Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Battle of Puebla, which took place in
Mexico on May 5, 1862. The battle was part of the Franco-Mexican War,
which began as a result of new Mexican President Benito Juarez defaulting
on the country’s loans from European governments. Britain, France and
Spain sent troops to Veracruz to demand reimbursement. Britain and
Spain eventually withdrew, but France continued its advance, hoping to
carve out a territory of Mexico for itself. France sent 6,000 troops to attack
the small town of Puebla de Los Angeles in east central Mexico. Juarez
responded by sending 2,000 men. Though they were outnumbered, the
Mexican army was victorious over the French. However, it would be
another five years before the French would withdraw from Mexico
completely. The first record of a Cinco de Mayo celebration appeared in
an article in a newspaper in Columbia, Calif. three days after the Battle
of Puebla. Big parties commemorating the Mexican military victory took
place.

CAMILLE BOHANNON

Alan Shepard became the first American in space when he made a
15 minute suborbital flight on this day in 1961.

Napoléon Bonaparte (August 15, 1769 – May 5, 1821)

Napoleon was a French statesman and military leader who rose to
prominence during the French Revolution and led several successful
campaigns during the French Revolutionary Wars. He was Emperor
of the French from 1804 until 1814.

Death of Napoleon the Great, French engraving from 1828.

Napoleon on his death bed. It is said       
he died of stomach cancer.

Napoleon’s tomb at Les Invalides.

Karl Marx  (May 5, 1818 – March 14, 1883)

Karl Marx was a renowned German political theorist,
philosopher, and economist. He penned both Das
Kapital and The Communist Manifesto. He attended
both the University of Bonn and the University of
Berlin.

A bust of Karl Marx at the garden of the Karl
Marx House museum in Trier, Germany.

Robert Gerard Sands (March 9, 1954 – May 5, 1981)

Bobby Sands (member of the provisional IRA – Irish
Republican Army: died following a hunger strike on
this day in 1981.

Music Hall was dedicated in New York City on this day in 1891. It was later renamed Carnegie Hall.

A ticket from the opening-night concert.

    
    
    
Gene Vincent recorded "Be-Bop-A Lula" at Owen Bradley’s
studio in Nashville, TN. The song was released in June 1956
and immediately sold well. It was successful on three singles
charts: it peaked at No. 7 on the US Billboard pop music chart,
No. 8 on the R&B chart, and also made the top ten on the C&W
Best Seller chart peaking at No. 5.
 

CAMILLE BOHANNON

The Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on students during an
anti-Vietnam war protest at Kent State University on this day in
1970. Four students were killed and nine others were wounded.

Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s first woman prime minister on
this day in 1979.

On this day in 1886, a bomb exploded on the fourth day of a workers’ strike in Chicago, IL. Eight people died in the violence during that 
day.

Thirteen civil rights activists, dubbed "Freedom Riders," began a bus
trip through the South on this day in 1961.

After a mob attacked a bus with protesters in Alabama, hundreds
more joined the cause.

The notion of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences
began with Louis B. Mayer, head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.The
official Articles of Incorporation for the organization were filed on
this day in 1927.

Samuel Goldwyn Theater (above) Named after filmmaker and studio
head Samuel Goldwyn. Opened in December 1975, and located within
the office building headquarters of the Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences, this is their main state-of-the-art screening room.

Frankie Valli (Francesco Stephen Castelluccio) was born in Newark,
New Jersey. 
       

Frankie Valli has been the front man with the Four Seasons since 1960. The
groups hits included "Big Girls Don’t Cry" and "Sherry." He was inducted
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Four Seasons. Frankie had 29
Top 40 hits with The Four Seasons and 9 more as a solo artist. Before fame,
Frankie Valli once worked as a barber until his singing career was able to
support him.