper Manhattan, New York. Continue reading Babe Ruth hits his first major-league home run 110 years ago this afternoon (May 6 1915) →

Nazi concentration camp Ebensee liberated 80 years ago today (May 6 1945)

1940s, The Holocaust, World War II


Video: 'Liberating Ebensee Concentration Camp | May 1945'

(Sunday, May 6, 1945; part of The Holocaust during World War II) — The Ebensee concentration camp, established to build tunnels for armaments storage near the town of Ebensee, Austria, as part of the Mauthausen network, was liberated today by American forces. Continue reading Nazi concentration camp Ebensee liberated 80 years ago today (May 6 1945) →

America’s first train robbery occurs near North Bend, Ohio 160 years ago this hour (May 5 1865)

1860s, American Civil War


Video: 'Almanac America's first train robbery'

(Friday, May 5, 1865, sometime after 8:00 p.m. local time; during the American Civil War) — In what’s believed to be America’s first train robbery, a band of criminals derailed a St. Louis-bound train near North Bend, Ohio tonight and proceeded to rob the passengers and loot safes on board before getting away.

‘Damn Yankees’ opens on Broadway 70 years ago this hour (May 5 1955)

1950s, Broadway


Video: 'Damn Yankees (1955 Original Broadway Cast Recording)' (15 clips)

(Thursday, May 5, 1955, 7:45 p.m. EDT) — Damn Yankees, a musical based on the novel The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant by Douglass Wallop, opened tonight on Broadway at the 46th Street Theatre at 226 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York. Continue reading ‘Damn Yankees’ opens on Broadway 70 years ago this hour (May 5 1955) →

Schoolteacher John T. Scopes charged with teaching theory of evolution 100 years ago today (May 5 1925)

1920s


Video: 'Scopes Battles the Butler Act: The Fight for Evolution Theory - Decades TV Network'

(Tuesday, May 5, 1925) — Schoolteacher John T. Scopes, 24, was charged today for violating Tennessee’s Butler Act, which prohibited the teaching of evolution in Tennessee schools. Continue reading Schoolteacher John T. Scopes charged with teaching theory of evolution 100 years ago today (May 5 1925) →

Japanese balloon bomb kills pregnant woman, five children in Oregon in only fatal WWII attack on U.S. mainland 80 years ago today (May 5 1945)

1940s, World War II


Video: 'The Balloon Bombs That Floated Across The Pacific'

(Saturday, May 5, 1945, approximately 10:30 a.m. PWT; part of the American Theater of World War II) — A pregnant woman and five children were killed today when a Japanese balloon bomb exploded in the remote woods of southern Oregon, marking what officials believe to be the only fatal attack on the U.S. mainland during World War II. Continue reading Japanese balloon bomb kills pregnant woman, five children in Oregon in only fatal WWII attack on U.S. mainland 80 years ago today (May 5 1945) →

Nazi concentration camp Mauthausen-Gusen liberated 80 years ago this hour (May 5 1945)

1940s, The Holocaust, World War II


Video: 'Nazi concentration camp in Mauthausen, Austria. HD Stock Footage'

(Saturday, May 5, 1945, approximately 5:00 p.m. Central European Summer Time; part of The Holocaust during World War II) — The Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp, a large group of German concentration camps that were built around the villages of Mauthausen and Gusen in Upper Austria, roughly 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of the city of Linz, was liberated today by American forces. Continue reading Nazi concentration camp Mauthausen-Gusen liberated 80 years ago this hour (May 5 1945) →

U.S. President Reagan sparks outrage with visit to German cemetery containing Nazi SS graves 40 years ago this hour (May 5 1985)

1980s, The Holocaust, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'Reagan at Bitburg May 5 1985) (Complete)' (coverage begins at 8:30 a.m. EDT)

(Sunday, May 5, 1985, 2:51 p.m. CEST) — U.S. President Ronald Reagan presided over a wreath-laying today at the base of a brick cemetery tower looming over the graves of nearly 2,000 German soldiers, including 49 SS troops. Continue reading U.S. President Reagan sparks outrage with visit to German cemetery containing Nazi SS graves 40 years ago this hour (May 5 1985) →