On this day in history.

[giradman]

V-E Day is celebrated in America and Britain, 1945!

Susan & I were born the following year, start of the Baby Boomers, although the term has been disputed as to the 'start year' - see second quote below and the last image showing the spike in the USA birth rate following the end of WW II - Dave

On this day in 1945, both Great Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe Day. Cities in both nations, as well as formerly occupied cities in Western Europe, put out flags and banners, rejoicing in the defeat of the Nazi war machine.

The eighth of May spelled the day when German troops throughout Europe finally laid down their arms: In Prague, Germans surrendered to their Soviet antagonists, after the latter had lost more than 8,000 soldiers, and the Germans considerably more; in Copenhagen and Oslo; at Karlshorst, near Berlin; in northern Latvia; on the Channel Island of Sark–the German surrender was realized in a final cease-fire. More surrender documents were signed in Berlin and in eastern Germany (Source).

Baby boomers are people born during the demographic post–World War II baby boom approximately between the years 1946 and 1964. This includes people who are between 52 and 70 years old in 2016. According to the U.S. Census Bureau,[2] the term "baby boomer" is also used in a cultural context.

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[J. A.]

May 25, 1951:
Paula Preradović (Paula von Preradović, or Paula Molden) died in Vienna. In 1947, she composed the lyrics for Austria's national anthem (Land der Berge - land of mountains).

 

[scifan57]

May 25, 1977;

Star Wars premiers in theatres across North America.
Star Wars (film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[giradman]

May 25, 1977;

Star Wars premiers in theatres across North America.
Star Wars (film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Our son was 4 y/o and enthralled w/ that movie - believe I must have seen it a half dozen times when first released - now own the original trilogy on blu-ray (watched last year and still good & entertaining).

He had about 6-8 action figures (a whole collection shown below) and always had a few in his pockets. Dave
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[scifan57]

Our son was 4 y/o and enthralled w/ that movie - believe I must have seen it a half dozen times when first released - now own the original trilogy on blu-ray (watched last year and still good & entertaining).

He had about 6-8 action figures (a whole collection shown below) and always had a few in his pockets. Dave
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View attachment 71768

I saw the movie over 40 times during the summer of 1977.

 

[giradman]

I saw the movie over 40 times during the summer of 1977.

Really! For me, that film set my record for opening movies - just a handful of others seen 2-3 times (like the Music Man - love Robert Preston in that role and own on BD). Dave

 

[giradman]

Battle of Ridgeway - June 2, 1866!

OK, I'm a week early on this one, but this morning read the article When Civil War Vets Invaded Canada in USA Today, and may have forgotten by next week - summary information quoted below (link at end); from the newspaper article, there is a recent book on the topic by "Peter Vronsky, who teaches history at Ryerson University in Toronto.... and is the author of Ridgeway: The American Fenian Invasion and the 1866 Battle That Made Canada." According to Vronsky, the pic shown below (referred to by the USA Today columnist) is somewhat erroneous in its depiction of the battle, particularly the color of the uniforms/clothes. Dave

The Battle of Ridgeway (sometimes the Battle of Lime Ridge or Limestone Ridge[nb 1]) was fought in the vicinity of the town of Fort Erie across the Niagara River from Buffalo, New York, near the village of Ridgeway, Canada West, currently Ontario, Canada, on June 2, 1866, between Canadian troops and an irregular army of Irish-Americaninvaders, the Fenians. It was the largest engagement of the Fenian Raids, the first modern industrial-era battle to be fought by Canadians and the first to be fought only by Canadian troops and led exclusively by Canadian officers.[nb 2]The battlefield was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1921 and is the last battle fought in the Province of Ontario against a foreign invasion.[6][7] The action at Ridgeway has the distinction of being the only armed victory for the cause of Irish independence between 1798 and 1919 (Source).

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[scifan57]

May 26, 1897;

"Dracula", by Bram Stoker first goes on sale in London, England.
Dracula - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[giradman]

May 26, 1897;

"Dracula", by Bram Stoker first goes on sale in London, England.
Dracula - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
View attachment 71819

Must have read that book in my younger days, along w/ Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - who can forget Bela Lugosi in that role; also, a fun film is Ed Wood (1994) w/ Johnny Depp in the title role and Martin Landau as the 'aged' Bela, probably have not seen that movie in 20 years? Just checked Amazon and a rental option is available. Dave
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[scifan57]

Must have read that book in my younger days, along w/ Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - who can forget Bela Lugosi in that role; also, a fun film is Ed Wood (1994) w/ Johnny Depp in the title role and Martin Landau as Bela, probably have not seen that movie in 20 years? Just checked Amazon and a rental option is available. Dave
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View attachment 71830 View attachment 71831

A little known fact about the Bela Lugosi version of Dracula is that a Spanish language version was filmed at the same time, using the same costumes, sets, and script. The Spanish version as filmed at night, after the English version was done for the day. The DVD copy I purchased years ago has both versions.

 

[scifan57]

May 26, 1927;

The last Ford Model T rolls off the assembly line, for a total production of over 15,000,000. Ford Model T - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[scifan57]

May 27, 1941;

The German battleship Bismarck was sunk by the Royal Navy 300nm off the coast of Brest, France in over 15,000 feet of water. Last battle of the battleship Bismarck - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[giradman]

May 27, 1941;

The German battleship Bismarck was sunk by the Royal Navy 300nm off the coast of Brest, France in over 15,000 feet of water. Last battle of the battleship Bismarck - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Last year I watched the 1960 film Sink the Bismarck! (recorded on my DVR from the TCM channel - thought that I had burned the movie to DVD-R but not in my collection) - the Johnny Horton song on YouTube has many pics of the ship. The film is quite good - however, one of the Amazon reviewers left the comment below about the commander of the Bismarck for those interested. Dave

This otherwise fine film is marred, however, by the false depiction of one of the major characters, Admiral Lutjens, commander of the Bismarck. In the film, he is stereotyped as the typical Nazi - a Hitler sycophant, careerist and wild-eyed fanatic. This was most certainly not the historical Lutjens, who was by no means a Nazi fanatic. Lutjens was a naval hero from World War I, who served out of duty and dedication, not Nazi conviction. (Lutjens protected Jews under his command, and members of his family were in trouble for their anti-Nazi views.) This is at complete odds with his depiction in Sink the Bismarck, which I find inexcusable, given that the above information was certainly available to the production. In fact, an accurate depiction of Lutjens would have, in my opinion, added interest to the plot (Source).

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[J. A.]

May 28, 1787:
Leopold Mozart, father and teacher of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, died.

Leopold Mozart - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[scifan57]

May 29, 1953;

Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay become the first recorded people to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
1953 British Mount Everest expedition - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia