May 6th Through History

Explanation: The Hindenburg disaster occurred at Lakehurst, New Jersey. The LZ 129 Hindenburg, operated by the German company Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei, caught fire during its mooring attempt. This accident marked the end of the era of hydrogen airships in commercial transportation.

Explanation: George V reigned from 1910 to 1936. During his reign, he showed great stability for the British monarchy through the First World War, the Great Depression, and the rise of totalitarianism in Europe. He also changed the name of the royal house to Windsor in 1917, abandoning the German name of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

Explanation: The Channel Tunnel, 50.5 kilometers long including 38 under the sea, connects Folkestone in England to Coquelles near Calais in France. Its construction took seven years and mobilized up to 15,000 workers. It actually comprises three parallel tunnels: two for trains and one central service tunnel.

Explanation: The Sack of Rome in 1527 is considered the symbolic end of the Italian Renaissance. The troops of Charles V, largely composed of Lutheran landsknechts, plundered the city for several months. Pope Clement VII had to flee to Castel Sant'Angelo. This traumatic event profoundly disrupted the political and religious balances of the time.

Explanation: Sigmund Freud, born in Freiberg in Moravia (today Příbor in the Czech Republic), developed psychoanalysis at the end of the 19th century in Vienna. His work on the unconscious, dreams, and neuroses revolutionized the understanding of the human psyche. Fleeing Nazism, he went into exile in London in 1938 where he died the following year.

Explanation: The Penny Black, the first adhesive postage stamp in history, depicted the profile of Queen Victoria on a black background and was worth one penny. It allowed a letter under half an ounce to be sent. This invention, due to Rowland Hill, democratized correspondence by placing shipping costs on the sender rather than the recipient.

Explanation: Before being installed at Versailles, the royal court resided mainly at the Louvre and the Tuileries in Paris. Louis XIV chose Versailles, the former hunting lodge of his father Louis XIII, to build the largest palace in Europe. This move also responded to a political strategy: keeping the nobility away from Paris to better control them, in memory of the troubles of the Fronde.

Explanation: Paul Doumer, who had been elected President of the Republic in 1931, was shot in Paris during a charity sale organized for the benefit of veteran writers. His assassin, Pavel Gorgulov, was a Russian émigré with fascist and unbalanced ideas. Doumer died of his wounds the following day and was replaced by Albert Lebrun.

Explanation: The Works Progress Administration, created by Roosevelt on May 6, 1935, was the largest employment program in American history. It made it possible to employ millions of unemployed people in public works (roads, buildings, bridges) but also in artistic and cultural projects. Renamed Work Projects Administration in 1939, it was dissolved in 1943 when the war revived the economy.

Explanation: The Sepoy Rebellion (or Sepoy Mutiny) of 1857 was the first major uprising against British rule in India. It broke out notably because of the new cartridges coated with animal grease, considered impure by Hindu and Muslim soldiers. This rebellion led to the dissolution of the British East India Company and the transfer of the government of India to the British Crown in 1858.