Future President Harry S. Truman was born on May 8, 1884 in Lamar, Missouri. Harry Truman grew up in Independence, Missouri and as a young man worked as a clerk in bank, worked as a haberdasher and worked on his family’s farm before beginning a political career in his thirties. He was elected a Missouri Judge and then in 1934 a U.S. Senator. Senator Truman became known as a man of integrity who got things done and in 1944 President Franklin D. Roosevelt and top Democratic party officials asked Harry to become Roosevelt’s Vice Presidential Candidate as he ran for a fourth term. The Roosevelt won re-election with Truman as his Vice President and both were sworn into their respective posts in early 1945. On April 12 12, 1945 President Roosevelt died and Harry Truman found himself President of the United States. Truman was the President making the decisions at the close of World War II and had the final say in directing the American military to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan in 1945 ushering in the atomic age. Truman won re-election in 1948 and presided over the beginnings of the Cold War and the early Civil Rights eras that directly followed the end of World War II. He is known to day for
Harry Truman returned to live in his hometown of Independence, MO after he left office. He died in 1972.
If you want to watch a short video on Truman – click the following YouTube link which will allow you to watch the eleven minute portion of the History Channel President’s series that offers a brief chronicle, of Truman’s life and presidency; highlights include his decision to use the atomic bomb to end World War II, the implementation of the Berlin Airlift, the breakout of the Korean War, his decision to de-segregate the American Military and the implementation of the Marshall Plan to try and curb the spread of Communism across the globe in the post-World War II era.
Here’s the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaYOPpBf2vA
And for more detailed text bio of Truman check out his page on the official White House website:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/harrystruman
Bluesman Robert Johnson was born on May 8, 1911. Robert Johnson was born in Hazelhurst, Mississippi and only lives to be 27 years old dying being poisoned by an angry husband with whose wife he had been having an affair. Johnson’s intense, raw blues guitar playing and singing were captured in two recording sessions issued as King of The Delta Blues Singers I and King of The Delta Blues Singers II and his music has influenced countless blues, rock, jazz and country musicians since then. And the man himself has become an almost mythic figure who it is said lived fast and hard and sold his soul to the devil to obtain his great musical talent. So you might say Robert Johnson is an interesting character in American musical history!
You can check out two related CDs at the library. The first is a compilation of the two Delta Blues Singer albums Johnson recorded in the thirties tilted “Robert Johnson, The Complete Recordings” and the second is by the well-known blues-rock musician Eric Clapton is titled “Me & Mr. Johnson” and features Clapton preforming his favorite Robert Johnson songs.
And here’s a link to a bio of Robert Johnson found on the Robert Johnson Blues Foundation site:
http://www.robertjohnsonbluesfoundation.org/biography
And a YouTube link that offers listeners a chance to listen to the entire “Robert Johnson Complete Recordings” set (or just a little bit of it if you prefer!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HleLTn60BxE
Also of note not just as an event that had a great impact on American history but as one that had a colossal impact on world history today is the anniversary of V-E Day – it was on May 8, 1945 that Germany unconditionally surrendered to Allied forced putting bringing World War II to a close.
And on a much lighter note – I discovered this morning in researching topics for this post, courtesy of Chase’s Calendar of Events, that today is national “No Socks Day!” The idea being if we all stopped wearing socks for a day we’d have less laundry to do and that would in turn benefit the environment. And I have to say I find that idea of a “No Socks Day” to be a terrifically funny one!
We should all take our socks off for at least part of the day to celebrate!
Have a great day!
Linda R.
References
About the Presidents: #33: Harry Truman. White House. Online. Accessed, May 8, 2013.
Biography. Robert Johnson Blues Foundation. Online. Accessed May 8, 2013.
The American Dream Starts @ The Southeast Steuben County Library 