Moments in Time – May 2, 2018

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• On May 18, 1861, an obscure California newspaper casts first lady Mary Todd Lincoln in an unflattering light, saying she took it upon herself to appoint a stranger – Mr. W.S. Wood – to any office he desired. The reporter suggested that she had been smitten with Mr. Wood’s handsome features, luxuriant whiskers and graceful carriage.
• On May 14, 1916, a lead article in the Times of London proclaims that an insufficiency of munitions is leading to defeat for Britain on the battlefields of World War I. It sparked a crisis on the home front, forcing the government to create a Ministry of Munitions.
• On May 19, 1935, T.E. Lawrence, known to the world as Lawrence of Arabia, dies as a retired Royal Air Force mechanic living in a simple cottage under an assumed name. The legendary war hero, author and archaeological scholar succumbed to injuries suffered in a recent motorcycle accident.
• On May 15, 1942, Lt. Ronald Reagan, a cavalry officer, applies for reassignment to the Army Air Force. The actor and future president was assigned as a public-relations officer for the First Motion Picture Unit.
• On May 20, 1956, the United States conducts the first airborne test of an improved hydrogen bomb, dropping it from a plane over the tiny island of Namu in the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
• On May 16, 1964, Mary Wells gives Motown Records its first No. 1 hit with “My Guy.” It would go on to release 32 more No. 1 hits in the next 10 years.
• On May 17, 1973, in Washington, D.C., a Senate committee begins televised hearings on the escalating Watergate scandal. Former White House legal counsel John Dean testified that President Richard Nixon had been aware of the cover-up of the Watergate break-in.

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