Nixon declares drug abuse a national menace (1971), and Third Estate declares itself the National Assembly (1789). Born on this day: Igor Stravinsky, Venus Williams and Edward I. Died: Mohamed Morsi, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān and Süleyman Demirel.
29 events, 61 births and 55 deaths on this date.
At a televised press conference, Nixon named drug abuse the nation's foremost enemy, launching what became known as the war on drugs. The announcement set the tone for decades of anti-drug policy that followed.
Department of Defense. Department of the Army. Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations. U.S. Army Audiovisual Center. (ca. 1974 - 05/15/1984) · Public domainFrustrated deputies of the Third Estate broke with the old Estates-General and proclaimed themselves the National Assembly, claiming the right to speak for the whole nation. The move was an early and decisive step toward the French Revolution.
Days after a joint communiqué was signed to ease the Buddhist crisis in South Vietnam, protests and riots erupted in Saigon. The unrest showed how little the agreement had calmed tensions between the government and Buddhist protesters.
Bush and Yeltsin agreed to cut their nuclear arsenals through an understanding short of a full treaty. It was later codified in START II, which committed both sides to deep cuts in strategic warheads.
The statue, shipped in pieces from France, was reassembled on Bedloe's Island, now Liberty Island. Its copper skin and iron framework made it a gift from the French people to the United States.
Christian David · CC BY-SA 4.0
Francis Drake's ship, the Golden Hind, put ashore on the Pacific coast during his round-the-world voyage. He named the land New Albion and claimed it for Queen Elizabeth I, a claim England would later use to support its presence in the Americas.
Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger · Public domain
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Russian-born composer whose ballets for Diaghilev, above all The Rite of Spring, reshaped how rhythm was understood in 20th-century music. He later moved through neoclassical and serial styles, becoming one of the century's most influential composers.
George Grantham Bain Collection · Public domain
Venus Williams is an American tennis player who became the first African-American woman to reach world No. 1 in the Open era. She has won seven major singles titles, including five at Wimbledon, and remains one of the sport's most decorated players.
Tatiana from Moscow, Russia · CC BY-SA 2.0
Edward I was the son of Henry III who ruled England from 1272 to 1307 and earned the nickname Hammer of the Scots. He reformed royal law and administration, and conquered Wales in 1282-83.
Remiguis Goebel · Public domain
Morsi was the first freely elected president of Egypt, serving from 2012 until the army removed him in 2013. He died in 2019 while on trial, after collapsing in a Cairo courtroom.
Wilson Dias/ABr · CC BY 3.0 br
ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān was the third Rashidun caliph, and is remembered for having the Quran compiled into a standard written text. He was assassinated by rebels in Medina, an event that helped fuel the conflicts that followed.
عبدالعزيز علي · Public domain
Süleyman Demirel was a Turkish engineer and politician who served seven terms as prime minister before becoming president from 1993 to 2000. He was also a university teacher and led the Justice Party for much of his career.
Public domain
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