Browsing: May 3

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on May 3rd.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On May 3, 752, the Mayan King Bird Jaguar IV began his reign. On May 3, 1921, the state legislature of West Virginia enacted the first Sales Tax in the United States, although problems in creating the mechanism to administer the tax precluded enforcement for several years. On May 3, 1945, five squadrons of Hawker Typhoon fighter aircraft attacked three ships in…

A Brief History On May 3, 1999, the state of Oklahoma experienced a catastrophic weather event known as the “1999 Oklahoma Tornado Outbreak.”  A series of tornadoes that lasted from May 2nd to May 8th, the highest wind speed recorded during the twisters was an incredible 301 mph, plus or minus 20 mph. Digging Deeper But of course, that is tornadic wind speed.  Wind as measured as normal high-speed wind along the surface of the Earth has a lower record velocity.  A candidate for the highest wind speed on Earth occurred at Barrow Island, Australia in 1996, an umbrella shattering…

A Brief History On May 3, 1952, the Kentucky Derby, probably the most famous and prestigious horse racing event in the United States, was first broadcast on television.  Today, we take a look at when significant events first made their television debut.  As always, feel free to nominate an event or events you believe belong on this list. Digging Deeper First Sporting Event, 1936 For this particular historic first, it is fitting that the Olympics takes the honors of being first.  In this case, we refer to the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin, Germany.  Since there were no privately…

A Brief History On May 3, 2020, we take a look at another incredible, jaw dropping case of domestic sexual abuse that strains the limits of believability, a stepfather worthy of every fairy tale or horror movie depiction of the worst type of stepparent possible.  This case concerns Lydia Gouardo of Meaux and Coulommes in Seine et Marne, France, who was kept imprisoned by her evil stepfather for 28 years, raped and tortured throughout her ordeal. Digging Deeper A plot worthy of horror film mavens such as Wes Craven, Guillermo del Toro or even Uwe Boll, the saga of Lydia…

A Brief History On May 3, 1921, the state legislature of West Virginia enacted the first Sales Tax in the United States, although problems in creating the mechanism to administer the tax precluded enforcement for several years.  In 1930, Kentucky and Mississippi followed suit, enacting broad based sales tax, although Kentucky repealed the legislation in 1936, possibly due to the effects of the Great Depression.  During the 1930’s many states jumped on the sales tax bandwagon. Digging Deeper While broad based sales tax is now common in the US and in Canada, the original application of sales tax pertained to…