The modern legend of the Loch Ness Monster was born when a sighting makes local news on May 2, 1933. The Scottish newspaper Inverness Courier relates an account of a local couple who claim to have seen "an enormous animal rolling and plunging on the surface” of Loch Ness, a large freshwater lake near Inverness, Scotland.
Revelations in 1994 that the famous 1934 photo (above) was a complete hoax has only slightly dampened the enthusiasm of tourists and investigators for the legendary beast of Loch Ness.
On this day in 1945, the Russians took Berlin after 12 days of fierce house-to-house fighting. The Allies announced the surrender of Nazi troops in Italy and parts of Austria.
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci(April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1919)
Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was wounded by his own men in the battle of Chancellorsville, VA. on this day in 1863 and died 8 days later.
Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863)
On this day in 1994, Nelson Mandela claimed victory after South Africa’s first democratic elections.
John Edgar Hoover(January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972)
J. Edgar Hoover was the longtime director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He became involved in law enforcement as a special assistant to the attorney general, overseeing the roundups and deportations of suspected communists during the post-World War I Red Scare. He was named bureau director in 1924, Hoover emphasized modern investigationaltechniques and earned renown for challenging criminal syndicates. He also became known for secretly monitoring the activities of various organizations that were considered subversive, including the Black Panthers, the Socialist Workers Party and the Ku Klux Klan. Despite his controversial methods, Hoover remained in power until his death.
