Scott Allsop's Blog, page 136

18th May 1896: The Supreme Court delivers its verdict in Plessy v. Ferguson that approves the ‘separate but equal’ doctrine

Plessy v Ferguson effectively legalized racial segregation by permitting separate but supposedly equal ...[image error]

17th May 1792: The Buttonwood Agreement signed by 24 stockbrokers, establishing the New York Stock Exchange

These original New York stockbrokers traded from the Tontine Coffee House at 82 Wall Street before moving to their first dedicated trading space in ...

16th May 1771: The Battle of Alamance ends the Regulator Movement in Provincial North Carolina

The Battle of Alamance has since been seen by some as a precursor to the American ...

14th May 1607: Jamestown, Virginia, established as the first permanent English settlement in North America

They quickly began to construct a triangular fort containing a number of houses alongside a storehouse and a church, which they named James Fort after King James ...

13th May 1865: The Battle of Palmito Ranch, considered by many to be the last battle of the Civil War

The Battle of Palmito Ranch ended in a Confederate victory. Union private John J. Williams died in the battle, likely making him the last battlefield fatality of the Civil ...[image error]

10th May 1801: The First Barbary War began when Tripoli declared war on the United States

The First Barbary War lasted until June 1805, but continuing tensions led to the Second Barbary War in ...

5th May 1961: Astronaut Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel in space on board Freedom 7

The flight lasted for 15 minutes and 22 seconds and reached a maximum altitude of 116 miles before returning to earth for splashdown in the Atlantic ...

3rd May 1978: The world’s first ‘spam’ email sent by Gary Thuerk of Digital Equipment Corporation

Thuerk later revealed that around 40 people came to the demonstrations the email was advertising, and estimated that this led to more than $12 million in ...

2nd May 1946: The Battle of Alcatraz began when armed inmates attempted to escape from the high security prison

By the time the authorities re-established control on the morning of 4 May, two prison officers and three perpetrators lay ...

28th April 1869: Ten miles of railway track are laid in a single day by the crews of the Central Pacific Railroad

Eight Irish rail-layers of the Central Pacific Railroad were supported by hundreds of Chinese laborers to lay a record 10 miles 56 feet of ...