Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for ‘Fifth of May’) is an annual celebration to celebrate Mexico‘s victory over the Second
French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, led by
General Ignacio Zaragoza.
(March 24, 1829 – September 8, 1862)
On May 5, 1961, Navy Commander Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr.
was launched into space aboard the Freedom 7 space capsule,
becoming the first American astronaut to travel into space.
The suborbital flight, which lasted 15 minutes and reached a
height of 116 miles into the atmosphere, was a major triumph
for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
On February 5, 1971, Alan Shepard, the first American in space,
became the fifth astronaut to walk on the moon as part of the
Apollo 14 lunar landing mission.
Shepard and Freedom 7 on the deck of the aircraft carrier
USS Lake Champlain.
Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (1923 – 1998)
On May 4, 1956, rockabilly legend Gene Vincent recorded
the smoldering early-rock classic “Be-Bop-A-Lula,” in
Nashville, Tennessee.
“Be-Bop-A-Lula” became a smash, rising to #7 on the
pop charts and selling more than 2 million copies in
its first year of release.
Vincent Eugene Craddock (Gene Vincent) (1935 – 1971)
On May 4, 1970, in Kent, Ohio, 28 National Guardsmen fire their
weapons at a group of anti-war demonstrators on the Kent State University campus, killing four students and wounding nine.
The tragedy was a watershed moment for a nation divided by the
conflict in Vietnam, and further galvanized the anti-war movement.
Two days earlier, on May 2, National Guard troops were called to
Kent to suppress students rioting in protest of the Vietnam War
and the U.S. invasion of Cambodia.
The next day, scattered protests were dispersed by tear gas,
and on May 4 class resumed at Kent State University.
By noon that day, despite a ban on rallies, some 2,000 people
had assembled on the campus. National Guard troops arrived
and ordered the crowd to disperse, fired tear gas, and advanced
against the students with bayonets fixed on their rifles.
Some of the protesters, refusing to yield, responded by throwing
rocks and verbally taunting the troops (below).
"May the 4th" is a day for all lovers of Jedi, the Resistance,
the Skywalkers, the Hutts, Boba Fett, Baby Yoda, Gamorrean
guards, Maz Kanata, General Grievous, Rancor Keeper and
Jek Porkins (RIP) to unite and celebrate all there is in the
galaxy far, far away. (Why May 4, you ask? Why, it’s right
there in the date, a play on "May the Force be with you.")
(USA TODAY)
In 2011, the first organized celebration of Star Wars Day took
place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the Toronto Underground
Cinema.
