Today in History ^11/13/16

Browder v. Gayle, 142 F. Supp. 707, was a case heard before a three-judge panel of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama on Montgomery and Alabama state bus segregation laws. The panel consisted of Middle District of Alabama Judge Frank Minis Johnson, Northern District of Alabama Judge Seybourn Harris Lynne, and Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Richard Rives. The District Court ruled 2-1, with Lynne dissenting, on June 5, 1956 that bus segregation was unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment protections for equal treatment.

Date: 1956

— Source: wiki/Browder_v._Gayle

Karen Gay Silkwood was an American chemical technician and labor union activist known for raising concerns about corporate practices related to health and safety of workers in a nuclear facility. Following her mysterious death, which received extensive coverage, her estate filed a lawsuit against chemical company Kerr-McGee, which was eventually settled for $1.38 million. Silkwood was portrayed by Meryl Streep in Mike Nichols’ 1983 Academy Award-nominated film Silkwood.

Lived: Feb 19, 1946 – Nov 13, 1974 (age 28)
Spouse: William Meadows (m. 1965 – 1972)
Related movies: Silkwood
Children: Michael Meadows (Son) · Dawn Meadows (Daughter) · Kristi Riddles (Daughter)
Parents: William Silkwood (Father) · Merle Silkwood (Mother)
Education: Lamar University

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Highlights

• 1965: In 1965, she married William Meadows, an oil pipeline worker, with whom she had three children.


• 1972: Following the couple’s bankruptcy due to William’s overspending, and in the face of his refusal to give up his girlfriend Kathy, Silkwood left Meadows in 1972 and moved to Oklahoma City, where she briefly worked as a hospital clerk.


• 1972: After being hired at Kerr-McGee in 1972, Silkwood joined the local Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers Union and took part in a strike at the plant.


• 1974: On November 5, 1974, Silkwood performed a routine self-check and found that her body contained almost 400 times the legal limit for plutonium contamination.


• 1974: On November 13, 1974, Silkwood left a union meeting at the Hub Cafe in Crescent.


• 1974: Karen Silkwood died on November 13, 1974 in Crescent, United States.

— Source: wiki/Karen_Silkwood

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a 2-acre national memorial in Washington, DC. It honors U.S. service members of the U.S. armed forces who fought in the Vietnam War, service members who died in service in Vietnam/South East Asia, and those service members who were unaccounted for during the War.

Address: 5 Henry Bacon Dr NW, Washington, DC 20242
Phone: (202) 393-0090
Website: www.nps.gov/vive/index.htm
Established: Nov 13, 1982
Area: 86,111 sq feet (8,000 m²)
Annual visitors: 3.80 million (2006)

— Source: wiki/Vietnam_Veterans_Memorial

Paula Corbin Jones is a former Arkansas state employee who sued U.S. President Bill Clinton for sexual harassment. The Paula Jones case precipitated Clinton’s impeachment in the House of Representatives and the subsequent acquittal by the Senate on February 12, 1999. Charges of perjury and obstruction of justice were brought against Clinton. Eventually, the court dismissed the Paula Jones harassment lawsuit, before trial, on the grounds that Jones failed to demonstrate any damages. However, while the dismissal was on appeal, Clinton entered into an out-of-court settlement by agreeing to pay Jones $850,000.

Born: Sep 17, 1966 (age 50) · Lonoke, AR
Height: 5′ 3″ (1.59 m)
Spouse: Steven Mark McFadden (m. 2001) · Stephen Jones (m. 1991 – 1999)
Children: Preston Jones (Son) · Stephen Jones (Son)
Movies: The Hunting of the President · The Clinton Chronicles
Siblings: Charlotte Corbin Brown (Sister) · Lydia Corbin Cathey (Sister)

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Highlights

• 1991: Paula Jones married Stephen Jones on December 01, 1991; their marriage lasted 8 years till June 01, 1999.


• 1994: Jones filed a sexual harassment suit against Clinton on May 6, 1994, two days before the three-year statute of limitations, and sought $750,000 in damages.


• 1997: In December 1997, Jones reduced the damages sought in her suit against Clinton to $525,000 and agreed to remove Clinton’s co-defendant and former bodyguard, Danny Ferguson, from the suit.


• 1998: On April 2, 1998, before the case could reach trial, Judge Wright granted President Clinton’s motion for dismissal, ruling that Jones could not show that she had suffered any damages.


• 1999: The Paula Jones case precipitated Clinton’s impeachment in the House of Representatives and the subsequent acquittal by the Senate on February 12, 1999.


• 1999: In April 1999, Judge Wright found Clinton in civil contempt of court for misleading testimony in the Jones case.


• 2016: In October 2016, Jones joined Donald Trump for a press conference before the second 2016 Presidential Debate to air grievances against Hillary and Bill Clinton.

— Source: wiki/Paula_Jones