MOMENTS IN TIME

The History Channel

• On May 6, 1911, George Maledon, the man who executed at least 60 men for “Hanging Judge” Isaac Parker, dies of natural causes in Tennessee. Paid $100 for each hanging, he tried to be a conscientious hangman who minimized suffering with a quick death. Maledon considered the job “honorable and respectable work.”

• On April 30, 1927, the Federal Industrial Institution for Women, the first women’s federal prison, opens in Alderson, W.Va. All women serving federal sentences of more than a year were to be brought there, with the vast majority imprisoned for drug and alcohol charges imposed during the Prohibition era.

• On May 1, 1931, President Herbert Hoover officially dedicates New York City’s Empire State Building. The entire 102-story building went up in just over a year, under budget (at $40 million) and well ahead of schedule. During certain periods of building, the frame grew an astonishing four-and-a-half stories a week.

• On May 5, 1945, in Lakeview, Ore., six people are killed while attempting to drag a Japanese balloon out the woods. The explosive balloon was one of a handful of Japanese attacks against the continental United States, which were conducted by Japanese submarines and later by high-altitude balloons carrying explosives or incendiaries.

• On May 3, 1952, a ski-modified U.S. Air Force C-47 becomes the first aircraft to land on the North Pole. On the flight was Dr. Albert P. Crary, a scientist who in 1961 traveled to the South Pole by motorized vehicle, becoming the first person in history to have stood on both poles.

• On May 4, 1965, San Francisco Giants outfielder Willie Mays hits his 512th career home run to break Mel Ott’s National League record. Mays would finish his career with 660 home runs, good for third on the all-time list at the time of his retirement.

On May 2, 1972, Steven Spielberg begins filming “Jaws.” The production, which used three mechanical sharks to great effect, enthralled audiences and grossed $458 million in its theatrical release.

(c) 2012 King Features Synd., Inc.