 "The airship caught fire while landing in Lakehurst and was completely destroyed. Photo: US Navy")
On May 6, 1937, the German airship Hindenburg, which was filled with hydrogen, caught fire and crashed as it tried to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey. The accident killed 36 out of the 97 people on board.
Also on this day in 1994, a rail tunnel beneath the English Channel was formally launched. It connected Britain and mainland Europe for the first time since the Ice Age. Queen Elizabeth II and French President Francois Mitterrand attended the event.
Meanwhile, in 2004, the final episode of the popular television show Friends was broadcast. It was watched by over 52 million people. Over 52 million people watched it. The show had 10 seasons and a total of 236 episodes.
Curious about what happened in history? Firstpost Explainers’ History Today gets you all of it and much more.
The Hindenburg disaster
On this day in 1937, the Hindenburg, the largest airship ever made, caught fire while trying to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Thirty-six people, including passengers and crew, died in the incident.
Though the Hindenburg was meant to use helium, it was instead filled with hydrogen, which is highly flammable. This was due to the United States restricting the supply of helium to Nazi Germany.
In 1936, the Hindenburg launched commercial flights across the North Atlantic, completing ten round trips between Germany and the United States and carrying 1,002 passengers.
On May 6, 1937, during its second trip of the season, the airship caught fire while landing in Lakehurst and was completely destroyed.
Thirteen passengers, twenty-two crew members, and one person from the ground staff were killed. Most of the people who survived were seriously injured.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsInvestigators believed that the fire started because of static electricity near a hydrogen leak, although some suspected sabotage as the cause.
The Hindenburg tragedy, captured on film and audio recordings, brought an end to the use of large airships for passenger travel.
Channel Tunnel opens
On this day in 1994, a rail tunnel beneath the English Channel was officially opened, creating a direct link between Britain and mainland Europe for the first time since the Ice Age.
The opening ceremony was attended by Queen Elizabeth II and French President Francois Mitterrand.
Known as the Channel Tunnel or “Chunnel,” it connects Folkestone in England to Coquelles in France, covering a distance of 31 miles.
The tunnel reduced the travel time between England and France to just 35 minutes, and made the journey between London and Paris possible in about two and a half hours.
It is the longest undersea tunnel in the world, with 23 miles running underwater. It lies an average of 150 feet below the sea bed.
Around 30,000 people, 6,000 cars, and 3,500 trucks pass through the tunnel every day on passenger, shuttle, and freight trains.
To build the tunnel, millions of tons of earth were removed. It has two rail tunnels, one for each direction, and a service tunnel in the middle. At the peak of construction, 15,000 people were employed.
In 2007, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, also known as High Speed 1, was launched to connect the tunnel directly with London. This helped increase the movement of passengers between Europe and the UK.
High Speed 1 runs for 108 kilometres (67 miles), goes beneath the River Thames, and allows trains to reach speeds of up to 300 kilometres (186 miles) per hour.
Last episode of ‘Friends’ airs
On this day in 2004, the final episode of the sitcom Friends was broadcast and watched by over 52 million people.
The popular American show aired on NBC from 1994 to 2004 and won six Emmy Awards, including one for outstanding comedy series.
The story followed six young adults who were either flatmates or neighbours living in New York City’s Greenwich Village. Most of the scenes were set in their flats, where they regularly gathered.
The main characters were Monica Geller (Courteney Cox), Ross (David Schwimmer), Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston), Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc), and Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry).
Over time, each of these characters became widely recognised, and the actors gained major fame. The cast was known for their strong bond and team spirit throughout the series.
In 2021, they reunited for “Friends: The Reunion”, a special episode where they looked back and talked about their time on the show.
This Day, That Year
1856: Sigmund Freud, known as the father of psychoanalysis, was born.
1889: The Eiffel Tower was opened to the public during the Paris World’s Fair.
1998: Steve Jobs unveiled Apple’s first iMac, a personal computer that went on to become a major success and helped turn around the company.
2002: Tech billionaire Elon Musk founded SpaceX.
2023: Charles III and Camilla were crowned king and queen in Britain’s first coronation in nearly seventy years.