Today in history – May 9 | National Wire

On May 9, 1994South Africa’s newly elected parliament has elected Nelson Mandela as the country’s first black president.

У 1860writer J. M. Barry, the creator of Peter Pan, was born in Kirimuira, Scotland.

У 1914President Woodrow Wilson, acting on a joint congressional resolution, signed a proclamation designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

У [1945[1945год, after the end of World War II in Europe, Soviet troops liberated Czechoslovakia from Nazi occupation. U.S. officials have announced that the curfew at midnight will be lifted immediately.

У 1951The United States conducted its first thermonuclear experiment as part of Operation Greenhouse, blowing up a 225-kiloton device on Eniwetak Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, nicknamed “George”.

У 1962scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were able to reflect a laser beam from the surface of the moon.

У 1965American pianist of Russian descent Vladimir Horowitz performed publicly for the first time in 12 years with a concert at Carnegie Hall in New York.

У 1970President Richard Nixon made an unexpected and impromptu visit to the Lincoln Memorial, where he spoke with a group of protesters who were resting on the steps of the Memorial after protests against the Vietnam War and the shootings in Kent.

У 1974, the Judicial Committee of the House of Representatives has opened a public hearing on whether to recommend the impeachment of President Richard Nixon. (The committee eventually passed three articles on the impeachment of the president, who resigned before the full house accepted any of them.)

У 1980Thirty-five people were killed when a cargo ship rammed the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay in Florida, crashing a 1,400-foot stretch of southern span.

У 2016Filipinos went to the polls to elect Rodrigo Duterte, the controversial, brutal mayor of Davao, the next president of their country.

У 2019Pope Francis has issued a groundbreaking new church law that requires all Catholic priests and nuns to report to church authorities sexual abuse and concealment of the clergy by their superiors.

У 2020, The Office of Food and Drug Administration has approved a test for coronavirus antigen that can quickly detect virus proteins from smears that have been conducted inside a marine cavity. Rock and roll pioneer Little Richard, known for his shrill cries, piano roar and high pompadour, has died in Tennessee at the age of 87 after battling bone cancer; he helped break the color line in music charts by introducing Black R&B to white America.