A young girl taking part in the March 4 rally to ban assault weapons holds a “Uvalde Strong” sign in front of the Senate Office buildings in the US Capitol July 13 in Washington, DC. On May 24, 2022, a mass shooting on a Uvalde killed 19 students and two adults at an elementary school in Texas. Police officers fatally shot the shooter. File photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI
Senator Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., speaks at a rally in Washington November 16, 2006 calling for increases in the state minimum wage. On May 24, 2007, the US Congress voted to raise the minimum wage for the first time in 10 years – from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 over three years. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI
War Memory Square in Massawa, Eritrea honors the Eritrean War of Independence. On May 24, 1991, Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia after a 30-year war that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. File photo by Dawit Rezene/Wikimedia
Astronaut Scott Carpenter climbs Aurora 7 before launching the second American-manned orbital flight on May 24, 1962. File photo by NASA/UPI
This undated file photo shows the interior of a United Press office in the Munsey Trust Building in Washington, DC On this day in 1958, United Press and the International News Service merged to form United Press International. Photo by Harris and Ewing/Library of Congress
A United States Military Railway Service worker repairs a telegraph wire during the American Civil War, 1862. On May 24, 1844, the first US telegraph line was officially opened. File photo by Library of Congress/UPI
Car and pedestrian traffic clog the streets of Manhattan in New York City on January 11, 1996. On May 24, 1626, the Dutch West Indies Trading Co. purchased the island of Manhattan from American Indians. File Photo by CLCornish/UPI
On May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge opened to the public, connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan in New York City. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
On this date in history:
In 1626, the Dutch West Indies Trading Co. bought the island of Manhattan from the Indians for about $24 worth of goods.
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In 1844, the first US telegraph line was officially opened – between Baltimore and Washington.
In 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge opened to the public, connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan in New York City.
File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
In 1935, Major League Baseball’s first night game was played at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. The Reds defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1.
In 1943, Josef Mengele, the so-called “Angel of Death”, became the new doctor at the Auschwitz death camp in Poland. He fled Germany after the end of World War II and died in Brazil in 1979.
In 1958, the merger of United Press and International News Service was announced, creating United Press International.
In 1962, Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter became the second American to orbit the Earth, orbiting it three times. John Glenn was first earlier this year.
In 1983, the US Supreme Court ruled that private religious schools that practice racial discrimination are not eligible for church tax breaks.
In 1987, 250,000 people crowded the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to mark its 50th anniversary, temporarily flattening the arched bridge.
File photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI
In 1991 Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia.
In 2007, the US Congress voted to raise the minimum wage for the first time in ten years, from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 over three years.
In 2018, President Donald Trump posthumously pardoned Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight boxing champion of the world, for his conviction under a Jim Crow-era law.
In 2022, a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas killed 19 students and two adults. Police officers fatally shot the shooter.
File Photo by Jon Farina/UPI
