Tidbits from the Past

Some happenings in history that took place from May 1 through May 21. Looks like May was an interesting month for making changes and for being "the first."


1 England releases the first 1st adhesive postage stamp(1840)
1 The first wagon train 1841 1st wagon train leaves Independence, Mo for California (1841)
1 "Buffalo Bill" Cody's first Wild West Show (1883)
1 The Empire State Building was dedicated. (1931)
1 Cereal food "Cheerios" hits store shelves. (1941)
1 Slugger Mickey Mantle hits his first home run (1951)
1 Mr. Potato Head is introduced. (1952)
2 Good Housekeeping Magazine first hits the newsstands. (1885)
2 Lou Gehrig plays in his 2,130th game, a baseball record that will last for 57 years until Cal Ripken comes along. (1939)
3 Christopher Columbus discovers "St Iago." It is later renamed Jamaica. (1494)
3 Joe DiMaggio makes his major-league debut with 3 hits for the NY Yankees. (1936)
3 Margaret Mitchell wins Pulitzer prize for "Gone With the Wind." (1937)
4 Manhattan Island is sold! Indians agree to the deal in exchange for $24 in cloth & buttons (1626)
4 Phonograph is played for the first time at the Grand Opera House. (1878)
4 Academy of Motion Pictures is founded. (1934)
4 Atlanta Penitentiary has a new resident after Al Capone is convicted of income tax evasion. (1932)
4 Soap operas "Another World" and "As the World Turns" premiere. (1964)
5 Mexican forces under Benito Juarez defeated French troops in the Battle of Puebla. Today this battle is celebrated as Cinco de Mayo. (1862)
5 North Bend, Ohio gets on the map. It's the site of the fist US train robbery (1865)
5 The New York Stock Exchange crashes, causing the "Great Panic of 1893." (1893)
5 Alan Shepard rides "Freedom 7" to become the 1st American in space. (1961)
6 John Deere produces the first steel plow. (1833)
6 The Yale lock is patented. (1851)
6 The Paris Exposition opens with the just completed Eiffel Tower as its centerpiece. (1889)
6 The Dirigible Hindenburg explodes into flames at Lakehurst, NJ. (1937)
6 Chunnel linking England & France officially opens. (1994)
7 The first inaugural ball is held in honor of George Washington and his wife. (1789)
7 George Eastman patents the Box Camera. (1888)
7 The World's largest pearl (6.4kg.) was discovered in the Philippines. (1934)
7 Big band leader Glenn Miller records the "Chattanooga Choo Choo." (1941)
7 Germany signs an unconditional surrender at Rheims, France, ending WWII in Europe. (1945)
7 The Beatles last album is released- "Long and Winding Road". (1970)
8 The U.S. Post Office is established. (1794)
8 V-E Day, Germany signs unconditional surrender. (1945)
8 Mad Magazine hits the newsstands. (1952)
8 The World Health Organization announces that Smallpox has been eradicated worldwide. (1980)
9 A "Golden Spike" was driven into the railroad tracks at Promontory Summit, Utah, connecting the tracks of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads, creating the first Transcontinental railroad. (1869)
9 The syrup for Coca Cola is invented by Atlanta Pharmacist John Styth Pemberton. (1886)
9 The lawnmower is patented. (1899)
9 Americans Richard Boyd and Floyd Bennett become the first to fly over the North Pole. (1926)
9 The Birth control pill is approved by the FDA. (1960)
10 The first color pictures of Earth from space are sent back from Apollo 10. (1969)
10 Nelson Mandela becomes South Africa's first black president. (1994)
11 Einstein presents his Theory of General Relativity. (1916)
11 BF Goodrich manufactures the first tubeless tire. (1947)
11 Jay Forrester patents computer core memory. (1951)
12 The flush toilet is patented. (1792)
13 The Rolling Stones record the now infamous song "Satisfaction." (1965)
13 The Beatles movie "Let it Be" premieres. (1970)
13 "Mr. October,"Reggie Jackson, becomes the first major league ballplayer to strike out 2,000 times. (1983)
14 A party of settlers led by John Smith establishes the first permanent English settlement in the New World at Jamestown, Va. (1607)
14 Vaseline petroleum jelly slides onto store shelves for the first time. (1878)
14 The first U.S. space station, "Skylab," is launched. (1973)
14 The last episode of Seinfeld is aired. It's a sad day in May for millions of Seinfeld followers. (1998)
15 Regular airmail service inaugurated (between New York, Philadelphia & Washington DC) . (1918)
15 Nylon stockings hit the market for first time (1940)
15 "If I had a Hammer" by Peter, Paul, and Mary wins a Grammy (1963)
16 Charles Hires invents Root Beer. (1866)
17 "And They're Off!" as the first Kentucky Derby is held at Churchill Downs. (1875)
18 Napoleon Bonaparte becomes Emperor of France (1804)
19 Ringling Brothers circus premieres. (1884)
20 Hubble Space Telescope transmits photographs from space (1990)
21 The American Red Cross was formed. (1881)