TODAY IN HISTORY – May 24

 

In 1844, Samuel F.B. Morse transmitted the message “What hath God wrought” from Washington to Baltimore as he formally opened America’s first telegraph line.

 

In 1921, Nearly 200 People were killed in the Bulhoek massacre in the Eastern Cape.

 

In 1926, Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi sets world 3000m record (8:25.4) in Berlin, Germany

 

In 1930, Amy Johnson flies solo from England to Australia (The English aviatrix was the first woman to achieve this feat. Her 18,000 km (11,000 mi) flight aboard a de Havilland Gypsy Moth aircraft took her from Croydon, U.K. to Darwin, Australia in 19 days).

 

In 1935, the first major league baseball game to be played at night took place at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field as the Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1.

 

In 1937, in a set of rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Social Security Act of 1935.

 

In 1941, the German battleship Bismarck sank the British battle cruiser HMS Hood in the North Atlantic, killing all but three of the 1,418 men on board.

 

In 1956, The first Eurovision Song Contest was held (Lys Assia won the first edition for Switzerland. The ESC is a major song contest in Europe and one of the world's longest-running TV programs. It is held in a different countries each year).

 

In 1961, a group of Freedom Riders were arrested after arriving at a bus terminal in Jackson, Mississippi, charged with breaching the peace for entering white-designated areas. (They ended up serving 60 days in jail.)

 

In 1962, astronaut Scott Carpenter became the second American to orbit the Earth as he flew aboard Aurora 7.

 

In 1966, The Nigerian government abolished the four federal regions.

 

In 1966, Aguiyi Ironsi issued a unitary decree, which led to an explosion of attacks against the Igbos in Northern Nigeria on 29 May 1966.

 

In 1970, Engineers began drilling the world's deepest hole (The Kola Superdeep Borehole had reached the unsurpassed depth of 12,262 meters (40,230 feet) before the project was abandoned due to a lack of funding).

 

In 1972, The first hijacking of a South African Airways plane took place.

 

In 1973, Uranium enrichment programme gets a boost from B.J. Vorster.

 

In 1974, American jazz composer and bandleader Duke Ellington, 75, died in New York.

 

In 1976, Britain and France opened trans-Atlantic Concorde supersonic transport service to Washington.

 

In 1976, Muhammad Ali TKOs Richard Dunn in 5 for heavyweight boxing title in Munich.

 

In 1976, Pupils refused to return to school before Soweto Uprisings.

 

In 1995, 3rd UEFA Champions League Final: Ajax beats Milan 1-0 at Vienna

In 2003, Super Rugby Final, Eden Park, Auckland: Auckland Blues beat defending champion Canterbury Crusaders, 21-17 for their 3rd title

In 2013, Governor of Rivers State at the time, Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, CON, was re-elected as the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF.

In 2015, Senior PGA Championship, French Lick Resort: Defending champion Colin Montgomerie of Scotland wins by 4 strokes from Mexican Esteban Toledo