Moments in Time – April 19, 2023

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• On May 6, 1527, the Renaissance ended with the Sack of Rome by German troops as part of an ongoing conflict between the Habsburg Empire and the French Monarchy. German troops killed over 4,000 Romans, imprisoned the pope, and looted works of art and libraries. An entire year passed before order was restored.
• On May 1, 1830, Irish-born American labor leader Mary “Mother” Jones was born in County Cork, Ireland. After losing her husband and four children in the yellow fever epidemic of 1867 and all her belongings in the Chicago Fire of 1871, she devoted herself to organizing and advancing the cause of labor, delivering her last speech on her 100th birthday.
• On May 5, 1865, Decoration Day was first observed in the U.S., with the tradition of decorating Civil War soldiers’ graves with flowers. Later the date was moved to May 30 and included American graves from the first and second World Wars, eventually becoming better known as Memorial Day.
• On May 3, 1939, The Andrews Sisters recorded “Beer Barrel Polka,” aka “Roll Out the Barrel.” The song became a popular standard during World War II and later the signature tune of flamboyant singer/pianist Liberace.
• On May 4, 1987, the U.S. House and Senate Committee began three months of hearings into the Iran-Contra affair, which involved the secret sale of American arms to Iran with some of the proceeds going to Contra rebels seeking to overthrow the Nicaraguan government.
• On May 7, 2001, Ronnie Biggs, one of the “Great Train Robbers” who managed to elude capture and settled in Brazil following his prison escape on July 8, 1965, returned voluntarily to Britain, where he was jailed to complete the remaining 28 years of his sentence. He was released in 2009, two days before his 80th birthday, on “compassionate grounds” and died four years later in a nursing home.
• On May 2, 2011, U.S. Special Operations Forces killed Osama bin Laden during a raid on his secret compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, ending a 10-year manhunt for the leader of the al-Qaida terrorist organization and coordinator of the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001.

© 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.