On this day in 1918, German fighter pilot Manfred von Richthofen was killed. Both notorious for his deadly record and respected for his skill even by his enemies, he was known as “The Red Baron.”

Richthofen’s flying career began in 1916, and he immediately proved himself in the field with his 15 victories against enemy aircraft in the first year. 1917 saw his incredible record continue to climb as he became a terror of the skies in the red-painted Fokker triplane that led to the “Red” half of the Red Baron nickname. He also published an autobiography, after which this post is titled, and his skill and character were so admired that even those who supported the Allied troops grudgingly admitted that maybe he wasn’t completely terrible.

By April 1918 Richthofen had an unprecedented 80 victories to his name, making him the ace-of-aces of the war. But we already know how this story ends. On April 21, while flying low in pursuit of an Allied plane, the Red Baron was shot with a single bullet through the chest. There are multiple theories about who fired the shot, but there is no debate that it was fatal. As stated in the above clipping, Richthofen, only 25 years old when he was killed, was given a full military funeral by the Allied squadron responsible for his body.

Find more on the Red Baron, his career, and his death in the pages of Newspapers.com. Or, search or browse for clippings about a topic of interest to you.

On this day in 1861, the tension that had been building for years between the Union and the recently seceded Confederacy broke into Civil War.

The war continued for four long years, during which hundreds of thousands of soldiers were killed on both sides.

Find more headlines from the years of the Civil War with a search on Newspapers.com or browse the collection of papers.

The above clipping describes Hank Aaron’s record-making moment on this day in 1974. After finishing the previous season only one home run shy of making history, the victory was truly one for the books.

The months leading up to that historic swing were pretty rough for Aaron. Expectations were high and fans were waiting to see Aaron take the record that had been held by Babe Ruth for nearly 40 years.

He certainly had his share of haters. A large portion of the incredible amount of mail Hank Aaron received included death threats and general vitriol. The racism and hatred toward him was so strong and so persistent that Aaron himself feared he might be killed before the 1974 season ever came around.

Peanuts writer Charles Schulz addressed the hate mail in a string of his August 1973 comic strips, in which Snoopy is also attempting to break the home run record and receives similar reactions.

From August 10, 1973:

And August 11:

But, detractors notwithstanding, Aaron won the day in the Braves’ home turf of Atlanta to roaring applause and a standing ovation.

Aaron went on to hit another 40 home runs during his career, retiring with a total of 755. He held the record for most home runs until it was broken by Barry Bonds in August 2007.

Find more about Hank Aaron’s world-record moment, Babe Ruth, other news-worthy moments in baseball history or a topic of interest to you with a search on Newspapers.com.

Happy debut day to the Eiffel Tower, which opened on this day in 1889 at the world exhibition in Paris. Though the concept of the tower was initially met with skepticism and dislike, it came to be seen (by most) as a wrought-iron wonder and a masterpiece of architecture.

For forty years the tower stood as the world’s tallest man-made structure, only losing the title in 1930 to New York’s Chrysler Building. Today, of course, this iconic structure is one of the most instantly recognizable landmarks in the world—a symbol of the city in which it stands.
Find more on the opening of the Eiffel Tower and the Paris exhibition as a whole with a search on Newspapers.com, or search or browse for a topic or person of interest to you.

On this day in 1973, U.S. troops officially withdraw from South Vietnam and the remaining U.S. prisoners of war are freed. While the war continued violently on between North and South Vietnam, the departure of American forces marked the end of U.S. history’s longest and most unpopular foreign war.

Check out the headlines below:

Many more headlines and articles like this can be found with a search on Newspapers.com. Or, search or browse Newspapers.com‘s pages for a topic of personal interest to you.

Spring has officially sprung, according to the calendar. Warmth and regrowth are generally a very welcome sight following wintertime, and many newspapers from around this date in any year have articles to prove it.

Not everyone is especially thrilled by spring-themed writing assignments. This writer for the Daily Republican (Pennsylvania, 1939), with his First Day of Spring story about how he didn’t want to write a First Day of Spring story, is just one example (click through for an larger version on Newspapers.com):
Fortunately, there are always willing children. The clippings below are just a few of the responses to a writing prompt about what to do on that “first great day of spring,” found in the Press and Sun-Bulletin, 1993.

Lisa Collins had a full schedule planned:

Sarah Holmes had her priorities well in order:

And how sweet is Sarah Von Esch’s response?

Find more first day of spring articles and clippings with a search on Newspapers.com, and Happy Spring!

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St. Patrick’s Day has arrived again, and with it comes an assortment of traditions. Green clothes, corned beef and cabbage and shamrocks are the order of the day. So what’s the deal with the shamrocks, anyway? Check out the clippings below for the story of this little leaf and why it is spotlighted this day each year:

Did you know shamrocks are said to have magical abilities? Just for fun, here’s a little clipping on just a few of the mystical properties of the shamrock:

And lastly, if you’re looking for something to do today, maybe give this festive shamrock puzzle a try? (Clues found here.)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Find more St. Patrick, shamrock, and green related articles with a search on Newspapers.com.

Have any St. Patrick’s Day traditions? Share them below!

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Today’s clipping is an amusing little story from the Bristol Banner (Bristol, Indiana), published on this day in 1904:
Find more like this using the search or browse pages on Newspapers.com

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Happy International Women’s Day! All throughout time women have changed the world with their bravery, inventions, and insights. Many have fallen into obscurity through the years as their contributions were either forgotten or misattributed, but a few made lasting impressions that are recorded in first hand accounts, journals, and newspapers. Below are four such trailblazers, written forever into the pages of history.

1. Sayyida al Hurra, pirate queen of the Mediterranean Sea (1485 – after 1542):
2. Aphra Behn (code name Astrea), playwright and political spy for Charles II (1640-1689):

3: Lozen, Apache warrior and prophet (c.1840 – 1889):

4. Qiu Jin, feminist and revolutionary (1875 – 1907):

Find more on these women and more with a search on Newspapers.com.

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Today marks two years since the death of beloved actor Leonard Nimoy. Below are a handful of newspaper clippings that look back at his most familiar role, the memorable Mr. Spock of Star Trek.

There are many more articles on Leonard Nimoy and his famous role that can be found with a search on Newspapers.com. Or click on the images above to be taken to the clipping on Newspapers.com, where you can read the full articles.

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