Tidbits of History

May 14, 1483 – Coronation of Charles VIII of France (“Charles l’Affable”) at age 13. Charles died in 1498 after accidentally striking his head on the lintel of a door.

1610 – Assassination of Henri IV of France, bringing Louis XIII to the throne at age 8.

1643 – Louis XIV becomes King of France aged 4.

Anniversary of the baptism of Thomas Gainsborough (May 14, 1727), English portrait and landscape painter famous for the “Blue Boy”.

1796 – First smallpox inoculation administered, by Edward Jenner. The World Health Organization (WHO) certified the eradication of smallpox in 1979.

Lewis & Clark set out from St. Louis for Pacific Coast in 1804.

Gail Borden patents her process for condensed milk in 1853.

In 1862 Adolphe Nicole of Switzerland patents chronograph A chronograph is a watch that may be used as a stopwatch.

1878 – Vaseline is first sold (registered trademark for petroleum jelly). Invented by Robert Chesebrough from “rod wax”, a residue found in oil rig pumps. Vaseline.com publishes a list of 101 uses for Vaseline. We recently used it to prevent scarring from an injury similar to road rash. Worked great!

1918 – Sunday baseball is made legal in Wash DC in 1918. Due to blue laws, it was considered offensive to work on Sunday, which was expected to be a day of worship and rest. In 1794, the Pennsylvania Assembly restricted activities on Sunday by passing what they called “an Act for the prevention of vice and immorality, and of unlawful gaming, and to restrain disorderly sports and dissipation” (Wikipedia)

May 14, 1939 – Lina Medina becomes the world’s youngest confirmed mother in medical history when she gave birth to a son at the age of five years, seven months, seventeen days. She had precocious puberty and was found to have fully mature sexual organs. The boy was delivered by Cesarean Section. The father of the baby was never named. Lina’s father was arrested and released due to lack of evidence.

May 14, 1948: Israel is proclaimed a Jewish state. Israel’s first prime minister, reads a “Declaration of Independence,” which proclaims the existence of a Jewish state called Israel beginning on May 15, 1948, at 12:00 midnight.

Last Chevrolet Corvair built in 1969.

1973 – US Supreme court approved equal rights to females in military.

In 1995, Dalai Lama proclaims 6-year-old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima 11th reincarnation of Panchen Lama, Tibet’s second most senior spiritual leader.

On May 14, 2005, the USS America (CV-66), a decommissioned supercarrier of the United States Navy, (commissioned in 1965) is deliberately sunk in the Atlantic Ocean after four weeks of live-fire exercises. She is the largest ship ever to be disposed of as a target in a military exercise. She was the last supercarrier not named after a person.

Frog Jumping Day
The roots of Frog Jumping Day go back to Mark Twain’s first short story. It was first published in 1865 as “Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog”. Later, he published it as “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”. It is also known under a third title “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”.

Nowadays, people in Calaveras County (California) still annually celebrate this day at the Calaveras County Fair and Frog Jumping Jubilee.

May 13 is also Leprechaun Day According to Irish legend, or folklore, Leprechauns have a hidden pot of gold. If you catch a Leprechaun, he must give you his pot of gold.

Jamestown Day, observed in Virginia in commemoration of the settlement of Jamestown in 1607.

Cardinal Richelieu of France created the table knife. The distinguishing feature of a table knife is a blunt or rounded end. The origin of this, and thus of the table knife itself, is attributed by tradition to Cardinal Richelieu around 1637, reputedly to cure dinner guests of the unsavoury habit of picking their teeth with their knife-points.

Arthur Phillip set sail with 11 ships of criminals to Botany Bay, Australia on May 13, 1787.

DeWolf Hooper first recited “Casey at the Bat”. It was written by Ernest Thayer in 1888, published on May 13.

The Outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Mudville nine that day:
The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play.
And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game.

A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest
Clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought, if only Casey could get but a whack at that –
We’d put up even money, now, with Casey at the bat.

But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake,
And the former was a lulu and the latter was a cake;
So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat,
For there seemed but little chance of Casey’s getting to the bat.

But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,
And Blake, the much despis-ed, tore the cover off the ball;
And when the dust had lifted, and the men saw what had occurred,
There was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third.

Then from 5,000 throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It knocked upon the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,
For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.

There was ease in Casey’s manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Casey’s bearing and a smile on Casey’s face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt ’twas Casey at the bat.

Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;
Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt.
Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,
Defiance gleamed in Casey’s eye, a sneer curled Casey’s lip.

And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,
And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.
Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped-
“That ain’t my style,” said Casey. “Strike one,” the umpire said.

From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar,
Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore.
“Kill him! Kill the umpire!” shouted someone on the stand;
And its likely they’d a-killed him had not Casey raised his hand.

With a smile of Christian charity great Casey’s visage shone;
He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on;
He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the spheroid flew;
But Casey still ignored it, and the umpire said, “Strike two.”

“Fraud!” cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered fraud;
But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed.
They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
And they knew that Casey wouldn’t let that ball go by again.

The sneer is gone from Casey’s lip, his teeth are clenched in hate;
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate.
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey’s blow.

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville – mighty Casey has struck out.

1940 – Churchill says “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears & sweat.” in his first speech to the House of Commons as Prime Minister.

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Clean up Your Room Day
National Train Day
Confederate Memorial Day, a state holiday in both North and South Carolina, honoring the memory of the Confederate soldiers and civilians lost during the Civil War.  North and South Carolina, mark the anniversaries of the death of Thomas Jonathan ‘Stonewall’ Jackson (a general in the Confederate army) in 1863 and the capture of Jefferson Davis in 1865.

On May 10, 1503, Christopher Columbus visited the Cayman Islands and named them Las Tortugas after the numerous turtles there.

Jacques Cartier visited Newfoundland in 1534.

The Parliament of Great Britain passed the Tea Act, on May 10, 1773. It is designed to save the British East India Company by granting it a monopoly on the North American tea trade.

Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette became King and Queen of France on May 10, 1774. They were executed in 1793.

In 1775, representatives from the Thirteen Colonies began the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

Fort Ticonderoga Day, observed at Ticonderoga, New York, marking the capture of the fort by Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys in 1775

May 10, 1797, the First Navy ship, the “USS United States,” is launched

First Barbary War: The Barbary pirates of Tripoli declared war on the United States of America on May 10, 1801.

The First Transcontinental Railroad, linking the eastern and western United States, was completed at Promontory Summit, Utah (not Promontory Point) with the golden spike in 1869.

Victoria Woodhull became the first woman nominated for President of the United States in 1872.

In 1893 the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Nix v. Hedden that a tomato is a vegetable, not a fruit, under the Tariff Act of 1883.

J. Edgar Hoover is appointed the Director of the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation on May 10, 1940, and remains so until his death in 1972.

May 10, 1940 – Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on the same day that Germany invaded the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Bill Haley & His Comets release “Rock Around the Clock” in 1954. It is the first rock and roll record to reach number one on the Billboard charts.

National Tourism Day
Spring Day, a holiday in Scotland to honor the season
National Roast Leg of Lamb Day

May 7 should be honored as a day of remarkable achievements in poetry and music. It is the birthday of Robert Browning, Johannes Brahms, Peter Tchaikovsky, and the premier of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and the release of “Chattanooga Choo Choo” by Glenn Miller.

On May 7, 1429, Joan of Arc ended the Siege of Orléans, pulling an arrow from her own shoulder and leading the final charge. The victory marked a turning point in the Hundred Years’ War.

The city of New Orleans was founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville in 1718.

Birthday of Robert Browning (May 7, 1812) , English poet, husband of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. His poems include “Home Thoughts From Abroad” (O to be in England now that April’s there…), “My Last Dutchess”, and “The Pied Piper of Hamelin”.

World premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Vienna, Austria on May 7, 1824. The performance is conducted by Michael Umlauf under the composer’s supervision. Best known is Movement 4, commonly called “Ode to Joy”. You Tube has many videos of this song including some flash mob scenes. Here’s one orchestral version:

Birthday of Johannes Brahms (May 7,1833), German composer.

Birthday of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky (May 7, 1840), Russian composer.

George Eastman patents “Kodak box camera” in 1888.

1904 – “Flexible Flyer” trademark registered.

May 7, 1914 – US Congress established Mother’s Day.

1915 – World War I: German submarine U-20 sinks RMS Lusitania, killing 1,198 people including 128 Americans. Public reaction to the sinking turns many formerly pro-Germans in the United States against the German Empire.

Glenn Miller recorded “Chattanooga Choo Choo” for RCA on May 7, 1941.

The concept of the integrated circuit, the basis for all modern computers, was first published on May 7, 1952 by Geoffrey W.A. Dummer.

Michigan ratified a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution, making the 27th Amendment law. It was submitted to the states for ratification in September 1789 and became part of the United States Constitution in May 1992, a record setting period of 202 years, 7 months and 12 days. This amendment bars the U.S. Congress from giving itself a mid-term pay raise.

Amendment XXVII

No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.

The Space Shuttle Endeavour was launched on its first mission on on this day in 1992.

Beverage Day
National Tourist Appreciation Day
National Crepe Suzette Day

No Diet Day

1536 – King Henry VIII of England ordered English-language Bibles be placed in every church.

1682 – Louis XIV of France moved his court to the Palace of Versailles.

Birthday of Sigmund Freud (May 6, 1856), Austrian physician, founder of psychoanalysis.

Birthday of Rear Admiral Robert Edwin Peary (May 6, 1856), American Arctic explorer, first to reach the North Pole in 1909.

On May 6, 1861, Richmond, Virginia was declared the new capital of the Confederate States of America.

1889 – The Eiffel Tower was officially opened to the public at the Universal Exposition in Paris.

1910 – George V became King of the United Kingdom upon the death of his father, Edward VII. George was a grandson of Queen Victoria and a grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II.

From On this day.com Nine Kings in One Room: (Click on picture for larger view)

Standing, from left to right: King Haakon VII of Norway, Tsar Ferdinand of the Bulgarians, King Manuel II of Portugal and the Algarves, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and King of Prussia, King George I of the Hellenes and King Albert I of the Belgians. Seated, from left to right: King Alfonso XIII of Spain, King George V of the United Kingdom and King Frederick VIII of Denmark.

Edward VII died on 6 May 1910 after a short reign of nine years. His funeral was notable for the enormous assemblage of foreign royalty. In a mere four years, the picture would be antiquated for another reason: it would be the last great gathering of royals before the outbreak of World War I, where many of the nations represented would be at war with each other.

New Deal: Executive Order 7034 created the Works Progress Administration on May 6, 1935.

Hindenburg disaster: On May 6, 1937, the German Zeppelin Hindenburg catches fire and is destroyed within a minute while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Thirty-six people were killed. Interesting reading at The Hindenburg Disaster: 9 Surprising Facts written by Christopher Klein (published May 4, 2012 at History.com)

1941 – At California’s March Field, Bob Hope performed his first USO show.

1949 – EDSAC, the first practical electronic digital stored-program computer, runs its first operation.

1954 – Roger Bannister became the first person to run the mile in under four minutes.

National Enchilada Day – Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Oyster Day

May 5, 1494 – Christopher Columbus landed on the island of Jamaica and claimed it for Spain.

Birthday of Karl Marx (1818) , German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist and socialist revolutionary, author of “Das Kapital” and The Communist Manifesto, available at next door estore.com

Emperor Napoleon I died in exile on the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean on May 5, 1821.

Cinco de Mayo, a holiday in Mexico celebrating the defeat of the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862.

May 5, 1877, during the Indian Wars, Sitting Bull led his band of Lakota into Canada to avoid harassment by the United States Army under Colonel Nelson Miles.

The Music Hall in New York City (later known as Carnegie Hall) has its grand opening and first public performance on May 5, 1891, with Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor.

Pitching against the Philadelphia Athletics at the Huntington Avenue Grounds on May 5, 1904, Cy Young of the Boston Americans throws the first perfect game in the modern era of baseball. Born Denton True Young, Cy Young’s nickname came from the fences that he had destroyed using his fastball. The fences looked like a cyclone had hit them. Reporters later shortened the name to “Cy”, which became the nickname Young used for the rest of his life

Scopes Trial: the serving of an arrest warrant on John T. Scopes, a Tennessee teacher, for teaching evolution in violation of the Butler Act in 1925.

On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard became first American in space (aboard Freedom 7).

On May 5, 1973, Secretariat won the 1973 Kentucky Derby in 1:59 2/5, a still standing record. He went on to win the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes, the first U.S. Triple Crown winner in 25 years. He set records in all three events.