S0501 May Day B05011769 Duke of Wellington, who made Napoleon very unhappy. B05011830 Mary Harris Jones (Mother Jones), hellraiser S05011840 1st adhesive postage stamps (English "Penny Blacks") issued. S05011850 John Geary becomes 1st mayor of City of San Francisco. S05011860 1st school for the deaf founded. S05011869 Folies-Bergere opens in Paris. S05011884 Construction begins in Chicago on the 1st skyscraper. S05011892 US Quarantine Station opens on Angel Island. S05011928 Lei Day begun (a Hawaiian celebration) B05021837 Henry Martyn Robert, author of "Robert's Rules of Order" B05021904 Bing Crosby, crooner S05021925 Kezar Stadium in Golden Gate Park opens. S05021939 Lou Gehrig sets record for most consecutive games (2130) S05031830 1st regular steam train passenger service starts. B05031874 Francois Coty, perfume maker. B05031898 Golda Meir B05031919 Pete Seeger, folk singer. S05031919 America's 1st passenger flight (New York-Atlantic City) S05031971 national noncommercial network radio begins programming. S05041626 Indians sell Manhattan Island for $24 in cloth and buttons. S05041851 1st of the major San Francisco fires. S05041878 Phonograph shown for 1st time at the Grand Opera House. S0505 Cinco de Mayo S0505 Tango-no-sekku (Boy's Festival) -- Japan B05051867 Nellie Bly, name became a synonym for female star reporter. S05051908 The Great White Fleet arrives in San Francisco. S05051949 Council of Europe established. S05051961 Alan Shepard becomes 1st American in space (onboard Freedom 7). B0506 Daniel Gerber, beloved by babies at mealtime B05061818 Karl Marx, forgot human nature S05061851 Patent granted to Dr. John Farrie for a "refrigeration machine" B05061856 Sigmund Freud, insecure cigar smoker S05061860 The Olympic Club, 1st athletic club in US, founded in SF. B05061870 A.P. Giannini, founder of Bank of America. B05061895 Rudolph Valentino, sheik B05061915 Orson Welles, citizen and observer of Martians B05061931 The 'Say Hey Kid', Willie Mays S05071824 Beethoven's Ninth Symphony presented for first time. B05071833 Johannes Brahms, enjoyed a good lullaby. B05071840 Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, composer. B05071901 Gary Cooper, actor in 'High Noon' and 'The Plainsman'. B05071909 Edwin Land, founded instant photography (Polaroid) S05071927 San Francisco Municipal Airport (Mills Field) dedicated. S05071945 World War II ends in Europe. S05071963 Telstar 2 launched (apogee 6,700 miles). S0508 1Mother's Day. Give her a call today. S05081541 Hernando de Soto discovers the Mississippi River. B05081737 Edward Gibbon, historian, "The History of the Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire" B05081786 Thomas Hancock, founded British rubber industry B05081828 Henri Dunant, founded Red Cross, YMCA. B05081829 Louis Moreau Gottschalk, first great US pianist. B05081884 Harry S. Truman, 32nd President S05081945 Germany surrenders, ending World War II in Europe. S0509 1Mother's Day. Give her a call today. B05091800 John Brown, abolitionist B05091873 Howard Carter, Egyptologist who found tomb of Pharoah Tutankhamen B05091882 Henry J. Kaiser, built Liberty Ships, Jeeps S0510 Native American Day S0510 1Mother's Day. Give her a call today. S05101775 Continental Congress issues paper currency for 1st time. B05101788 Augustin-Jean Fresnel, pioneered in optics. S05101869 The Driving of the Golden Spike, Promontory Point, Utah: The Transcontinential railroad is completed. B05101899 Fred Astaire, tapdancer B05101902 David O. Selznick, film producer. S05101930 The first US planetarium opens, in Chicago. S0511 1Mother's Day. Give her a call today. S05111752 1st US fire insurance policy is issued, in Philadelphia. B05111888 Irving Berlin, composer. B05111904 Salvador Dali S05111929 1st regularly scheduled TV broadcasts (3 nights per week). S05111951 Jay Forrester patents computer core memory. S0512 1Mother's Day. Give her a call today. B05121820 Florence Nightengale, famous nurse. B05121845 Gabriel Faure, composer B05121925 Yogi Barra, catcher, philosopher. S0513 Leprechaun Day S0513 1Mother's Day. Give her a call today. S05131607 English land to found Jamestown (1st permanent settlement) B05131842 Sir Arthur Sullivan, of Gilbert & Sullivan fame. S05131846 US declares war on Mexico. B05131856 Peter Henry Emerson, first photographer to promote photography as an independent art. S05131884 Institute for Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE) founded B05131914 Joe Louis, heavyweight S0514 Independence Day (in Paraguay) S0514 1Mother's Day. Give her a call today. S05141811 Paraguay gains its independence. S05141853 Gail Borden applies for patent for making condensed milk. B05141928 Billy Martin, local boy who made good in baseball. B05141944 George Lucas, skywalker S05141948 State of Israel proclaimed. S05141973 United States launches space station "Skylab". S0515 Never Turn Your Back on the Ocean Day. Why? Because it may be waving at you. B05151859 Pierre Curie, physicist S05151940 1st nylon stockings are sold in America. S05151963 Last of the Mercury flights, the "Faith 7", launched. S0516 Armed Forces Day B05161801 William H. Seward, bought Alaska at $0.02/acre. S05161866 Congress authorizes nickel 5-cent piece (the silver half-dime was used up to this point). B05161919 Liberace, candelabrist S05161929 1st Oscars announced (best film was 'Wings'). S05161971 First Class Mail now costs 8 cents (was 6 cents). S0517 Norwegian Independence Day S05171792 24 brokers meet to found the New York Stock Exchange S05171804 Lewis & Clark begin their exploration of the Louisiana Purchase B05171866 Erik Satie, composer S05171954 Supreme Court rules on Brown v. Topeka Board of Education, overthrowing the principle of 'separate but equal'. B05181850 Oliver Heaviside, physicist who predicted the existance of the ionosphere, which is used to reflect radio waves. B05181918 Pope John Paul II S05181933 Tennessee Valley Authority Act signed by President Roosevelt. S05181980 Mount St. Helens blew its top in Washington State. S05191862 The Homestead Act becomes law. B05191890 Ho Chi Minh, trail blazer B05191918 Mike Wallace, interogator. B05201750 Stephen Girard, bailed out US bonds during the War of 1812 B05201799 Honore de Balzac, novelist B05201818 William George Fargo, helped to found Wells, Fargo & Co. B05201913 William Hewlett, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard Co. B05201915 Moshe Dayan, Israeli general & politician S05201927 At 7:40am, Lindbergh takes off from New York to cross Atlantic S0521 2Victoria Day -- Canada B05211471 Albrecht Durer, painter & printmaker, greatest German Renaissance artist. B05211860 Willam Einthoven, invented the electrocardiograph B05211878 Glenn Curtis, aircraft pioneer S05211881 The American Red Cross is founded. S05211927 Lindburgh lands in Paris, after 1st solo across Atlantic. S0522 2Victoria Day -- Canada B05221828 Albrecht Grafe, pioneer eye surgeon, founded modern ophthalmolog B05221859 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, brought Sherlock Holmes to life (twice) B05221907 Laurence Olivier, actor B05221920 Thomas Gold, astronomer, established the steady-state theory of the universe. A0523 BJ & Peg Hunnicutt of Mill Valley! S0523 2Victoria Day -- Canada B05231883 Douglas Fairbanks, 1st & greatest of Hollywood's swashbucklers. S05231898 1st Phillipine Expeditionary Troops sail from San Francisco. S05231908 Dirigible explodes over SF Bay, 16 passengers fall, none die. B05231910 Artie Shaw, band leader and husband S0524 2Victoria Day -- Canada B05241686 Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit, invented the thermometer S05241844 Samual F.B. Morse taps out "What Hath God Wrought" S05241866 Berkeley named (for George Berkeley, Bishop of Cloyne). S05241883 The Brooklyn Bridge opened by Pres. Arthur & Gov. Cleveland. S05241899 In Boston, the 1st auto repair shop opens. S0525 2Memorial Day, a legal holiday. S05251787 Constitutional Convention convenes in Philadelphia. B05251803 Ralph Waldo Emerson, philosopher B05251889 Igor Sikorsky, developed a working helicopter B05251926 Miles Davis, trumpeter, pioneered cool jazz S05251927 Henry Ford stops producing the Model T car (begins Model A). B05251929 Beverly Sills, soprano S05251940 Golden Gate International Exposition reopens. S05251978 "Star Wars" is released. S05251983 "Return of the Jedi" (Star Wars 3) is released. S0526 2Memorial Day, a legal holiday. S05261868 President Johnson avoids impeachment by 1 vote. B05261877 Isadora Duncan, dancer B05261886 Al Jolson, jazz singer B05261907 John Wayne, shootist S05261937 Golden Gate Bridge opens. S05261946 Patent filed in US for the H-Bomb. S0527 2Memorial Day, a legal holiday. B05271818 Amelia Bloomer, suffragist known for her pantaloons B05271837 Wild Bill Hickock B05271894 Dashiell Hammett, author who created the hard-boiled detective B05271907 Rachel Carson, ecologist S05271907 Bubonic Plague breaks out in San Francisco S05271937 Golden Gate Bridge dedicated. S0528 2Memorial Day, a legal holiday. B05281886 Jim Thorpe, all American athlete. B05281908 Ian Fleming, gave James Bond a job. S05281926 United States Customs Court created by Congress. S0529 2Memorial Day, a legal holiday. S05291453 Constantinople falls to the Turks (some believe this signalled the end of the Middle Ages). B05291903 Leslie Townes (Bob) Hope, famous profile B05291917 John F. Kennedy, 35th President (1960-1963) S05291953 Hillary & Norkay reach top of Mount Everest. S05291978 First Class postage now 15 cents (was 13 cents for 3 years). S0530 The REAL Memorial Day B05301909 Benny Goodman, swinger S05301911 Indianapolis 500 car race run for 1st time. S0531 Republic Day, celebrated in South Africa S0531 2Memorial Day, a legal holiday. S05311433 Joan of Arc has a hot time at the stake... S05311678 Lady Godiva takes a ride through Coventry B05311819 Walt Whitman, poet S05311868 1st recorded bicycle race, 2 kilometers in Paris. S05311879 1st electric railway opens at Berlin Trades Exposition. S05311889 Johnstown Flood