May 7, 1994: On May 7, 1994, Norway’s most famous painting, “The Scream” by Edvard Munch, was recovered almost three months after it was stolen from a museum in Oslo. The fragile painting was recovered undamaged at a hotel in Asgardstrand, about 40 miles south of Oslo, police said. The iconic 1893 painting of a waiflike figure on a bridge was stolen in only 50 seconds during a break-in on February 12, the opening day of the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. Two thieves broke through a window of the National Gallery, cut a wire holding the painting to the wall and left a note reading “Thousand thanks for the…

May 6, 2011 by CATHERINE DEGENNARO Note: This is a recurring series in which we ask our unimaginably young interns to review classic albums they’ve never heard before. Catherine DeGennaro just finished her internship at NPR Music last week.   Courtesy of Sony/Columbia LegacyThe Complete Recordings by Robert Johnson. For more information on Robert Johnson, stay tuned toWeekend Edition Saturday for a piece on The Complete Original Masters: Centennial Edition. Until then, here’s some historical context on Johnson’s song “Hellhound on My Trail” and an introduction to Mississippi Delta blues. During a screening of Les Blank’s The Blues Accordin’ to Lightnin’ Hopkins in a class a couple months ago, the blues finally found me. Sure,…

May 6, 1937: A Ball of Fire und Alles Ist Kaput By Tony Long May 6, 2011  | 7:00 am  | Categories: 20th century, Disasters, Transportation   1937: The German passenger zeppelin Hindenburg explodes and crashes while landing at Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 36 people and dooming the future of commercial trans-Atlantic zeppelin service. The Hindenburg (which might have been named Adolf Hitler if not for the strong anti-Nazi views held by Hugo Eckener, director of the Zeppelin Co.) and its sister ship, Graf Zeppelin II, are the largest aircraft ever to fly. They stretched 804 feet — nearly the length of the largest trans-Atlantic ocean liners of the period. Although other nations, notably Great Britain and the United…

MOTHER’S DAY HISTORY The majority of countries that celebrate Mother’s Day do so on the second Sunday of May. On this day, it is common for Mothers to be lavished with presents and special attention from their families, friends and loved ones. But it wasn’t always this way… Spiritual Origin of Mothers Day Only recently dubbed “Mother’s Day,” the highly traditional practice of honoring of Motherhood is rooted in antiquity, and past rites typically had strong symbolic and spiritual overtones; societies tended to celebrate Goddesses and symbols rather than actual Mothers. The personal, human touch to Mother’s Day is a relatively new phenomenon. The maternal objects of adoration ranged from…

National Day of Prayer, Obama, Ground Zero (photos, video) May 5th, 2011 12:21 pm PT By Sheila OConnor SF Top News Examiner On National Day of Prayer, Obama visits Ground Zero, thanks firefighters Obama visits Ground Zero, thanks firefighters Credit: Getty Images San Francisco residents are learning that President Barack Obama has visited Ground Zero and the firefighters who lost colleagues in the attacks of September 11th, 2001. He chose today, the National Day of Prayer, to do so. The National Day of Prayer was established back in 1952 by Congress. It was established as an event by a joint resolution and was signed into law by President Truman. Today, 5th May…