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    History in 23rd May

  • South Carolina joins the Union

    South Carolina ratifies the Constitution, becoming the eighth state to join the Union.

  • Himmler commits suicide

    Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler commits suicide one day after being captured by British forces in northern Germany. Himmler, who commanded the Nazi police and security forces, including the Gestapo and SS, offered to surrender to General Dwight Eisenhower if he could avoid prosecution. Eisenhower refused, and Himmler fled under an alias before British soldiers arrested him.

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  • Bonnie and Clyde killed

    Louisiana and Texas policemen shoot outlaws Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker as they try to evade capture in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. "Bonnie and Clyde" had been robbing banks and stores across the Southwest during the Great Depression and were gunned down in a stolen Ford V-8. 

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