The following events occurred in May 1966:
May 1, 1966 (Sunday) Nick Piantanida, an American amateur parachute jumper, was fatally injured while attempting to break the world parachute altitude record. Secured inside a small Styrofoam-insulated gondola, he began his ascent for a planned supersonic free fall from over . Ground controllers listening to the communications link with the Strato Jump III were startled by the sound of rushing air and a sudden, cut-off call over the radio to abort, Piantanida's oxygen mask having depressurized at about the mark. Ground controllers immediately jettisoned the balloon at close to — higher than the cruising altitude for commercial jets — and Piantanida's gondola took 25 minutes to parachute to the ground, near Lakefield, Minnesota. The lack of oxygen left Piantanida with brain damage and he would remain in a coma until his death on August 29. For the first time in the Vietnam War, the United States attacked Cambodia, after the U.S. 1st Infantry Division came under mortar fire while patrolling in the Tây Ninh Province along South Vietnam's border with the neutral nation. When it was determined that the shelling was coming from the other side of the Cai Bac River that separated the two nations, Lt. Col. Richard L. Prillaman of the 2nd Infantry invoked the right of self-defense within the rules of engagement, and fired shells across the river into a Viet Cong position on the other side. Senator Carlos Lleras Restrepo of the Liberal Party won the Colombian presidential election, easily defeating his little-known challenger, lawyer Jose Jaramillo Giraldo. With a margin of 1,891,175 votes against the 742,133 for Jaramillo, Lleras Restrepo polled 71.4% of the ballots. More than 60 percent of eligible voters declined to participate in the election, the highest ever up to that time. The First of May Group, an armed Spanish organization fighting the regime of dictator Francisco Franco, staged its first attack, kidnapping the ecclesiastic adviser for the Spanish Embassy to the Vatican, Monsignor Marcos Ussia. Ussia, taken captive as he was driving to his house, remained missing for ten days, before he was released unharmed on May 11. Fantasy novelist Diana L. Paxson staged the first "medieval-themed" event for what would later be called the Society for Creative Anachronism, restaging combat between armored knights, as well as recreating other aspects of festivals in medieval England. The Genevieve E. Yates Memorial Centre was officially opened at Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. Born: Abdelhakim Belhadj, Libyan politician and military leader; in Souq al Jum'aa, Tripoli – Translated as
May 2, 1966 (Monday)
U.S. Navy Commander Jeremiah Denton, an American prisoner of war in North Vietnam, was interviewed in a prison camp by Japanese TV reporter Toshichi Suzuki of the Nihon Dempa Kogyo (NDK) news service, for 10 minutes. The edited newsreel was shown on North Vietnamese television and in movie theaters, then released to Japan where it was shown on Japanese TV on May 7. Denton, shot down on July 18, 1965, was held in the Cu Loc Detention Camp, nicknamed "The Zoo" by his fellow POWs, near Hanoi. He told Suzuki, "I believe in my government, yes sir. I am a member of that government and will support it as long as I live." Asked about prison conditions he said he got "adequate food and clothing and medical care when I require it." A reporter noted that "He spoke slowly and rolled his eyes continuously, at times staring blankly at the ceiling. He would occasionally close his eyes tightly when asked to answer a question." On the film, unbeknownst to his captors, he was blinking or closing his eyes to spell out "T-O-R-T-U-R-E" in Morse code. He would later be elected U.S. Senator for Alabama in 1980 and serve one term. In Dallas, leaders of eight separate American religious denominations opened discussions for an eventual merger of Protestant churches. Meeting in the talks were leaders of the Methodist Church (USA), the Episcopal Church, the United Presbyterian Church, the United Church of Christ, the Disciples of Christ, the Evangelical United Brethren, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and the Presbyterian Church in the United States, encompassing 25 million members. On May 5, leaders of the eight denominations unanimously approved a document outlining common principles for a merger that would take place between 1970 and 1979. Renfrew Airport, Glasgow's domestic air terminal, ceased operations; the last flight to depart flew a short distance to the new facility, Abbotsinch Airport. The first scheduled arrival was a chartered Vickers Viscount turboprop, flown from Edinburgh by British European Airways, which carried 64 members of the architectural firm that had designed the new facility. However, on April 26, a Royal Air Force plane had mistakenly landed at the new airport after confusing it with the old one. The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo announced that the nation's major cities would be restored to their pre-colonial names, effective on June 30, the sixth anniversary of independence. The capital, Leopoldville, was changed to Kinshasa; Elisabethville became Lubumbashi; Stanleyville to Kisangani; Coquilhatville to Mbandaka; and Paulis to Isiro."Congo Cities Get Back Old Names", Vancouver Sun, May 3, 1966, p.11
May 3, 1966 (Tuesday)
Lurleen Wallace, the wife of Alabama Governor George C. Wallace, overwhelmingly won the Democratic Party primary for the nomination for Governor of Alabama, a guarantee of victory in November in the overwhelmingly Democratic state. By law, George Wallace was barred from serving consecutive terms as governor, but could continue to be the de facto executive by having his wife hold the office. Governor Wallace would die a little more than two years later, on another primary election day (May 7, 1968), from intestinal cancer. After being treated successfully in 1965, the cancer had recurred only five months after she took office. Prime Minister of Canada Lester B. Pearson narrowly avoided a censure by the Canadian House of Commons, after being accused of perjury for contradicting testimony given by Canadian police in hearings on the Gerda Munsinger sex scandal. The vote, which would likely have brought down the Pearson government and led to the calling of new parliamentary elections, failed to pass, 106 to 133. "Pirate" radio stations Swinging Radio England and Britain Radio commenced broadcasting on AM, with a combined potential 100,000 watts, from the same ship anchored off the south coast of England in international waters.The story of Swinging Radio England
May 4, 1966 (Wednesday)
Center fielder Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants hit his 512th home run, breaking the National League record held by Mel Ott."Mays Breaks Record; Hits 512th Career Homer", Chicago Tribune, May 5, 1966, p. 3-1 At the time, that was the fourth best career record for all Major League Baseball players, but Mays would surpass Ted Williams and Jimmie Foxx by August, to be second only to Babe Ruth.David Vincent, Home Run: The Definitive History of Baseball's Ultimate Weapon (Potomac Books, 2007) The Italian automaker FIAT (Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino) concluded an agreement with the Soviet government to build a car factory in the Soviet Union, with plans for production of 600,000 small and medium-sized cars annually. Vittorio Valletta, the FIAT President, signed the contract with Minister of Automotive Industries Aleksandr Tarasov, and in 1969, the first VAZ (Volzhsky Avtomobilny Zavod) automobiles would roll off of the assembly line at the factory, located at Togliattigrad (formerly Stavropol-on-Volga).Frank N. Magill, Chronology of Twentieth-Century History: Business and Commerce (Routledge, 2014) p. 993 Baseball shortstop Larry Brown of the Cleveland Indians was seriously (and almost fatally) injured after he collided with teammate Leon Wagner during a game against the New York Yankees."INDIAN SHORTSTOP'S SKULL FRACTURED", Chicago Tribune, May 5, 1966, p. 3-1 Brown and Wagner were both attempting to field a fly ball hit by Roger Maris; Brown suffered multiple skull fractures, lapsed into a coma, and was hospitalized for several weeks."Brown, Larry Leslie", in The Cleveland Indians Encyclopedia, by Russell Schneider (Sports Publishing LLC, 2004) p. 146 A penumbral lunar eclipse took place. "No perceptible change in the appearance of the moon will be noticed in the areas where this eclipse is visible", a report noted at the time, because the Moon was only entering a part of Earth's shadow.Bridgeport Post, May 4, 1966, p. 1 Died: Edmond Locard, 88, French criminologist who formulated the basic principle of forensic science: "Every contact leaves a trace", now known as Locard's exchange principle
May 5, 1966 (Thursday) The first of three strikes by bank employees in Ireland began, shutting down 900 banks in both the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland."Bank Strike Looming In Ireland", Ottawa Journal, May 6, 1966, p. 5 These strikes would provide economists with a unique opportunity to study the functioning of a modern economy without access to cash deposits. "Businesses with large cash intakes each day are getting rid of their surplus by making deals with firms that have large weekly payrolls but take no cash. One large brewery has taken on the role of banker for pubs. Saloons are favorite places for cashing cheques", a report during the strike noted."No Settlement In Bank Strike", Brandon (Manitoba) Sun, June 6, 1966, p. 9 An early settlement would be reached in Northern Ireland, but the strike in the Irish Republic would not be settled until July 29."Three-Month Bank Strike Ends In Ireland", AP report in Troy (NY) Record, July 30, 1966, p. 12 A second strike, in 1970, would last more than six months, and the third and final one would go for more than two months in 1976."How six-month bank strike rocked the nation", Irish Independent, December 29, 1999 In Game Six of the best-of-seven Stanley Cup finals, the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Detroit Red Wings, 3–2 in sudden death overtime, to win the championship of the National Hockey League. Detroit had won the first two games of the series, and Montreal then won the next four. After 2 minutes and 20 seconds in the extra period, Henri Richard rebounded the blocked shot of Dave Balon and sent the puck past the Red Wings' Roger Crozier for the win."Montreal Wins Cup in Sudden Death", Chicago Tribune, May 6, 1966, p. 3-1 In the 1966 European Cup Winners' Cup Final at Hampden Parkin Glasgow, Borussia Dortmund of West Germany defeated England's Liverpool F.C., 2–1, at 17 minutes into extra time after the game was tied at the end of 90 minutes. Reinhard Libuda hit a "perfectly judged cross" past Tommy Lawrence, who had blocked the first shot at goal."Cup-Winners' Cup for Borussia", The Glasgow Herald, May 6, 1966, p. 6 The 1966 Cannes Film Festival opened. Born: Josh Weinstein, American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons; in Washington, D.C. Sergei Stanishev, Soviet-born, Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 2005 to 2009; in Kherson, Ukrainian SSR
May 6, 1966 (Friday) South Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ backtracked on the April promise to hold free elections for a civilian government by September 1966, announcing instead that the late September voting would be limited to an assembly that would draft a new constitution. Upon completion of that document, an election for a national legislature would be scheduled, and that legislature would then appoint a civilian government. Until then, Kỳ told reporters in Cần Thơ, the military regime would stay in power "for at least another year".