CAMILLE BOHANNON

Lou Gehrig smacks a double against the White Sox in 1938.

On this day in history, May 30, 1868, the first Decoration Day —
a precursor to Memorial Day — was celebrated.

Originally known as Decoration Day, from early traditions of
decorating graves with flags, flowers and wreaths, Memorial
Day is a day for remembrance to honor those who have died
in service to our country.

According to PBS,"This was first widely observed on May 30,
1868, to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers, by proclamation of Gen. John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the
Republic, an organization of former Union sailors and soldiers," according to PBS.

Former President William Howard Taft (above) dedicated the
Lincoln Memorial on the Washington Mall on May 30, 1922.

At the time, Taft was serving as chief justice of the U.S.
Supreme Court. A crowd gathered on the Mall to witness
the ceremony.

The neoclassical monument honors 16th U.S. president 
Abraham Lincoln. Congress authorized construction of
a monument to Lincoln on the Capitol grounds in 1867
(two years after his assassination), but it took until 1911
for funding to be approved; construction was then
slowed due to World War I.

     
       
        
        
        
        
        
       
William Howard Taft (left) President Warren G. Harding (center) and Todd Lincoln, the eldest son of Abraham Lincoln. 
      
 

On May 28, 1937, the government of Germany—then under the
control of Adolf Hitler of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party—
formed new state-owned automobile company, then known
as Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens
mbH. Later that year, it was renamed simply Volkswagenwerk,
or “The People’s Car Company.”

Originally operated by the German Labor Front, a Nazi
organization, Volkswagen was headquartered in Wolfsburg,
Germany. In addition to his ambitious campaign to build a
network of autobahns and limited access highways across
Germany, Hitler’s pet project was the development and mass
production of an affordable yet still speedy vehicle that could
sell for less than 1,000 Reich marks (about $140 at the time).         
        

VW logo during the 1930s, initials surrounded by a stylized cogwheel and a spinning propeller that looked like a
swastika.