On May 24, 1941, Germany’s largest battleship, the Bismarck,
sunk the pride of the British fleet, HMS Hood.

The Bismarck was the most modern of Germany’s battleships,
a prize coveted by other nation’s navies, even while still in the
blueprint stage (Hitler handed over a copy of its blueprints to
Joseph Stalin as a concession during the days of the Hitler-
Stalin neutrality pact).

On May 23, 1934, notorious criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde
Barrow were shot to death by Texas and Louisiana state police
near Sailes, Louisiana.

Bonnie Parker met the charismatic Clyde Barrow in Texas when
she was 19 years old and her husband (she married when she
was 16) was serving time in jail for murder.

After the ambush, the bullet-riddled Ford V8 was towed
away and eventually became a macabre tourist attraction.
It was displayed at various fairs and carnivals, drawing
crowds fascinated by the notorious couple’s bloody
demise.

The Bonnie and Clyde death car on display today.

George Wendt, best known for playing Norm on Cheers, died
peacefully in his sleep while at home early Tuesday morning,
on the 32nd anniversary of the Cheers series finale. He was 76.

Wendt was on Cheers for the entirety of the show’s epic run
from 1982–1993.

Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935)

T.E. Lawrence, known to the world as Lawrence of Arabia,
died as a retired Royal Air Force mechanic living under an
assumed name.

The legendary war hero, author and archaeological scholar
succumbed to injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident six
days before.

Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 film, starring Peter
O’Toole, based on the wartime activities of T.E.
Lawrence. 

Joe Don Baker, the broad-shouldered Texas tough guy who
portrayed characters on both sides of the law, most notably
Sheriff Buford Pusser in the unexpected box-office hit 
Walking Tall (1973), died Monday May 7.