#Middlebury
On May 3, 1469, the Italian philosopher and writer Niccolo Machiavelli is born. Machiavelli became one of the fathers of modern political theory. The term “Machiavellian” is used to describe an action undertaken for gain without regard for right or wrong.- On May 1, 1931, President Herbert Hoover officially dedicates New York City’s Empire State Building. The building went up in just over a year, under budget and well ahead of schedule.
- On April 30, 1948, the Land Rover, a British-made all-terrain vehicle, debuts at an auto show in Amsterdam. The first Land Rover was made from an old American-made Willys-Overland Jeep and had a boxy, utilitarian design, four-wheel drive and a canvas roof.
- On April 28, 1967, boxing champion Muhammad Ali refuses to be inducted into the U.S. Army, citing religious reasons, and is stripped of his heavyweight title. Ali was convicted of draft evasion, but never served any of his five-year prison sentence.
- On May 2, 1972, after nearly five decades as director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover dies. By 1969 the media, the public and Congress had grown suspicious that the FBI might be abusing its authority. Congress passed laws requiring Senate confirmation of future FBI directors and limiting their tenure to 10 years.
- On April 29, 1992, a jury in the Los Angeles suburb of Simi Valley acquits four police officers who had been charged with using excessive force in arresting black motorist Rodney King. The verdict prompted the L.A. riots. The arson and looting finally ended three days later.
- On April 27, 2009, the American auto giant General Motors announced plans to discontinue its 80-year-old Pontiac brand. Initially known for making sedans, Pontiac gained acclaim in the 1960s for its fast, sporty “muscle cars,” including the GTO, Firebird and Trans Am.
© 2020 Hearst Communications, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
You must be logged in to post a comment.