May 15

Scott Winters, Realtor

A quick look at Today in History, check out some Celebrity Birthdays, and find out what Days of the Year to celebrate.

 

TODAY IN HISTORY:

1862 – The U.S. Congress created the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

1905 – Las Vegas, NV, was founded when 110 acres, in what would later become downtown, were auctioned off.

1911 – The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of Standard Oil Company, ruling it was in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

1912 – Ty Cobb, of the Detroit Tigers, rushed a heckler during a game and was suspended indefinitely.

1918 – Regular airmail service between New York (NY), Philadelphia (PA), and Washington, DC, began under the direction of the Post Office Department, which later became the U.S. Postal Service.

1926 – Roald Amundsen and Lincoln Ellsworth were forced down in Alaska after a four-day flight over an icecap. Ice had begun to form on the dirigible Norge.

1926 – The New York Rangers were officially granted a franchise in the NHL. The NHL also announced that Chicago and Detroit would be joining the league in November.

1928 – Walt Disney characters Mickey and Minnie Mouse premiered in their first cartoon, “Plane Crazy”.

1930 – Ellen Church became the first female flight attendant, flying from San Francisco, CA to Cheyenne, WY on a United Airlines flight.

1940 – McDonald’s opened its first restaurant in San Bernardino, CA.

1940 – Nylon stockings went on sale for the first time in the U.S.

1941 – Joe DiMaggio began his historic major league baseball hitting streak of 56 games.

1942 – Gasoline rationing began in the United States. The limit was 3 gallons a week for nonessential vehicles.

1951 – AT&T became the first corporation to have one million stockholders.

1953 – Cubmaster Don Murphy organized the first pinewood derby, in Manhattan Beach, CA.

1957 – Elvis Presley inhaled a cap that was on one of his teeth. He had to be taken to a Los Angeles, CA, hospital to have it removed from his lung.

1958 – Sputnik III, the first space laboratory, was launched in the Soviet Union.

1963 – The final Mercury mission, Mercury-Atlas 9, with astronaut L. Gordon Cooper on board, was launched. He became the first American to spend more than a day in space and orbited the Earth 22 times in the Mercury spacecraft named Faith 7.

1970 – President Richard Nixon appointed Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington as America’s first two female generals.

1972 – Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace was shot and paralyzed by Arthur Bremer in Laurel, MD, while campaigning for the Democratic Presidential nomination.

1980 – The first transcontinental balloon crossing of the United States took place.

1981 – Canadian TV’s “SCTV” debuted on NBC’s Friday late night schedule as “SCTV 90”.

1990 – Vincent Van Gogh’s “Portrait of Doctor Gachet” was sold for $82.5 million. The sale set a new world record.

1991 – President George Bush took Queen Elizabeth II to a baseball game played by the Oakland A’s and the Baltimore Orioles.

1997 – The Space Shuttle Atlantis blasted off on a mission to deliver urgently needed repair equipment and a fresh American astronaut to Russia’s orbiting Mir station.

1998 – Sonny and Cher received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2010 – Jessica Watson became the youngest person (at the age of 16) to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo.

2014 – The National September 11 Memorial Museum was dedicated in New York, NY.

2020 – The White House introduced Operation Warp Speed to accelerate vaccine development for COVID-19.

 

BIRTHDAYS:

Jasper Johns – 94 years old (1930) – Artist

Wavy Gravy – 88 years old (1936) – Entertainer, peace activist

Lainie Kazan – 84 years old (1940) – Actress (“My Favorite Year”, “The Delta Force”, “Harry and the Hendersons”, “Beaches”, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2”)

K.T. Oslin – 82 years old (1942) – Country singer

Graeham Goble – 77 years old (1947) – Singer (Little River Band)

Brian Eno – 76 years old (1948) – Musician (Roxy Music)

Chazz Palminteri – 72 years old (1952) – Actor (“Analyze This”, “The Usual Suspects”, “A Bronx Tale”, “Mulholland Falls”)

George Brett – 71 years old (1953) – Baseball player

Mike Oldfield – 71 years old (1953) – Musician, composer (“Tubular Bells”)

Lee Horsley – 69 years old (1955) – Actor (TV’s “Matt Houston”)

Dan Patrick – 68 years old (1956) – Former ESPN Sports Center anchor, syndicated radio program host

Giselle Fernández – 63 years old (1961) – TV host (TV’s “Access Hollywood”, “Weekend Today”, “CBS Morning News”, “Dancing With the Stars”)

Emmitt Smith – 55 years old (1969) – Football player (TV’s Season 3 of “Dancing With The Stars”, “All-Stars” season 15)

Desmond Howard – 54 years old (1970) – Football player (Detroit Lions 1999-2002), ESPN college football analyst.

David Charvet – 52 years old (1972) – Singer, actor (TV’s “Baywatch”, “Melrose Place”)

Ahmet Zappa – 50 years old (1974) – Musician

Amy Chow – 46 years old (1978) – Olympic gymnast

David Krumholtz – 46 years old (1978)  –  Actor (TV’s “Numb3rs”, movies “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle”,”Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay”, “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas”)

Jamie-Lynn Sigler – 43 years old (1981) – Actress (TV’s “The Sopranos”, “Entourage”)

 

TODAY IS:

Bring Flowers To Someone Day

International Family Day

International Kangaroo Care Awareness Day

International Vascular Birthmarks Awareness Day

National Chocolate Chip Day

National Nylon Stockings Day

National Straw Hat Day

Peace Officers Memorial Day

World Baking Day

 

For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.com, www.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.

My goal is to keep you informed and/or entertained on a regular basis. Maybe you'll learn something new, or just get that much needed laugh. My topics will include a wide range of subjects....from what's going on in the world, to places I've been, things I've seen, or even just a fun video that I've found online. Check back often to see what I've posted.

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