FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover died

Longtime FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover died on May 2, 1972 at age 77, having led the agency since 1924. He built his reputation on battling bootleggers during Prohibition and communist and pro-rights groups after World War II.

Review Hoover’s official FBI personnel file, released under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act.

THIS DAY @ LAW

US signed peace treaty with Germany ending World War I

On August 25, 1921, the United States, which never ratified the Versailles Treaty ending World War I, finally signed its own peace treaties with Germany, Austria and Hungary.

Former East Germany leader convicted of manslaughter for Berlin Wall policy

On August 25, 1997, Egon Krenz, the former of East Germany was convicted of manslaughter for promulgating a policy of shooting any East Germans who attempted to cross the Berlin Wall. Krenz was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison, of which he served four before being released into retirement from political life.