Moments in Time: Ferdinand Magellan
The History Channel
On April 27, 1521, Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan was killed during a tribal skirmish on Mactan Island in the Philippines. Earlier in the month, he had met with the local chief on the Philippine island of Cebu, who, after converting to Christianity, had persuaded the Europeans to assist him in conquering a rival tribe on a neighboring island. During the ensuing conflict, Magellan was hit by a poisoned arrow and left to die by his retreating fellow fighters.
On April 28, 1953, inventor Howard Ross received a patent for a useful, if rather curious, garment called a "double coat," with an outer layer that could be extended to cover two people at a time in athletic stadiums when it rained.
On April 29, 1991, paroled felon Rodney King led police on a high-speed chase through the streets of Los Angeles County before eventually surrendering. Drunk and uncooperative, he resisted arrest and was beaten by three police officers who didn't know they were being filmed by a nearby citizen. Upon release to the press, the video triggered outrage around the country and started a national debate on police brutality.
On April 30, 1977, more than 2,000 protesters carrying signs saying, "Split Wood, Not Atoms" and "Go Fishing, Not Fission" occupied the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant construction site in New Hampshire. More than half were taken into custody in what became one of the largest mass arrests in U.S. history.
On May 1, 1958, the United States celebrated its first Law Day after President Eisenhower announced the observance to honor the role of law in the country's creation. Three years later, Congress followed suit by passing a joint resolution establishing May 1 as Law Day.
On May 2, 1972, after serving nearly five decades as FBI director. J. Edgar Hoover died, leaving the agency without the administrator who'd turned it into an efficient crime-fighting machine.
On May 3, 2007, shortly before her fourth birthday, Madeleine McCann of Rothley, England, disappeared during a family vacation at a resort in southern Portugal. Despite an international search, she remains missing.
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