May 15
1536 –
Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, stands trial in London on charges of treason, adultery and incest. She is condemned to death.
1602 –
Bartholomew Gosnold becomes the first recorded European to see
Cape Cod.
1718 –
James Puckle, a London lawyer, patents the world's first machine gun, the
Puckle gun.
1776 – American Revolution: The
Virginia Convention instructs its
Continental Congress delegation to propose a
resolution of independence from Great Britain, paving the way for the United States Declaration of Independence.
1793 –
Diego Marín Aguilera flies a glider for "about 360 meters", at a height of 5–6 meters, during one of the first attempted manned flights.
1800 –
King George III of the United Kingdom survives an assassination attempt by
James Hadfield, who is later acquitted by reason of insanity.
1836 –
Francis Baily observes "
Baily's beads" during an
annular eclipse.
1905 –
Las Vegas, Nevada is founded when 110 acres (0.45 km2), in what later would become downtown, are auctioned off.
1928 – Walt Disney character
Mickey Mouse premieres in his first cartoon,
Plane Crazy.
1940 –
McDonald's opens its first restaurant in San Bernardino, California.
1941 – First flight of the
Gloster E.28/39 the first British and Allied jet aircraft.
1948 – Following the expiration of
The British Mandate for Palestine, the Kingdom of Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia invade Israel thus starting the
1948 Arab–Israeli War.
1953 – The first
pinewood derby is held.
1958 – The Soviet Union launches
Sputnik 3.
1960 – The Soviet Union launches
Sputnik 4.
1963 –
Project Mercury: The launch of the final Mercury mission,
Mercury-Atlas 9 with astronaut
Gordon Cooper on board. He becomes the first American to spend more than a day in space, and the last American to go into space alone.
1970 – President Richard Nixon appoints
Anna Mae Hays and
Elizabeth P. Hoisington the first female United States Army Generals.
1972 – In Laurel, Maryland, Arthur Bremer shoots and paralyzes Alabama Governor
George Wallace while he is campaigning to become President.
1988 –
Soviet war in Afghanistan: After more than eight years of fighting, the Soviet Army begins to withdrawal 115,000 troops from Afghanistan.
2006 –
Cloud Gate was formally dedicated in Chicago's
Millennium Park.
Births
1567 – Claudio Monteverdi; 1856 – L. Frank Baum; 1902 – Richard J. Daley; 1905 – Joseph Cotten; 1905 –
Abraham Zapruder; 1909 – James Mason; 1918 – Eddy Arnold; 1931 – Ken Venturi; 1936 – Wavy Gravy, Ralph Steadman; 1937 – Madeleine Albright; 1940 – Roger Ailes, Lainie Kazan; 1945 – Jerry Quarry; 1948 – Brian Eno; 1951 – Dennis Frederiksen; 1952 – Chazz Palminteri; 1956 – Dan Patrick; 1969 – Emmitt Smith; 1976 – Ryan Leaf; 1981 – Jamie-Lynn Sigler; 1987 – Andy Murray
Deaths
1886 – Emily Dickinson; 1948 – Edward J. Flanagan (founded
Boys Town); 1967 – Edward Hopper; 2003 – June Carter Cash; 2007 – Jerry Falwell