This Week in Boomer History: Kent State ... 'Hair' ... Spam ... Amtrak

The Soviets bring down a CIA U-2 spy plane on May 1, 1960, intensifying the Cold War. Captured in Russia, pilot Francis Gary Powers is interrogated for more than a hundred days and imprisoned for nearly two years.

The first Target discount store opens in Roseville, Minn., on May 1, 1962, growing into an enterprise that generates about $3 billion of net income in 2013.

This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius when the musical Hair opens on Broadway April 29, 1968. New to Broadway: full frontal nudity and a soft rock score.

Four dead in Ohio: National Guardsmen fire on Vietnam War protesters at Kent State on  May 4, 1970.

The Vietnam War ends when Saigon surrenders on  April 30, 1975. The last American to leave the besieged U.S. Embassy is Marine Master Sgt. John J. Valdez.

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Internet historians lament May 1, 1978, as the birthday of spam. Gary Thuerk, a marketer for the Digital Equipment Corp., sends a message about the company's computers to 400 of the 2,600 people on the forerunner of today's World Wide Web.

Responding to the decreasing popularity of rail travel, Congress in 1970 establishes the National Railroad Passenger Corp. to take over intercity passenger rail service. Amtrak begins service on May 1, 1971, serving 43 states with a total of 21 routes.

 

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• Fight fraud and ID theft with the AARP Fraud Watch Network.
• Join AARP: Savings, resources and news for your well-being

 

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