On This Day In History
This day 161 years ago - 18 May 1859 - Irish physicist John Tyndall became the first scientist to prove the existence of the greenhouse effect. In his journal, he wrote, “Experimented all day; the subject is completely in my hands!”
Tyndall was born in Leighlinbridge, Co Carlow. pic.twitter.com/zjNwhdS4Ip
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) May 18, 2020
#OTD in 1954 Maureen O’Carroll was elected to the Irish Parliament—the 1st female Irish Labour member. She introduced women to the National Police; helped remove "illegitimate" from birth certificates; battled against illegal adoptions; & had 10 children.https://t.co/mtn2kHLHVJ pic.twitter.com/bmBqWNFTbX
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) May 18, 2022
On this day in 1896, SCOTUS delivered its decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, establishing the “separate but equal” doctrine and authorizing discrimination by states. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/bEMU11a5Ca
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) May 18, 2022
18 May 1980. Ian Curtis, died (aged 23). The cause of death was determined as suicide. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the post-punk band, Joy Division, and recorded two albums with the group: Unknown Pleasures and Closer. pic.twitter.com/ZbXnVffbHM
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 18, 2022
18 May 1953. US pilot, Jackie Cochran, became the first woman to break the sound barrier, during a flight over Rogers Dry Lake, California, USA, flying a Royal Canadian Air Force F-86 Sabrejet. She averaged 652 miles per hour during the flight. pic.twitter.com/cnKZ3dCAbp
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 18, 2022
18 May 1973. Jeannette Rankin died (aged 92). She was the first woman elected by voters to high office in the USA, as a member of the House of Representatives. pic.twitter.com/vXr2dZJNtW
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 18, 2022
May 19th
1536 Anne Boleyn, second wife of English King Henry VIII, is beheaded at the Tower of London on charges of adultery, incest and treason
1643 Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticut and New Harbor form the United Colonies of New England
1649 England is declared a Commonwealth by an act of the Rump Parliament making England a republic for the next 11 years
1885 German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck takes possession of Cameroon and Togoland
1898 US Congress passes the Private Mailing Card Act, allowing private publishers and printers to produce postcards, had to be labelled “Private Mailing Cards” until 1901, known as “souvenir cards”
1919 Mustafa Kemal Atatürk lands at Samsun on the Black Sea coast, beginning the Turkish War of Independence
Did You Know?
About midday, near-total darkness descends on New England, now known to be caused by forest fires in Canada
Today in History in 1780
Would You Believe?
World's youngest doctor, Balamurali Ambati, 17, graduates Mount Sinai
Today in History in 1995
“I would like to introduce you to two men who are making history, two men who have taken a leap of faith out of the past and into the future.”
- Bono
John Hume and David Trimble shared a stage in Belfast's Waterfront Hall during a U2 concert on this day in 1998. pic.twitter.com/ENWeECZJvN
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) May 19, 2022
In 1889 professional woodcarvers Mary, Ethel & Violet Pinwill completed one of their first large commissions: the pulpit at Ermington, Devon. The sisters then set up their own company. By 1957, c.200 churches contained at least one item made by the firm. https://t.co/RyrH030d31 pic.twitter.com/bZjoeszRgB
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) May 19, 2022
On this day in 1918, a white mob from Brooks County, Georgia, lynched Mary Turner, a Black woman who was 8 months pregnant, for speaking out against the lynching of her husband the day before. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/CE1n3mWWcO
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) May 19, 2022
19 May 1994. Jackie Kennedy Onassis died (aged 64). Her role as US First Lady, which began in January 1961, ended tragically in Dallas on 22 November 1963 when her husband John was brutally assassinated. She was regarded as an international icon of style and culture. pic.twitter.com/dALQHVjius
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 19, 2022
19 May 1536. Anne Boleyn, the wife of Henry VIII, was beheaded in London, after being found guilty of several charges including, treason. She was buried in an unmarked grave in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula. Anne’s grave is now identified on the marble floor of the chapel. pic.twitter.com/sqOsUEWcHM
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 19, 2022
PHOTO OF THE DAY. Marilyn Monroe singing Happy Birthday to JFK #OTD in 1962. pic.twitter.com/bKeZiXwnK5
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 19, 2022
May 20th
1498 Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrives at Calicut, India becoming the first European to reach India by sea
1609 Shakespeare's Sonnets are first published in London, perhaps illicitly, by publisher Thomas Thorpe
1862 US President Abraham Lincoln signs into law the Homestead Act to provide cheap land for the settlement of the American West (80 million acres by 1900)
1864 Spotsylvania campaign in US Civil War ends after 10,920 killed or injured
1927 At 7:40 AM, Charles Lindbergh takes off from New York to cross the Atlantic for Paris, aboard Spirit of St Louis in the 1st solo nonstop transatlantic flight
1927 Treaty of Jeddah is signed between the United Kingdom and Ibn Saud recognizing the independence of the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd
1990 Hubble Space Telescope sends its 1st photographs from space
Did You Know?
Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis patent the first blue jeans with copper rivets
Today in History in 1873
Would You Believe?
The six ton chandelier of the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris falls on the crowd resulting in the death of one and the injury of many others
Today in History in 1896
This day 98 years ago - 20 May 1922 - a joint statement, signed by both Éamon de Valera and Michael Collins, was issued.
Though the two were on opposite sides, they made a pact to put forward candidates which reflected “their present strength in the Dáil” in the June election. pic.twitter.com/pBHG1UHedC
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) May 20, 2020
In 1892 Charlotte Perkins Gilman published The Yellow Wallpaper in New England Magazine. What seemed a Gothic horror story was in fact a semi-autobiographical account of postpartum psychosis and the failure of the “rest cure” prescribed by her male doctor. https://t.co/X68TIoxhLR pic.twitter.com/fkH1vr4slh
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) May 20, 2022