May 31

in History

Emperor Stoned to Death — A mob destroys Rome's fleeing ruler

Rome, Western Roman EmpireClassical

455

Emperor Stoned to Death

A mob destroys Rome's fleeing ruler

As Vandal warships appeared on the horizon, Emperor Petronius Maximus attempted to flee Rome -- but a furious mob caught him and stoned him to death in the streets. His reign had lasted only two and a half months, during which he had alienated the Roman people by forcing the widow of his predecessor to marry him. Days later, the Vandals sacked Rome for two weeks, stripping the city of its remaining treasures in one of history's most infamous acts of plunder.

455 AD

American Civil War — American Civil War: Confederate troops under Joseph E.

Modern

1862

American Civil War

American Civil War: Confederate troops under Joseph E.

American Civil War: Confederate troops under Joseph E. Johnston and G. W. Smith engaged Union forces under George B. McClellan at the Battle of Seven Pines outside Richmond, Virginia.

1862 AD

Lucile Godbold Was Born — A pioneer of women's athletics takes flight

South Carolina, United StatesEarly 20th Century

1900

Lucile Godbold Was Born

A pioneer of women's athletics takes flight

In South Carolina, Lucile Ellerbe Godbold was born -- a woman who would become one of the earliest American heroines of women's track and field. At the 1922 Women's World Games in Paris, she won a gold medal in shot put and a bronze in javelin, claiming more medals than any other competitor. In an era when women's athletics was barely tolerated, Godbold proved that female athletes could compete with power, grace, and determination at the highest international level.

1900 AD