Titanic sinking precipitated multiple lawsuits

The Titanic sank early in the morning of April 15, 1912 after colliding with an iceberg in the North Atlantic. Of 2228 passengers and crewmembers aboard, only 705 survived.

The sinking gave rise to a variety of lawsuits against the White Star Line, the Titanic‘s owners.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Supreme Court ruled corporations due equal protection rights

On May 10, 1886, the US Supreme Court ruled in Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company that corporations were "persons" within the terms of the Fourteenth Amendment, and therefore were due rights of equal protection under state law.

Nelson Mandela became first black president of South Africa

On May 10, 1994, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as the first black President of South Africa. Before becoming President, Mandela was an anti-Apartheid leader in segregated South Africa. He served twenty-seven years in prison before his release in 1990, after which he was elected president of the country. Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

Read a biography of Nelson Mandela from the Nobel Foundation.