On May 17, 1875, “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports.” took America by storm at a racetrack at Churchill Downs. The Kentucky Derby was born. Founded by Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr., the grandson of the famous explorer William Clark, the race was inspired by his…
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The impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson, the first such trial in American history, was a highly contentious and politically charged event that culminated in his acquittal on May 16, 1868. Johnson, who ascended to the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, quickly found himself…
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On May 15, 1536, Anne Boleyn—Queen of England, second wife of Henry VIII, and mother of the future Elizabeth I—stood trial at the Tower of London. The charges were staggering: adultery, incest, and high treason. The outcome was foreordained. Condemned by a hand-picked jury…
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On May 15, 1940, in San Bernardino, California, Richard and Maurice McDonald opened the first McDonald’s restaurant, marking the birth of what would become a global fast-food empire. This pioneering establishment, known then as “McDonald’s Bar-B-Q,” was initially a carhop drive-in with an expansive menu of…
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In a bizarre legal footnote to American religious history—and a final echo of the spectral hysteria that once gripped colonial New England—the last case resembling a witchcraft trial in the United States began not in the 17th century, but in 1878. Nearly two centuries…
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On May 13, 1846, the United States Congress formally declared war on the Federal Republic of Mexico—a decision that, while presented to the public as a response to a Mexican military incursion, in fact reflected the culmination of deeper ideological currents, territorial ambitions, and…
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On May 13, 1981, as Pope John Paul II greeted the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square, Mehmet Ali Ağca emerged from the throng, brandishing a handgun. In a matter of seconds, shots rang out, shattering the tranquility of the moment and plunging the square…
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On May 2, 1611, in the heart of London, England, printer Robert Barker released the first edition of what would become one of the most influential and widely read books in the English-speaking world: the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible. Commissioned by…
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La Piedra Movediza, or “The Moving Stone,” was a unique natural landmark located in Tandil, Argentina. This geological formation was a massive boulder that balanced precariously on the edge of a hill, defying gravity and giving the impression that it could move at any…
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