Today is May 7. On this date in:
1763
Pontiac, chief of the Ottawa Indians, attempted to lead a sneak attack on British-held Fort Detroit, but was foiled because the British had been tipped off in advance.
1896
H. H. Holmes, one of America’s first well-known serial killers, was executed by hanging in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1915
A German U-boat torpedoed and sank the British liner RMS Lusitania off the southern coast of Ireland, killing 1,198 people, including 128 Americans, out of the nearly 2,000 on board.
Our History: Former Enquirer cartoonist Winsor McCay made animated film of sinking of Lusitania
1945
Germany signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters in Rheims, France, ending its role in World War II.
1954
The 55-day Battle of Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam ended with Vietnamese insurgents overrunning French forces.
1975
President Gerald R. Ford formally declared an end to the “Vietnam era.” In Ho Chi Minh City – formerly Saigon – the Viet Cong celebrated its takeover.
1984
A $180 million out-of-court settlement was announced in the Agent Orange class-action suit brought by Vietnam veterans who said they’d been injured by exposure to the defoliant.
1998
The parent company of Mercedes-Benz agreed to buy Chrysler Corp. for more than $37 billion.
2004
Army Pfc. Lynndie England, shown in photographs smiling and pointing at naked Iraqi prisoners, was charged by the military with assaulting the detainees and conspiring to mistreat them. (England was later convicted of conspiracy, mistreating detainees and committing an indecent act, and sentenced to 36 months; she served half that term.)
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