Today in Legal History: Lee Surrenders, Kid Convicted, Anderson Sings
Today in Legal History: Lee Surrenders, Kid Convicted, Anderson Sings
On this day in 1865, the Civil War ended with Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s surrender to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. Photographs and other historic materials are posted on a Library of Congress Web site.
On this day in 1881, notorious Western outlaw Billy the Kid was tried and convicted of murdering the Lincoln County, N.M., sheriff. Sentenced to hang, he soon escaped and was shot to death later that year by the sheriff’s replacement. His capture is detailed here.
On this day in 1939, famed African-American contralto Marian Anderson sang on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., after the Daughters of the American Revolution banned her from Constitution Hall because of her race. Her open-air concert, heard by some 75,000, is a civil rights movement landmark. For a photo and sound clip of Anderson, see this Web site.
