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What happened in history on this day: May 15?
On May 15 in ...
- 1837 - Bank of Virginia suspends specie payments.
- 1845 - Last of the epic horse races at the Union Course on Long Island, New York. Peytona of the South defeats Fashion of the North, twice.
- 1862 - US Department of Agriculture is created.
- 1862 - USA General Benjamin F Butler issues "Woman's Order" - women of New Orleans to be treated as whores as a result of their treatment of USA soldiers.
- 1862 - Battle of Drewry's Bluff (Fort Darling), Virginia, CSA.
- 1862 - Battle of Princeton, West Virginia.
- 1864 - Battle of New Market, Virginia.
- 1864 - Battle of Resaca, Georgia (third day).
- 1864 - Skirmish at Marksville (Avoyelles) (Red River Campaign).
- 1869 - Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman's Suffrage Association in the USA.
- 1896 - Tornado kills 78 in Texas.
- 1903 - US Treasury Department purchases 250,000 ounces of silver for the San Francisco Mint.
- 1905 - A land auction is held in the founding of Las Vegas, Nevada.
- 1911 - Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Indiana University, incorporates.
- 1911 - US Supreme Court dissolves Standard Oil (Sherman Antitrust Act).
- 1918 - The US Post Office Department begins the first regular airmail service (between New York, Philadelphia, and Washington DC).
- 1928 - Walt Disney's first silent film featuring Mickey Mouse, Plane Crazy premieres as a sneak preview at a theatre on Sunset Boulevard, in Los Angeles, California.
- 1929 - Fire in X-ray film stock kills 125 at Crile Clinic (Cleveland, Ohio, USA).
- 1930 - Ellen Church becomes first airline stewardess, United Airlines (San Francisco to Cheyenne).
- 1933 - First voice amplification system to be used in US Senate.
- 1934 - Department of Justice offers $25,000 reward for John Dillinger, dead or alive.
- 1940 - First successful helicopter flight in US: Vought-Sikorsky US-300.
- 1940 - Nylon stockings go on sale for first time, in the USA.
- 1940 - McDonald's opens its first restaurant, in San Bernardino, California.
- 1942 - Gasoline first rationed in US (17 Eastern States).
- 1944 - Dwight Eisenhower, Bernard Montgomery, Winston Churchill and King George VI discuss D-Day plan.
- 1955 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
- 1955 - Britain, France, US and USSR sign the Austrian State Treaty restore Austria's independence.
- 1957 - 18,000 people at Madison Square Garden-Billy Graham launches a crusade.
- 1962 - US marines arrive in Laos.
- 1963 - The final Mercury mission is launched, with astronaut L. Gordon Cooper - who becomes the first American to spend more than a day in space.
- 1964 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
- 1965 - US President Lyndon Johnson announces the start of resumed silver dollar production.
- 1968 - A tornado strikes Jonesboro, Arkansas, USA, at 10 PM, killing 36.
- 1969 - Associate Justice Abe Fortas resigns from US Supreme Court.
- 1970 - Elizabeth Hoisington and Anna Mae Mays named first female US generals.
- 1972 - Okinawa island is reunified with Japan as American occupation ends.
- 1972 - George Wallace is shot and left paralyzed by Arthur Bremer in Laurel, Maryland, USA.
- 1972 - Ryukyu Island and Daito Island are returned to Japan after 27 years of US control. Ryukyu Islands cease issuance of postage stamps.
- 1980 - Shawn Weatherly, of Sumter, South Carolina, crowned 29th Miss USA/Miss Universe-1980.
- 1980 - First trans-US balloon crossing (Maxie Anderson and son Chris).
- 1981 - Donna Payant is murdered by serial killer Lemuel Smith - the first time a female prison officer has been killed on-duty in the United States.
- 1983 - Madison Hotel (Boston, Massachusetts) destroyed by implosion.
- 1985 - An explosive device sent by the Unabomber injures John Hauser at University of California in Berkeley.
- 1988 - Second American Comedy Awards: Robin Williams and Tracey Ullman.
- 1991 - Defense for Panama President Manuel Noriega releases documents claiming Noriega was "CIA's man in Panamá".
- 1992 - New York department store chain Alexanders announces closing of all 11 stores.
- 1992 - Part of Cruger Avenue in Bronx renamed Regis Philbin Avenue.
- 1997 - ABC News and Starwave Corp launch ABCNEWS.com.
- 1997 - STS 84 (Atlantis 19), launches, 6th Shuttle-Mir Mission.
- 2008 - CBS announces it will buy web media company CNET Networks for about US$1.8 billion.
- 2008 - California Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage.
- 2008 - The Simpsons Ride officially opens at Universal Studios Orlando, in Florida, USA.
- 2009 - US President Barack Obama nominates Rosa Gumataotao Rios to be next US treasurer.
- 2009 - General Motors eliminates 1100 car dealerships in the US.
- 2019 - Billionaire Steve Cohen buys Jeff Koons' 3-foot tall sculpture of an inflatable rabbit in New York for US$91 million.
Births on May 15
- 1856 - Birth of Lyman Frank Baum in Chittenango, New York, USA; children's book author (The Wizard of Oz) (dies 1919).
- 1891 - Birth of Chief Nipo T Strongheart in Yakima, Washington, US; Indian actor (Pony Soldier).
- 1895 - Birth of Charles Lamont in San Francisco, California, USA; director (Abbott and Costello Go to Mars).
- 1904 - Birth of Clifton Fadiman in Brooklyn, New York, USA; TV host (Information Please, Quiz Kids).
- 1905 - Birth of Joseph Cotten in Petersburg, Virginia, USA; actor (3rd Man, Airport 77, Hearse).
- 1912 - Birth of Arthur Victor Berger in New York City, New York, USA; composer (Ideas of Order).
- 1916 - Birth of Bill Williams in Brooklyn, New York, USA; actor (Starlit Time, Date With the Angels).
- 1918 - Birth of Eddy Arnold in Henderson, Tennessee, USA; country singer ("Cattle Call", "Anytime").
- 1921 - Birth of Erroll Garner in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; jazz pianist ("Misty").
- 1929 - Birth of Peggy Pope in Montclair, New Jersey, USA; actress (Billy, Mrs David - Soap).
- 1930 - Birth of Jasper Johns in Augusta, Georgia, USA; painter/sculptor (Green Target).
- 1938 - Birth of Lenny Welch in Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA; musician ("Breaking up is Hard to Do").
- 1940 - Birth of Paul Rudd in Boston, Massachusetts, USA; actor (A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court).
- 1941 - Birth of K T Oslin in Crossett, Arkansas, USA; country singer (1980s Ladies).
- 1941 - Birth of Lainie Kazan in Brooklyn, New York, USA; singer/actress (Lust in the Dust, Beaches).
- 1942 - Birth of Anthony Wayne England in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; PhD/astronaut (STS 51-F).
- 1946 - Birth of Chazz Palminteri in the Bronx, New York, USA; actor (Jade, Diabolique, Bronx Tale).
- 1949 - Birth of Frank L Culbertson Junior in Charleston, South Carolina, USA; Commander US Navy/astronaut (STS-38).
- 1953 - Birth of George Brett in Wheeling, West Virginia, USA; Kansas City Royals third baseman (1980 American League Most Valuable Player).
- 1955 - Birth of Lee Horsley in Muleshoe, Texas, USA; actor (Nero Wolfe, Matt Houston).
- 1956 - Birth of Alice Miller in Marysville, California, USA; LPGA golfer (1985 Nabisco Dinah Shore).
- 1963 - Birth of Grant Herslov in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor (Wayne - Spencer, Under One Roof).
- 1965 - Birth of Jeff Rochlin in Brooklyn, New York, USA; actor (Cutting Class, Splitz, Taps).
- 1967 - Birth of John Smoltz in Detroit, Michigan, USA; pitcher (Atlanta Braves, 1996 Cy Young).
- 1968 - Birth of James "Jim" Neil in Buffalo, New York, USA; rower (Olympics-1996).
- 1968 - Birth of Todd Porter in Montclair, New Jersey, USA; actor (Hamilton - Whiz Kids).
- 1969 - Birth of Holly McPeak in Manhattan Beach, California, USA; beach volleyball player (Olympics-1996).
- 1971 - Birth of Scott Shipley in Bremerton, Washington, USA; slalom single kayak (Olympics-1996).
- 1973 - Birth of Suzannah Bianco in San Jose, California, USA; synchronized swimmer (alternate-Olympics-1996).
- 1974 - Birth of A J Hinch in Wavely, Iowa, USA; baseball catcher (Olympics-bronze-1996).
- 1976 - Birth of Eric DuBose in Bradenton, Florida; baseball pitcher (Olympics-bronze-1996).
- 1978 - Birth of David Krumholtz in New York City, New York, USA; American actor (Billy Kulchak - Chicago Sons).
- 1978 - Birth of Amy Chow in San Jose, California; gymnast (Olympics-gold/silver-1996).
Deaths on May 15
- 1945 - Major Courtney, US medal of honor marine, dies in battle of Sugar Loaf.
- 1967 - Edward Hopper, US painter (House by Railroad), dies at age 84.
- 1976 - Samuel Eliot Morison, American historian (Admiral of Ocean Sea), dies at age 88.
- 1982 - Death of Gordon Smiley, American race car driver (racing accident) (born 1946).
- 1985 - Jackie Curtis, playwright/actor (Underground USA), dies of a drug overdose at age 38.
- 1986 - Theodore H White, American journalist (Making of President, Pulitzer), dies at age 71 (born 1958).
- 1992 - Robert Morris Page, US physicist (radar), dies at age 88.
- 1994 - Gilbert Roland, Mexican/American actor (Armand in Camille), dies at age 88 (born 1905).
- 2007 - Death of Jerry Falwell, found dead in office of heart failure; American evangelist, co-founder of Moral Majority coalition of Christian conservative groups (born 1933).
- 2008 - Death of Willis Lamb, American physicist and Nobel Prize laureate (born 1913).
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