May 14 in History: The Constitution Convention Begins, Vaseline Is Registered, and “Seinfeld” Ends

Discover what happened on May 14 in history, along with notable events that shaped medicine, entertainment, and American history.

What Happened on May 14 in History?

Important events on this day include delegates gathering to draft the U.S. Constitution, the registration of the Vaseline name, and the final episode of Seinfeld airing on NBC.

MAY 14 – TODAY IN HISTORY:

1607 – An expedition led by Captain Christopher Newport went ashore at Jamestown, VA. The group had arrived at the location the day before. This became the first permanent English colony in America.

1787 – Delegates began gathering in Philadelphia, PA, for a convention to draw up the U.S. Constitution.

1796 – The first smallpox vaccination was given by Edward Jenner.

1804 – William Clark set off the famous expedition from Camp Dubois. A few days later, in St. Louis, Meriwether Lewis joined the group. The group was known as the “Corps of Discovery.”

1853 – Gail Borden applied for a patent for condensed milk.

1874 – McGill University and Harvard met at Cambridge, MA, for the first college football game to charge admission.

1878 – The name Vaseline was registered by Robert A. Chesebrough.

1879 – Thomas Edison incorporated the Edison Telephone Company of Europe.

1897 – “The Stars and Stripes Forever”, by John Phillip Sousa, was performed for the first time. It was at a ceremony where a statue of George Washington was unveiled.

1897 – Guglielmo Marconi made the first communication by wireless telegraph.

1913 – The Rockefeller Foundation was created by John D. Rockefeller with a gift of $100 million.

1939 – Lina Medina became the youngest confirmed mother in medical history at the age of five.

1942 – The Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) was established by an act of the U.S. Congress.

1960 – The birth control pill was introduced in the United States.

1967 – Mickey Mantle hit the 500th home run of his career, off Baltimore’s Stu Miller.

1972 – In his first game as a Met, Willie Mays hit a game winning home run against his old team, the Giants.

1973 – Skylab One was launched into orbit around Earth as the first U.S. crewed space station.

1980 – President Jimmy Carter inaugurated the Department of Health and Human Services.

1985 – Ray Kroc’s first McDonald’s restaurant became the first fast-food business museum. It is located in Des Plaines, IL.

1989 – The final episodes of TV’s “Moonlighting” and “Family Ties” were broadcast.

1996 – Magic Johnson retired from the Los Angeles Lakers for the second and final time.

1998 – The Associated Press marked its 150th anniversary.

1998 – Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer went to jail in the final episode of the TV series “Seinfeld” aired after nine years on NBC. The final episode was watched by 76 million viewers.

1998 – George Michael pleaded no contest in the Beverly Hills, CA Municipal Court to committing a lewd act in a park restroom. He was fined $810, given 80 hours of community service, and ordered to undergo counseling.

1998 – The animated TV show called “Celebrity Deathmatch” premiered on MTV. Clay models of famous celebrities would wresting each other. The show remained on the air for 6 seasons.

1999 – Jess Marlow received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2000 – The six cast members of TV’s “Friends” signed two year contracts that guaranteed each actor $750,000 per episode, up from $125,000.

2010 – Space Shuttle Atlantis launched on the STS-132 mission to deliver the first shuttle-launched Russian ISS component — Rassvet. This was originally slated to be the final launch of Atlantis, before Congress approved STS-135.

2018 – Scientists at the University of California successfully executed a memory transfer in snails.

2021 – Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer lifted the mask mandate in all settings for those who were fully vaccinated for COVID-19.

2021 – China successfully landed Zhurong, the country’s first Mars rover.

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS ON MAY 14:

Byron Dorgan – 84 years old (1942) – Lawyer and politician

Tony Pérez – 84 years old (1942) – Cuban-American baseball player and manager

Gene Cornish – 82 years old (1944) – Canadian-American guitarist

George Lucas – 82 years old (1944) – Director, producer, and screenwriter, founded Lucasfilm

Donald R. McMonagle – 74 years old (1952) – Colonel, pilot, and astronaut

Robert Zemeckis – 74 years old (1952) – Director, producer, and screenwriter

Christine Brennan – 68 years old (1958) – Journalist and author

Rudy Pérez – 68 years old (1958) – Cuban-born American composer and music producer

Robert Greene – 67 years old (1959) – Author and translator

C.C. DeVille – 64 years old (1962) – Guitarist, songwriter, and actor

Danny Huston – 64 years old (1962) – Italian-American actor and director

Pat Borders – 63 years old (1963) – Baseball player and coach

Suzy Kolber – 62 years old (1964) – Sportscaster and producer

Mike Inez – 60 years old (1966) – Rock bass player and songwriter

Raphael Saadiq – 60 years old (1966) – Singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

Sofia Coppola – 55 years old (1971) – Director, producer, and screenwriter

Kirstjen Nielsen – 54 years old (1972) – Attorney, 6th United States Secretary of Homeland Security

Hunter Burgan – 50 years old (1976) – Multi-instrumentalist and bassist of rock band AFI

Eddie House – 48 years old (1978) – Basketball player

Dan Auerbach – 47 years old (1979) – Singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

Frank Gore – 43 years old (1983) – Football player

Amber Tamblyn – 43 years old (1983) – Actress, author, model, director

Mark Zuckerberg – 42 years old (1984) – Computer programmer and businessman, co-founded Facebook

Dustin Lynch – 41 years old (1985) – Singer-songwriter

Zack Ryder – 41 years old (1985) – Wrestler

Clay Matthews III – 40 years old (1986) – Football player

Rob Gronkowski – 37 years old (1989) – Football player

Miranda Cosgrove – 33 years old (1993) – Actress and singer

Kyle Freeland – 33 years old (1993) – Baseball player

Rose Lavelle – 31 years old (1995) – Soccer player

Jack Hughes – 25 years old (2001) – Hockey player

DAYS OF THE YEAR FOR MAY 14:

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