Golden Gate Bridge May 27, 1937 The Golden Gate Bridge connecting San Francisco, California to Marin County (the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula) opens. At that time, San Francisco was the largest American city still served primarily by ferry boats. Many experts believed that a bridge could not be built acr...

Bye-bye, Miss American Pie May 26, 1971 Don McLean records his #1 hit song American Pie. The song's refrain "the day the music died" refers to a plane crash in 1959 that killed Buddy Holly, J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, and Ritchie Valens, ending the era of early rock and roll. At 8 minutes and ...

First U.S. President to Visit Moscow May 22, 1972 U.S. President Richard Nixon visits Moscow for a week of summit talks with the leaders of the Kremlin. The previous February, Nixon did an 8-day trip to China, making him the first U.S. President visit China.

Top Secret Pearl Harbor Disaster May 21, 1944 While everyone is familiar with the Pearl Harbor attack by the Japanese in 1941, few have heard about the Pearl Harbor disaster in 1944. That's because it was classified top secret until 1960. On May 21, 1944 an explosion aboard the USS LST-353 while it was moored at Pearl ...

Civil War May 20, 1861 North Carolina becomes the 10th state to secede from the Union.