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Marilyn Monroe died from a drug overdose, IRA members were sentenced to prison, the first electric traffic light was installed, Marie Noe was accused of killing her children, Reagan fired air traffic controllers, Bertha Benz made the first long-distance car trip, income tax was introduced, the Mayflower set off for North America, caning was abolished in the US military, and an earthquake in Ecuador killed 6,000.
Marilyn Monroe was found dead. (1962) Monroe, born Norma Jeane Mortenson, was a popular American film star and sex icon. Her death was ruled a drug overdose suicide, but accidental overdose and homicide have never been ruled out.
22 IRA members were sentenced to a total of 4,000 years in prison. (1983) 38 defendants were tried in one of Northern Ireland’s largest mass trials in history. The charges included murder and attempted murder; the judge wore a bulletproof vest during the trial.
The first electric traffic light is installed. (1914) The red and green stop and go light system was installed in Cleveland, Ohio at the corner of East 105th Street and Euclid Avenue.
Marie Noe, 70, was accused of killing her eight children. (1998) Noe’s children were all born healthy, but later died in her care of what was thought to be sudden infant death syndrome. She was eventually accused of having suffocated all of them to death over a 19-year period between 1949 and 1968. She admitted to killing four of them, but she claimed she did not know what happened to the others. She was sentenced to five years of house arrest and 20 years of probation.
US President Ronald Regan has fired more than 11,000 air traffic controllers. (1981) Workers were warned that they would be fired if they went on strike, but they ignored the warnings. 13,000 air traffic controllers went on strike two days earlier, demanding higher wages and shorter work weeks. President Reagan also banned all laid-off workers from being rehired.
Bertha Benz made a trip from Mannheim to Pforzheim, the first long-distance car trip. (1888) Bertha’s husband Karl Benz had the patent for the first automobile. He drove her two sons 60 miles (106 kilometers) in her husband’s Patent Motorwagen, attracting worldwide attention.
The US government introduced the first income tax on US citizens. (1861) The Revenue Act of 1861 established a 3% tax on income above $800 US dollars. The tax, used for financial aid during the Civil War, was rescinded in 1872.
The Mayflower set off on her first attempt to sail to North America. (1620) The voyage was to be made by two vessels, the Mayflower and the Speedwell, but the Speedwell had a leak. One more attempt was made before the Mayflower made the journey alone.
Caning has been abolished in the United States military. (1861) Flogging, or whipping, was a common military punishment. One of the few countries to continue the practice is Singapore, where soldiers can be punished by “flogging”.
An earthquake in Ecuador claimed the lives of 6,000 people. (1948) The relatively small magnitude 6.7 earthquake became extremely deadly because it caused mudslides. The damage spanned 1,500 square miles (3,885 square kilometers), killing 6,000 and injuring 20,000 others. It has left an estimated 100,000 people homeless.
