May 21, 2012

80 years ago
1932

Aviation
Amelia Earhart landed in the backyard of a farmhouse near Derry, Ireland, 15 hours after taking off from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland in a single-engine Lockheed Vega and becoming the first woman and second person—after Charles Lindbergh five years earlier—to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Miss Earhart had intended to land in Paris, but went off course.

60 years ago
1952

On the radio
I Was a Communist for the FBI, starring Dana Andrews
Tonight's Episode: The Pit Viper

On television tonight
The Unexpected, hosted by Herbert Marshall, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Professional Touch, starring Virginia Grey, James Parnell, and Carleton G. Young

50 years ago
1962

Boxing
Leotis Martin (3-0) knocked out German Hernandez (0-1) in the 1st round of a heavyweight bout in Philadelphia.

40 years ago
1972

Protest
A young Roman Catholic youth publicly immolated himself in a street of Kaunas, Lithuania, setting off a week of riots in which thousands of young people battled Soviet policemen and soldiers, demanding freedom of worship for the country’s 3.5 million Catholics.

30 years ago
1982

War
British forces established a beachhead at San Carlos Bay during an attack against Argentine forces in the Falkland Islands.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that consumer prices had risen 0.2% in April, mainly because of higher costs in food and housing.

25 years ago
1987

On television tonight
Our World, hosted by Linda Ellerbee and Ray Gandolf, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Long Winter, Short Spring: 1937



The Twilight Zone, on CBS
Tonight's episode: Joy Ride, starring Rob Knepper; Shelter Skelter, starring Joe Mantegna; Private Channel, starring Scott Coffey

20 years ago
1992

Basketball
NBA
Eastern Division Finals
Cleveland 107 Chicago 81

10 years ago
2002

Died on this date
Abdul Ghani Lone, 70. Kashmiri separatist leader. Mr. Lone, a moderate, was gunned down in Srinagar in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir; the identity of the assassin was unclear. Indian and Pakistani forces were currently firing at each other across the border of Kashmir.

Scandal
The U.S. brokerage firm Merrill Lynch and Company agreed to pay a fine of $100 million to settle a case in which it was accused of publicly promoting stocks of companies with which it wanted to do business, while privately denigrating the same stocks.