MAY 7 ^TH —13 ^TH

May 7 ^th

1763: Pontiac’s War begins. A confederation of Native American tribes under Pontiac, the leader of the Ottawa, attacked British forts and settlements along the colonial frontier. They destroyed eight forts and killed or captured hundreds of colonists. The war continued for over a year until the Treaty of Fort Niagara was signed.

1840: The Great Natchez Tornado hits Mississippi. It was the second deadliest tornado in United States history, killing 317 people and injuring another 109. Of the deaths, 260 occurred when boats on the Mississippi River were sunk.

1915: A U-boat sinks the RMS Lusitania. During World War I, the German navy was fighting an ongoing naval battle with maritime shipping carrying arms to Great Britain, which was engaged in a naval blockade of Germany. The Lusitania was sunk off the coast of Ireland when it was attacked with torpedoes by the German U-20 submarine. Although the ship was carrying arms for the wartime effort, it was officially classified as a civilian ship, and had over 1,200 civilian passengers and 696 crew members. The sinking of the passenger ship killed 1,198 civilians, including more than 100 American citizens. It caused an international outcry against Germany, and is widely credited with accelerating the American entry into World War I.

1945: Germany formally surrenders in World War II. General Alfred Jodl, representing the German High Command, signed terms of unconditional surrender in Rheims, France. He was later tried and executed for war crimes.

1946: The Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering company is founded. It would later be renamed Sony and become one of the largest electronics and entertainment corporations in the world.

1952: Geoffrey Dummer publishes his ideas for an integrated circuit. Dummer’s concept, for integrating multiple electronic circuits into a single device, revolutionized the electronics industry, making a wide range of products possible.

1992: The Space Shuttle Endeavor is launched. It was the fifth and last operational shuttle built during NASA’s Space Shuttle program. It replaced the Challenger, which exploded in 1987 on liftoff. Endeavor flew 25 missions between its initial launch and final one in May 2001.

2007: The tomb of Herod I is discovered. The ruler of Judea was referenced in the Christian Scriptures of the Bible following the birth of Jesus. He ruled until his death in 1 CE. His tomb was discovered south of Jerusalem by a team of Israeli archaeologists, who searched the area based on writings by Titus Josephus, a first-century Romano-Jewish historian.

May 8 ^th

1541: Hernando de Soto discovers the Mississippi River. He named it the “Rio de Espiritu Santa,” or River of the Holy Spirit, near Sunflower Landing, Mississippi. It took his expedition nearly a month to cross the river; they had to construct flatboats to do so. They crossed the river at night to avoid being seen by Native Americans in the area.

1846: American forces win the Battle of Palo Alto. Led by Zachary Taylor, a detachment of U.S. soldiers attacked and defeated a smaller Mexican force in the first major battle of the Mexican War. The Mexican forces were forced to retreat back across the Rio Grande. It was the first time that American troops had defended the newly annexed state of Texas.

1861: Richmond is named the capital of the Confederacy. The Confederate capital had been provisionally located in Montgomery, Alabama. Relocating to Richmond was tactically flawed because it was so far north and at the very end of a long supply line. The move required the Army of Northern Virginia to spend a great deal of time and effort defending it from Union armies in 1862 and again in 1864— 65. Richmond fell to the Union in April 1865.

1877: The first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show opens. The show is the longestrunning sporting event held continuously in the United States, second only to the Kentucky Derby. It was started by a group of hunters and dog breeders in New York City. The first show was so popular, with over 1200 dogs in attendance, that it was extended for an additional day. Dogs were judged according to breed standards, which include the ability of the dogs to perform a certain set of tasks related to hunting, as well as aesthetic considerations.

1914: Paramount Pictures is founded. The film magnate W.W. Hodkinson created the company, and it grew to become one of the most powerful film studios in America by acquiring competing production houses and movie theaters across the country. In 1994, Paramount was acquired by Viacom.

1945: The Setif massacre is committed by French soldiers. Muslim Algerians who were celebrating the Allied victory in World War II marched through Setif to demonstrate against colonial rule. French police opened fire on the crow, sparking reprisal attacks on French colonists in the surrounding countryside. Subsequent repression of Algerians was a major factor in the Algerian War, which began nine years later.

1972: American Indian Movement activists surrender at Wounded Knee. The activists had taken over the site of the 1890 massacre to protest federal policies on Native reservations. They were surrounded by a heavily armed force of U.S. Marshals and FBI agents. After a 71-day standoff, the activists surrendered. Two of their leaders, Dennis Banks and Russell Means, were later acquitted of conspiracy charges.

1980: Smallpox is officially eradicated. The World Health Organization (WHO) led a decades-long international effort to stop smallpox outbreaks and vaccinate everyone living near them. The effort succeeded, with the last naturally occurring case detected in 19975.