TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

May 10, 1968

The “Night of the Barricades” began in Paris’ Latin Quarter as tens of thousands of student protesters erected obstacles against riot police; in the pre-dawn hours of May 11, the police moved in, resulting in violent clashes that left hundreds of people injured. Preliminary peace talks between the United States and North Vietnam began in the French capital.

ALSO ON THIS DATE

1611

Sir Thomas Dale arrived in the Virginia Colony, where, as deputy governor, he instituted harsh measures to restore order.

1775

Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, along with Col. Benedict Arnold, captured the British-held fortress at Ticonderoga, N.Y.

1865

Confederate President Jefferson Davis was captured by Union forces in Irwinville, Ga.

1869

A golden spike was driven in Promontory, Utah, marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States.

1924

J. Edgar Hoover was named acting director of the Bureau of Investigation.

1933

The Nazis staged massive public book burnings in Germany.

1940

During World War II, German forces began invading the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and France.

1994

Nelson Mandela took the oath of office in Pretoria to become South Africa’s first black president.

2013

U.S government scientists said worldwide levels of carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas blamed for global warming, had hit a milestone, reaching an amount never before encountered by humans.