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The World's Greatest Composers Generals and other Noteworthy People from the Civil War The Presidents of the United States The First Ladies of the United States Homes and Monuments of and to Famous People Historical People and Events by Month for Each Day of the Year! Famous Figures in Black History The Calvert Family and the Lords Baltimore Understanding the American Revolution and its People
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Historical People and Events for May
May 1 The first United States Postal Card was issued, 1873 The Empire State Building opened, 1931 The first United States Series "E" Savings Bond was issued, 1941 Elvis Presley married Priscilla Beaulieu in Las Vegas, 1967 The opera "The Marriage of Figaro," by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, premiered in Vienna, 1786 May 2 Artist Leonardo da Vinci died at Cloux, France, 1519 Captain John Smith landed at Jamestown, 1607 Good Housekeeping magazine first published in Holyoke, Massachusetts, 1885 J. Edgar Hoover died in Washington, D.C., at the age of 77, 1972 Spiro T. Agnew was disbarred in Maryland, 1974 May 3 Washington, D.C. was incorporated as a city, 1802 West Virginia imposed the first state sales tax, 1921 Margaret Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for "Gone With The Wind," 1937 Margaret Thatcher was chosen to become Britain's first female prime minister, 1979 May 4 Dutch explorer Peter Minuit landed on present-day Manhattan Island, 1626 Rhode Island declared its freedom from England, 1776 First Lady Julia Tyler was born, 1820 Four student anti-war protesters were killed at Kent State University by Ohio National Guardsmen, 1970 May 5 Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile on St. Helena, 1821 John T. Scopes was arrested in Tennessee for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution, 1925 Damn Yankees opened on Broadway, 1955 Astronaut Alan Shepard went on the first manned space flight, 1961 May 6 Tennessee & Arkansas seceded from the Union, 1861 Babe Ruth hit his first home run as a player for the Boston Red Sox, 1915 The Hindenburg crashed in Lakehurst, N.J., 1937 May 7 The first inaugural ball was held in New York to honor President and Mrs. George Washington, 1789 A German torpedo sank the British liner Lusitania off the coast of Ireland, 1915 Germany surrendered to the United States, 1945 May 8 Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River, 1541 President Harry S. Truman was born, 1884 First transatlantic flight, 1919 V-E Day, Victory in Europe (WWII), 1945 The Beatles UK album Let It Be, was released, 1970 May 9 First United States newspaper cartoon published in Benjamin Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette,1754 The Transcontinental Railroad was completed, 1869 First Lady Harriet Johnston was born, (James Buchanan's niece), 1903 The 17th amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, 1913 May 10 Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys captured the British-held fortress at Fort Ticonderoga, New York, 1775 Benedict Arnold was tried for treason, 1779 Paul Revere died in Boston, 1818 General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson died, 1863 The first Mother's Day observance took place in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, 1908 May 11 Minnesota entered the Union, 1858 (32nd) Composer Irving Berlin was born Israel Baline in Temun, Russia, 1888 During WWII, American forces landed on Japanese-held Attu island in the Aleutians, 1943 B.F. Goodrich Company developed the tubeless tire, 1947 May 12 Last technical day of American Revolutionary War, 1784 Union forces captured Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 1862 May 13 The English Colony at Jamestown, Virginia, was settled, 1607 Pope John Paul II was shot and seriously wounded in St. Peter's Square by Turkish assailant, 1981 Boxing champion Joe Louis was born in Lafayette. Alabama, 1914 May 14 The first vaccination against smallpox was administered by English doctor Edward Jenner, 1796 Lewis & Clark's expedition began, 1804 First Lady Louisa Adams died, 1852 The first Olympic Games were held in the United States in St. Louis, Missouri, 1904 May 15 First Lady Ellen Wilson was born, 1860 The Truman Doctrine was approved, 1947 Alabama Governor George Wallace was shot and wounded in Laurel, Maryland, 1972 May 16 Issuance of the nickel coin was authorized by Congress, 1866 The first Academy Awards were held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, 1929 Annie Get Your Gun opened on Broadway, 1946 Astronaut Cooper orbited the Earth 22 times, 1963 May 17 The New York Stock Exchange was established, 1792 The first Kentucky Derby was held; the winner was "Aristides" 1875 Godspell opened on Broadway, 1971 The Senate opened its hearings into the Watergate scandal, 1973 May 18 Alexander the Great died, 323 BC The French Senate proclaimed Napoleon Bonaparte emperor, 1804 The Tennessee Valley Authority was created, 1933 The Beatles US Album, "Let It Be," was released, 1970 Mt. St. Helen's volcano in Washington state erupted, 1980 May 19 Anne Boleyn, the second wife of England's King Henry VIII was beheaded, 1536 T.E. Lawrence, also known as "Lawrence of Arabia" died in England from injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash, 1935 First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis died, 1994 May 20 C hristopher Columbus died in poverty in Spain, 1506First Lady Dolley Madison born, 1768 The first railroad timetable was published in the newspaper the Baltimore American, 1830 Charles Lindbergh began his historic solo flight, 1927 May 21 Hernando de Soto died while searching for gold along the Mississippi River, 1542 Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross, 1881 Charles Lindbergh arrived in Paris, 1927 Gypsy opened on Broadway, 1959 The Beatles released their German version of "She Loves You - Sie Liebt Dich," 1964 A Chorus Line opened on Broadway, 1975 May 22 The first life insurance policy in the United States was issued, in Philadelphia, 1761 First Lady Martha Washington died, 1802 Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini signed a "Pact of Steel'" committing Germany and Italy to a military alliance, 1939 First Lady Helen Taft died, 1943 May 23 Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians, 1430 South Carolina entered the Union, 1788 (8th) Gangsters Bonnie & Clyde were killed in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, 1934 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, 1994 May 24 The first passenger railroad in the United States began service in Maryland, between Baltimore & Elliott's Mills, 1830 Samuel F.B. Morse transmitted the first message as America's first telegraph line was opened, 1844 The Brooklyn Bridge, linking Brooklyn and Manhattan, opened to traffic, 1883 Mame opened on Broadway, 1966 May 25 The Constitutional Convention opened, 1787 The first telegraphed news dispatch, sent from Washington to Baltimore appeared in the Baltimore Patriot, 1844 Babe Ruth hit his 714th and last home run, 1935 The Gateway Arch was dedicated in St. Louis, 1968 May 26 Confederate forces west of the Mississippi River made surrender arrangements, 1865 First Lady Ida McKinley died, 1907 The first legal casino opened in Atlantic City, New Jersey, 1978 May 27 The first recorded American execution of a witch took place in Massachusetts, 1647 Wild Bill Hickok was born in Troy Grove, Illinois, 1837 The Golden Gate Bridge was opened to the public, 1937 The German battleship Bismarck sank off France, 1941 May 28 Hernando de Sota landed in Florida, 1541 The first black regiment from the North left Boston to fight in the Civil War, 1863 United States Customs Court created, 1926 Neville Chamberlain became the prime minister of Britain, 1937 May 29 Patrick Henry denounced the Stamp Act, 1765 Rhode Island became the13th original colony to ratify the United States Constitution, 1790 Wisconsin entered the Union, 1848 (30th) President John F. Kennedy was born, 1917 May 30 Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in France, 1431 The first Indianapolis 500 road race was held, 1911 The Lincoln Memorial was dedicated, 1922 May 31 Walt Whitman was born in West Hill, New York, 1819 Two Thousand people perished when a dam break created a flood in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, 1889 The 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution was declared in effect, 1913 The last Ford Model T automobile was made, 1927
Copyright © 1993-2022 by John T. Marck. All Rights Reserved. This article and their accompanying pictures, photographs, and line art, may not be resold, reprinted, or redistributed for compensation of any kind without prior written permission from the author.
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