POPnews (US) - May 25th

['...I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.' With these words, President John F. Kennedy extended the space race begun with the October 1957 launch of Sputnik 1 by the Soviet Union.]

1738 - A treaty between Pennsylvania and Maryland ended the Conojocular War with the settlement of a boundary dispute and an exchange of prisoners.

1787 - Delegates convened a Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia to write a new Constitution for the United States, with George Washington presiding.

1865 - 300 people were killed when an ordnance depot exploded in Mobile.

1925 - John T. Scopes was indicted for teaching Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection in violation of Tennessee's Butler Act, precipitating the Scopes Trial.

1935 - Within a 45 minute period Jesse Owens of Ohio State University set three world records and tied a fourth at the Big Ten Conference Track and Field Championships in Ann Arbor - completing the 100 yard dash in ­ 9.6 seconds, the 220 yard dash in ­ 21.0 seconds and making a long jump of ­ 24 feet 10 inches - an event rightly commemorated by the US Postal Service. Not allowed to live on campus with his team mates and unable to eat or stay with them while on the road, Owens worked part time to put himself through school because he was also ineligible for scholarships. Despite this, his was a work ethic and competitive nature which enabled him to rise above such a disgusting level of racism.

1936 - The Remington Rand strike, led by the American Federation of Labor, began.

1953 - At the Nevada Test Site, the US government conducted its first and only test of nuclear artillery.

1955 - A night time F5 tornado struck the small city of Udall, Kansas, killing 80 and injuring 273, making it the deadliest tornado to ever occur in the state and the 23rd deadliest in US history.

1961 - President John F. Kennedy announced before a special joint session of Congress his goal to initiate a project to put a 'man on the moon' before the end of the decade.

1966 - NASA launched Explorer 32 from Cape Canaveral; its purpose was to study the Earth's upper atmosphere.

1979 - At Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, American Airlines Flight 191 crashed during takeoff, killing 271 on board and two people on the ground.

1999 - The US House of Representatives released the Cox Report which detailed China's nuclear espionage against the US over the prior two decades.

2001 - Boulder's Erik Weihenmayer became the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
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