May 17

Aristides is first winner of the Kentucky Derby (1875); Brown v. Board of Education decision outlaws racial segregation in public schools (1954); Boxer Sugar Ray Leonard born (1956); First legal same-sex marriages performed in the US (2004); Singer Donna Summer dies (2012).

May 18

Supreme Court rules “separate but equal” in Plessy v. Ferguson case (1896); Pope John Paul II born in Poland (1920); Comedian Tina Fey born (1970); India detonates its first nuclear test bomb “Smiling Buddha” (1974); Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington state (1980); Musician Chris Cornell dies (2017)

May 16

First Academy Awards hosted (1929); Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ends (1943); Janet Jackson born (1966); Comedian Andy Kaufman dies (1984); "Muppets" creator Jim Henson dies (1990); Sammy Davis Jr. dies (1990).

May 15

National Woman Suffrage Association founded by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1869); Poet Emily Dickinson dies (1886); Mickey Mouse makes first cartoon appearance (1928); Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright born (1937); Soviet Union begins withdrawal of 115,000 troops from Afghanistan (1988).

May 14

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark embark on their famous expedition (1804); "Star Wars" creator George Lucas born (1944); Skylab, the first US space station, launched (1973); Singer Frank Sinatra dies (1998); Blues musician BB King dies (2015).

May 13

The US declares war against Mexico in dispute over Texas (1846); "Golden Girls" actress Bea Arthur born (1922); Stevie Wonder born (1950); Pope John Paul II is shot, survives assassination attempt (1981); Actress and singer Doris Day dies (2019).

May 10

First American transcontinental railroad is completed (1869); Winston Churchill becomes prime minister of the UK (1940); Former NASA astronaut Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman in space, born (1958); Actress Joan Crawford dies (1977); Nelson Mandela inaugurated as president of South Africa (1994).

May 11

First chartered hospital in the US founded in Philadelphia (1751); Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dalí born (1904); Hit musical "Cats" debuts in London (1981); American singer Sabrina Carpenter born (1999); "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" author Douglas Adams dies (2001)

May 12

Modern nursing innovator Florence Nightingale born (1820); Actress Katharine Hepburn born (1907); Charles Lindbergh’s son found dead two months after being kidnapped (1932); Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk born (1968); Ex-President Jimmy Carter visits Cuba, the first American president to visit since 1959 revolution (2002).

May 9

Billy Joel born (1949); Impeachment proceedings begin against President Richard Nixon (1974); Singer and civil rights activist Lena Horne dies (2010); Rock legend Little Richard dies (2020). 

Pope

"Once upon a time, it was said that the idea of an American pope was unthinkable. In the beginning, it was for basically logistical reasons – steamships from the New World took so long to reach Rome that American cardinals often arrived too late to vote, and in any event they were never part of the political sausage-grinding before the conclave began."

https://cruxnow.com/papal-transition/2025/05/papabile-of-the-day-cardinal-robert-francis-prevost?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter&user_id=66c4c92f5d78644b3ac5d5b4

May 8

Poet Phillis Wheatley born (1753); President Harry Truman born (1884); Boxing legend Sonny Liston born (1932); Germany surrenders, ending World War II in Europe (1945); Smallpox is eradicated (1980).

May 7

Edwin H. Land, inventor of instant photography, born (1909); Ishirō Honda, Japanese film director and cowriter of 1954 film "Godzilla," born (1911); German submarine sinks RMS Lusitania, killing 1,198 (1915); Eva "Evita" Perón born (1919); Sony Corporation founded (1946).

May 6

Famed neurologist Sigmund Freud born (1856); Baseball great Willie Mays born (1931); Hindenburg disaster kills 36 (1937); Roger Bannister becomes first person to run a mile in under four minutes (1954); Actress and singer Marlene Dietrich dies (1992).

May 5

Napoleon Bonaparte dies while in exile (1821); Cinco de Mayo commemorates Mexican victory in the Battle of Puebla (1862); Alan Shepard becomes first American in outer space (1961); Singer-songwriter Adele born (1988).

May 4

Abraham Lincoln buried in Springfield, Illinois (1865); US officially takes over Panama Canal construction (1904); Actress Audrey Hepburn born (1929) First Grammy Awards ceremony held (1959); Yugoslavian dictator Josip Tito dies (1980)

May 3

Philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli born (1469); Boxer Sugar Ray Robinson born (1921); Musician James Brown born (1933); Margaret Mitchell wins Pulitzer for "Gone with the Wind" novel (1937); First bulk spam email is sent (1978).

May 2

Leonardo da Vinci dies (1519); Playwright Tennessee Williams wins Pulitzer Prize for "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1955); Fashion designer Donatella Versace born (1955); Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson born (1972); Osama bin Laden is killed by US special forces (2011).

May 1

Frontierswoman and sharpshooter Calamity Jane born (1852); Dwarf planet Pluto is named (1930); Empire State Building opens in NYC (1931); Country artist Tim McGraw born (1967); Actress Olympia Dukakis dies (2021).