SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — On this date.
2021 – Chadian military leader and politician Idriss Déby Itno dies – Itno ruled Chad after he seized power in 1990 until his death in 2021. He was the head of the ruling Patriotic Salvation Movement and died at the hands of militant forces when commanding troops on the front in 2021.
2010 – Deepwater Horizon oil spill – The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico after a surge of natural gas blasted through a concrete core recently installed to seal an oil well for later use. The spill resulted in 11 workers being killed and 17 injured. Birds were particularly vulnerable to the oil’s effects, and many perished from ingesting oil as they tried to clean themselves or because the substance interfered with their ability to regulate their body temperatures.
2008 – Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300 – At 26 years of age Danica Patrick won the Indy Japan 300–her 50th IndyCar Series race–at Twin Ring Montegi, a 1.5-mile oval track. As a result, she became the first female winner of a major U.S.-sanctioned open-wheel race. She finished the 200-lap race 5.8594 seconds ahead of Helio Castroneves, then a two-time Indy 500 champ.
1999 – Columbine High School Shooting – At around 11:19 a.m. Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, began shooting fellow students outside Columbine High School, located in a suburb south of Denver. The pair then went inside the school, where they were gunned down many of their victims in the library. They murdered 13 people and wounded 24.
1971 – Supreme Court declares desegregation busing constitutional – The United States Supreme Court unanimously announced busing for the purposes of desegregation to be constitutional. The resolution in Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education settled the constitutional question and permitted the widespread implementation of busing, which remained disputed over the next 10 years.
1916 – United States Wrigley Field – The Cubs played their first home game at the park. They beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 in 11 innings. Since 1916, Wrigley Field has been home to the Cubs and is one of the oldest and most iconic Major League Baseball parks in America.
1914 – Ludlow Massacre – Around 10,000 miners in Ludlow, Colorado were on strike protesting low pay and abysmal working conditions in the Colorado coalfields. Men, women and children were killed when violence broke out between the militia and the striking coal miners.
