May
May 1 - 1989 U.S. Supreme Court rules employees have legal burden to prove non- discriminatory reasons for not hiring or promoting
- 2011 U.S. President Barack Obama announces that Osama bin Laden, founder of the militant Islamist group Al-Quaeda was killed by American military operatives May 2 - 1885 "Good Housekeeping" magazine is 1st published - 1956 U.S. Methodist church disallows race separation May 3 - 1933 1st female director (Nellie T Ross) of U.S. Mint takes office - 1967 Black students seize finance building at Northwestern University May 4 - 1942 Food 1st rationed in U.S. for WWII - 1961 13 Freedom riders began bus trip through South May 5 - 1961 Alan Shepard becomes 1st American in space (aboard Freedom 7) - 1987 Congress begins Iran-Contra hearings May 6 - 1957 Pulitzer prize awarded to John F Kennedy (Profiles in Courage) - 1997 Michael Jackson and Bee Gees inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame May 7 - 1975 President Ford declares an end to "Vietnam Era" - 2011 Thousands of homes are ordered evacuated as the Spring 2011 Mississippi River Floods continue May 8 - 1958 President Eisenhower orders National Guard out of Central High School, Little Rock - 1970 Beatles release "Let it Be" album May 9 - 1914 President Wilson proclaims Mother’s Day - 1979 U.S. and U.S.S.R. sign Salt 2 treaty, limiting nuclear weapons May 10 - 1994 Nelson Mandela sworn in as South Africa's 1st black president - 2010 Solicitor General Elena Kagan is the youngest Justice and third woman nominated for the Supreme Court of the United States May 11 - 1965 Ellis Island added to Statue of Liberty National monument - 1978 Margaret A. Brewer is 1st female general in the U.S. Marine Corps May 12 - 1933 Federal Emergency Relief Administration and Agricultural Adjustment Administration form to help the needy and farmers - 1970 Race riots in Augusta Georgia; 6 blacks killed (5 by cops) May 13 - 1846 U.S. declares war on Mexico, 2 months after fighting begins - 1983 Reggie Jackson is 1st major leaguer to strike out 2,000 times May 14 - 1942 U.S. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) forms - 1973 U.S. Supreme Court approves equal rights to females in military May 15 - 1934 Department of Justice offers $25,000 reward for Dillinger, dead or alive - 1960 Sputnik 4 launched into Earth orbit; later recovery failed May 16th - 1975 Japanese climber Junko Tabei became the first women to reach the summit of Mount Everest - 1985 Michael Jordan was named Rookie of the Year in the NBA May 17th - 1881 Fredrick Douglass was appointed recorder of deeds for Washington D.C. - 2007 Trains crossed the border dividing North and South Korea for the first time since 1953. May 18th - 1931 Japanese pilot Seji Yoshihara crashed his plane in the Pacific Ocean while trying to cross the ocean without stopping - 1953 The first woman to fly faster than the speed of sound, Jacqueline Cochran, piloted a F-86 Sabrejet over California at an average speed of 652.337 miles per hour. May 19th - 1571 Miguel Lopez de Lagazpi Founded Manilla in the Phillipines - 1848 Mexico gives Texas to US, ending the American-Mexico War May 20th - 1506 In Spain, Christopher Columbus died in poverty. - 1932 Amelia Earhart took off to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She became the first women to achieve the feat. May 21st - 1790 Paris was divided into 48 zones - 1881 The American branch of the Red Cross was founded by Clara Barton May 22nd - 1908 The Wright brothers registered their flying machine for U.S. patient - 2002 Barry Bonds hits his 583rd career home run May 23rd - 1827 The first nursery school in the U.S. was established in New York - 1949 The Federal Republic of Germany was established May 24th - 1961 The Freedom Riders, civil rights activists that rode the interstate busing system protesting, got arrested in Jackson, Mississippi - 2001 Temba Tsheri, an Asian American, at the age of 15 became the youngest person to reach the summit of mount Everest. May 25th - 1986 Approximately 7 million Americans participated in “Hands Across America”, which was were they stood in a line holding hands as a fundraiser for poverty and homelessness. - 2001 Erik Weihenmeyer,32, of Golder, CO became the first blind climber to each the summit of Mount Everest. May 26th - 1835 An resolution was passed in the U.S. Congress stating that Congress has no authority over state slavery laws. - 1961 Civil rights activist group Freedom Ride Coordinating Committee was established in Atlanta, GA. May 27th - 1668 three colonists were expelled from Massachusetts for being Baptist. - 1969 Construction of Walt Disney World begin in Florida. May 28th - 1987 Mathias Rust, a 19 year old West German pilot, landed a private plane in Moscow’s red Square after evading Soviet air defenses. - NATO declared Russia a limited partner in the Western alliance. May 29th - 1973 Tom Bradley was elected the first black mayor of Los Angeles - 2001 The U.S supreme Court rules that disable golfer Casey Martin could use a cart in tournaments. May 30th - 1539 Hernado de Soto, the Spanish explorer, landed in Florida with 600 soldiers to search for gold. - 2003 Peter Jennings, a Canadian Journalist, was sworn in as a U.S citizen May 31st - 1870 E.J. DeSemdt, a Belgian chemist, patented asphalt - 1955 The U.S, Supreme Court ordered that all states must end racial segregation “with all deliberate speed” |