Today in History, 5/8

1450: Kentishmen revolt against King Henry VI, kicking off Jack Cade's Rebellion.
1541: Hernando de Soto reaches the Mississippi River and names it Rio de Espirito Santo.1846: At the Battle of Palo Alto, Zachary Taylor defeats a Mexican force north of the Rio Grande for the first US victory of the Mexican-American War.
1861: Richmond, Virginia is named capitol of the Confederate States of America.
1884: Harry S. Truman is born.1886: Pharmacist John Styth Pemberton invents a carbonated beverage that would later be called Coca-Cola. The secret ingredient is facial hair!1899: Friederich Hayek, economist and philosopher, is born.1902: In Martinique, Mount Pelee erupts, destroying most of the town of St. Pierre and killing 30,000 people.1911: Robert Johnson, bluesman, is born. He allegedly sold his soul the the Devil in exchange for guitar prowess, but some folks say he just practiced a lot.

1913: Bob Clampett is born. He was an animator who worked on many of the classic old Looney Toons.

1914: Paramount Pictures is formed.
1926: David Attenborough is born.
1926: Don Rickles is born.

1933: Mohandas Gandhi begins a 21 day hunger strike to protest British oppression in India.
1940: Peter Benchley, author of Jaws is born.1940: Ricky Nelson is born.
1943: Toni Tennille, of The Captain and Tennille is born. Man, I hate this song.

1945: OK, this is the actual V-E Day. I had it wrong yesterday. Yesterday the surrender was signed and today it took effect.
1953: Alex Van Halen, drummer for Van Halen is born. Sadly, neither he nor his brother can be elected President as they were born in Holland.

1954: David Keith is born. Hey, I just watched him in the John Carpenter paranoia-fest They Live. No, wait that was Keith David. Never mind.

David Keith

Keith David

1964: Melissa Gilbert is born. Was there a boy of my age group who didn't think she was just dandy on Little House on the Prairie? I don't think so.1970: The Hard Hat Riot takes place on Wall Street as construction workers clash with Vietnam War protesters.
1970: The Beatles album Let it Be is released.1972: President Nixon announces the plan to mine North Vietnamese ports.

Today in History elements mostly cribbed from The History Channel, Wikipedia, The New York Times, The Jewish World Review, The Writer's Almanac and anything else I can dig up.