Today in History 05/23/17

Privateer William Kidd hanging in chains at 'Execution Dock' in London, wood engraving of the early 19th century (© Archiv Gerstenberg/ullstein bild via Getty Images)(1701) Infamous privateer and possible pirate executed
Once a pirate hunter of great repute, and now convicted of piracy and treason himself, Scottish sailor Captain William Kidd is hung in London, his body then gibbeted over the River Thames as a gruesome warning to other would-be pirates.
William Kidd, also Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd was a Scottish sailor who was tried and executed for piracy after returning from a voyage to the Indian Ocean. Some modern historians deem his piratical reputation unjust.
Born: 1645 · Dundee, Scotland
Died: May 23, 1701 · Wapping, United Kingdom
Romance: Elizabeth Kidd · Sarah Kidd
Children: Sarah Latham (Daughter) · Elizabeth Troup (Daughter) · Henry Rousby (Son) · William Rousby (Son) · Christopher Rousby (Son)
Parents: John Kyd (Father) · Bessie Kidd
Highlights
  • 1691: On 16 May 1691, Kidd married Sarah Bradley Cox Oort, an English woman in her early twenties, who had already been twice widowed and was one of the wealthiest women in New York, largely because of her inheritance from her first husband.

  • 1696: In September 1696, Kidd weighed anchor and set course for the Cape of Good Hope.

  • 1697: Kidd killed one of his own crewmen on 30 October 1697.

  • 1698: On 1 April 1698, Kidd reached Madagascar.

  • 1701: He was hanged on 23 May 1701, at Execution Dock, Wapping, in London.

  • 1701: William Kidd died on May 23, 1701 in Wapping, United Kingdom.

wiki/William_Kidd
A lancer of the Northwest Mounted Police, 1875 (Public domain)(1873) North-West Mounted Police patrol the provinces
Riflemen on horseback are needed to maintain order in Canada’s newly acquired North-West Provinces, so the ‘North-West Mounted Rifles’ are founded. US officials will be wary of the militaristic name, so the force is renamed the North-West Mounted Police and, later, the ‘Royal Canadian Mounted Police.’
The North-West Mounted Police was a Canadian police force. It was established in 1873, and in 1904 the name was changed to Royal Northwest Mounted Police. In 1920 it merged with the Dominion Police to become the current Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Founded: 1873
Royal Canadian Mounted Police

wiki/North-West_Mounted_Police
Portrait of bank robbers and Bonnie Parker, circa 1933 (© Hulton Archive/Getty Image)(1934) Notorious outlaw couple gunned down in Louisiana
A stolen Ford Deluxe is met with a hail of bullets as it passes an ambush of lawmen lying in wait on a rural highway in Louisiana’s Bienville Parish. Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow’s car is hit by 130 rounds, and the FBI’s most wanted criminals are brought down after a 2-year manhunt.
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Chestnut Barrow a.k.a. Clyde Champion Barrow were American criminals who traveled the central United States with their gang during the Great Depression, robbing people and killing when cornered or confronted. At times, the gang included his older brother Buck Barrow and his wife Blanche, Raymond Hamilton, W. D. Jones, Joe Palmer, Ralph Fults, and Henry Methvin. Their exploits captured the attention of the American public during the “Public Enemy Era,” between 1931 and 1935. Though known today for their dozen-or-so bank robberies, the two preferred to rob small stores or rural gas stations. The gang is believed to have killed at least nine police officers and several civilians. The couple were eventually ambushed and killed by law officers near the town of Sailes, in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. Their reputation was revived and cemented in American pop folklore by Arthur Penn’s 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde.
wiki/Bonnie_and_Clyde
(From left) Keith Moon, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of The Who in 1970 (© Harry Harris/AP)(1969) The Who release rock opera ‘Tommy’
The Who release the double-album rock opera ‘Tommy’—the story of a ‘deaf, dumb, and blind’ boy who finds redemption through pinball and becomes a spiritual leader. The album will go on to sell tens of millions of copies and be adapted as a film and a stage musical.
Tommy is the fourth studio album by the English rock band The Who, a double album first released in May 1969. The album was mostly composed by guitarist Pete Townshend as a rock opera that tells the story about a deaf, dumb and blind boy, including his experiences with life and his relationship with his family.
Tommy Album Cover
Release year: 1969
Genre: Rock, Classic Rock
Label: Geffen
Artists: The Who · London Symphony Orchestra
Adaptations: Tommy (1975) · The Who’s Tommy
Awards: Grammy Hall of Fame · Grammy Award for Best Recording Package

wiki/Tommy_(album)
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