On this date in 1970 in Ohio, around 28 National Guardsmen fired their weapons at an anti-war demonstrators group on the Kent State University campus, killing four students, wounding eight, and paralyzing another.

This tragic event was considered as a turning point for a country separated by conflict in Vietnam and further spurred the anti-war drive. 

Two days before the tragedy, precisely on May 2, the troops' National Guard were called to Kent to defeat students who were rioting in protest of the US invasion of Cambodia and the Vietnam War.

Then, on May 3, the troops dispersed the scattered protests using tear gas. Then, on May 4, classes at Kent State University resumed. By noon on the same day, despite the ban on demonstrations and rallies, roughly 2,000 people gathered on the campus.

The National Guard arrived, ordering the protesting crowd to dissolve. Again, the troops fired tear gas and moved forward against the rallying students "with bayonets fixed on their rifles."

Incidentally, some of the protesters who refused to yield responded by verbally taunting and throwing rocks at the troops.

No Warning Shot Fired

A few minutes after, minus the warning shot, the Guardsmen, fired over 60 rounds toward the demonstrators at a nearby parking lot, wounding nine and killing four. 

Meanwhile, the casualty closest was 20 yards away while the farthest nearly 250 yards away. Following a period of shock, disbelief, and attempts at first aid, furious students assembled on a slope nearby, and again, the Guardsmen ordered them to move. 

Members of the faculty were able to convince the protesting students to disperse and thus, preventing further bloodshed.

The shootings resulted in protests on different college campuses nationwide. More so, pictures of the massacre became continuing imageries of the anti-war movement. 

In 1974, at the criminal investigation's conclusion, a federal court dropped all charges against eight National Guardsmen of Ohio for their role in the deaths of the students.

Important Highlights from Previous Years

On May 4, 1471, the Battle of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, took place. It was the final encounter between the York and Houses of Lancaster

This was the date when Edward of Westminster, the Prince of Wales, was killed, and King Edward IV got restored to his sovereignty. Also, he was able to restore political stability to England until he died in 1483.

This same date in 1814, Spain's King Ferdinand VII signed the "Decree of May 4," which returned the country to absolutism.

The year 1904 marked the beginning of construction by the US on the Panama Canal. Then, on May 4, 1979, Margaret Thatcher became the first woman elected as the United Kingdom's Prime Minister.

This Date in Film, TV, and Music

It was on this date in 1959 when the First Grammy Awards was held to respect and honor the performers' musical accomplishments for the year 1958. On this said music event, Perry Como and Ella Fitzgerald won the first-ever Grammy Awards.

On May 4, 2008, Seth MacFarlane reached a $100-million worth of agreement with Fox to keep the "American Idol" and "Family Guy" on television until 2012, making him the World's highest-paid TV writer.

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