This day in history - May 7

[seamusTX]

1789 - The first inaugural ball was held in the capital city, New York.

1915 - A German submarine sank the British liner Lusitania in the Atlantic.

The passenger ship was loaded with munitions not-so-secretly being transported to the U.K. The torpedo that struck the ship caused explosions that resulted in the deaths of 1,119 of the 1,924 people aboard.

The incident began to turn American public opinion in favor of war against Germany, but two years passed before the U.S. declared war.

http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/snpwwi2.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I have a very slim family connection to Lusitania: My maternal grandmother immigrated to the U.S. on the ship's penultimate voyage.

1939 - The German and Italian fascist governments announced the alliance called the Axis.

1977 - Seattle Slew won the Kentucky Derby.

1945 - German generals signed an unconditional surrender to the Allies, officially ending WW II in Europe.

http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/t ... keitel.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

1975 - Pres. Gerald Ford declared the "Vietnam era" officially ended.

The U.S. had never called it a war, for controversial political reasons. I'm told that the soldiers, sailors, and airmen could not tell the difference.