Police Burn Down a Philadelphia Neighborhood May 13, 1985 Eleven people are killed and more than 60 homes are destroyed in a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania neighborhood as a result of the police bombing the heavily-armed home of the radical group "MOVE". The police were attempting to end a two-day siege. Police h...

The Battle Hymn of the Republic May 12, 1861 Julia Ward Howe's song is performed for the first time at a flag-raising ceremony for Union recruits at Fort Warren near Boston. Also known as Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory, it is sung to the tune of John Brown's Body. "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the...

Civil War May 11, 1862 The Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia is blown up by her commander to prevent capture by Union forces. It had participated in the Battle of the Ironclads.

Smallpox Eradicated May 8, 1980 Existing only as laboratory specimens, smallpox is certified by the World Health Assembly as obsolete. This was the first time a disease was eradicated by man. The last known case was in Birmingham, England (1978), when the virus escaped from a research lab. The researcher who accidental...

Sinking of the Lusitania May 7, 1915 This civilian steamer RMS Lusitania is sunk by a German submarine's torpedo, killing 1,198 (including 128 Americans) of 1,959 people on board. It was later revealed that the Lusitania was carrying about 173 tons of war munitions for Britain, which the Germans cited as justification ...