Today is May 15 2014

National Chocolate Chip Day: More

• Straw Hat Day: More
  
• International Day of Families: More
• Peace Officers Memorial Day: More
• International Day of Families: More

• In 1813, Opening of the first private mental health hospital in the United States, the Asylum for the Relief of Persons Deprived of the Use of Their Reason (now Friends Hospital) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  From Wikipedia: 'Friends Hospital is a mental hospital located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
  
  The Quakers established Friends Hospital in 1813, drawing on a belief that all persons could live a "moral, ordered existence if treated with kindness, dignity, and respect", despite disabilities. The influential minister Thomas Scattergood decried what he considered the harsh conditions faced by patients in mental asylums; Scattergood instead called for the "moral treatment" of patients. This model served as an inspiration for the establishment of the Friends Asylum for Persons Deprived of the Use of Their Reason; it was the nation’s first privately run psychiatric hospital'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1851, The first Australian gold rush is proclaimed, although the discovery had been made three months earlier.
  From Wikipedia: 'During the Australian gold rushes, significant numbers of workers (both from other areas within Australia and from overseas), relocated to areas in which gold had been discovered. A number of gold finds occurred in Australia prior to 1851, but only the gold found from 1851 onwards created gold rushes. This is mainly because, prior to 1851, the colonial government of New South Wales (Victoria did not become a separate colony until 1 July 1851, and Tasmania did not become a separate colony until 1856) had suppressed news of gold finds which it believed would reduce the workforce and destabilise the economy.
  
  After the California gold rush began in 1848, causing many people to leave Australia for California to look for gold there, the New South Wales government rethought its position, and sought approval from the Colonial Office in England to allow the exploitation of the mineral resources and also offered rewards for the finding of payable gold.
  
  Edward Hargraves, accompanied by John Lister, found five specks of alluvial gold at Summerhill near Bathurst in February 1851. Then, in April 1851, John Lister and William Tom, trained by Edward Hargraves, found 120 grams of gold. This discovery, instigated by Hargraves, led directly to the beginning of the gold rush in New South Wales. This was the first gold rush in Australia and was in full operation by May 1851'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
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  - On YouTube: More
• In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signs a bill into law creating the United States Bureau of Agriculture. It is later renamed the United States Department of Agriculture.
  From Wikipedia: 'The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), also known as the Agriculture Department, is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal government policy on farming, agriculture, forestry, and food. It aims to meet the needs of farmers and ranchers, promote agricultural trade and production, work to assure food safety, protect natural resources, foster rural communities and end hunger in the United States and internationally.
  
  On May 15, 1862, Abraham Lincoln established the independent Department of Agriculture to be headed by a commissioner without Cabinet status, and the agriculturalist Isaac Newton was appointed to be the first such commissioner. Lincoln called it the "people's department". In the 1880s, varied advocacy groups were lobbying for Cabinet representation. Business interests sought a Department of Commerce and Industry, and farmers tried to raise the Department of Agriculture to Cabinet rank. In 1887, the House of Representatives and Senate passed bills giving Cabinet status to the Department of Agriculture and Labor, but the bill was defeated in conference committee after farm interests objected to the addition of labor. Finally, on February 9, 1889, President Grover Cleveland signed a bill into law elevating the Department of Agriculture to Cabinet level'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1918, The US Post Office Department begins world's first regular airmail service.
  From Wikipedia: 'Airmails of the United States or U.S. Air Mail relates to the servicing of flown mails by the U.S. postal system within the United States, its possessions, and/or territories, marked as "Via Air Mail" (or equivalent), appropriately franked, and afforded any then existing class or sub-class of U.S. Air Mail service.
  
  After an intermittent series of government sponsored experimental flights between 1911 and 1918, domestic U.S. Air Mail was formally established as a new class of service by the United States Post Office Department on May 15, 1918, with the inauguration of the Washington-Philadelphia-New York route for which the first of special Air Mail stamps were issued.
  
  The exclusive transportation of flown mails by government operated aircraft came to an end in 1926 under the provisions of the "Kelly Act" which required the USPOD to transition to contracting with commercial air carriers to fly them over Contract Air Mail (CAM) routes to be established by the Department, although during the first half of 1934 the U.S. Army Air Forces temporarily took over the routes — with disastrous results — when all CAM contracts were summarily cancelled by President Franklin D. Roosevelt owing to the Air Mail Scandal. Domestic air mail became obsolete in 1975, and international air mail in 1995, as distinct extra fee services when the USPS began transporting all First Class long distance intercity mail by air on a routine basis'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1928, Mickey Mouse makes his first cartoon appearance in the Disney short film 'Plane Crazy'
  From Wikipedia: 'Plane Crazy is an American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The cartoon, released in 1929 by the Walt Disney Studios, was the first creation of the character Mickey Mouse. It was made as a silent film and given a test screening to a theater audience on May 15, 1928, but failed to pick up a distributor. Later that year, Disney released Mickey's first sound cartoon, Steamboat Willie, which was an enormous success. Following this, Plane Crazy was released as a sound cartoon on March 17, 1929. It was the fourth Mickey film to be released after Steamboat Willie, The Gallopin' Gaucho, and The Barn Dance (1928)'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube (Plane Craxy): More
  - On YouTube (Steamboat Willie, his first talkie): More
• In 1930, Ellen Church, a registered nurse, becomes world's first airline stewardess.
  From Wikipedia: 'Ellen Church (September 22, 1904 – August 22, 1965) was the first female flight attendant.
  
  Church became the first stewardess to fly (though not the first flight attendant, as German Heinrich Kubis had preceded her in 1912). On May 15, 1930, she embarked on a Boeing 80A for a 20-hour flight from Oakland/San Francisco to Chicago with 13 stops and 14 passengers. According to one source, the pilot was another aviation pioneer, Elrey Borge Jeppesen.
  
  The innovation was a resounding success - the other airlines followed BAT's example over the next few years - but an injury from an automobile accident ended her career after 18 months. She obtained a bachelor's degree in nursing education from the University of Minnesota and resumed nursing. In 1936, she became supervisor of pediatrics at Milwaukee County Hospital. During World War II, Church served in the Army Nurse Corps as a captain and flight nurse and earned an Air Medal. She moved to Terre Haute, Indiana, where she became director of nursing and later an administrator at Union Hospital'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
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• In 1941, First flight of the Gloster E.28/39 the first British and Allied jet aircraft.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Gloster E.28/39, (also referred to as the "Gloster Whittle", "Gloster Pioneer", or "Gloster G.40") was the first British jet-engined aircraft to fly. It was designed to test the Whittle jet engine in flight, leading to the development of the Gloster Meteor.
  
  The E.28/39 was delivered to Brockworth for ground tests beginning on 7 April 1941, using a non-flightworthy version of the Power Jets W.1 engine. These included some short "hops" of about 6 ft in height from the grass airfield. With these initial tests satisfactorily completed, the aircraft was fitted with a flightworthy engine rated for 10 hours use, and then transferred to Cranwell which had a long runway. On 15 May 1941, Gloster's Chief Test Pilot, Flight Lieutenant Gerry Sayer flew the aircraft under jet power for the first time from RAF Cranwell, near Sleaford in Lincolnshire, in a flight lasting 17 minutes. In this first series of test flights, a maximum true speed of 350 m.p.h. was attained, in level flight at 25,000 ft. and 17,000 r.p.m. turbine revolutions'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1940, Nylon hose goes on sale.
  From Wikipedia (Nylon riots): 'The Nylon riots were a series of disturbances at American stores created by a nylon stocking shortage.
  
  Nylon (produced from chemicals) was first introduced by DuPont around 1939 and was in extremely high demand in the US, with up to 4 million pairs of stockings bought in one day. The riots occurred between August 1945 and March 1946, when the War Production Board announced that the creation of Du Pont's nylon will shift its manufacturing from wartime material to nylon stockings, at the same time launching a promotional campaign. In one of the worst disturbances, in Pittsburgh, 40,000 women queued up for 13,000 pairs of stockings, leading to fights breaking out. It took several months before Du Pont was able to ramp up production to meet demand, but until this was able to happen many women went without nylon stockings for months.
  
  Ripstop nylon, which was more effective than silk and canvas, was used for parachutes and other war materials, such as airplane cords and ropes. At first, canvas was used to create parachute canopies, and silk was much more effective (stronger and thinner). However, there were many other materials used for parachute canopies, such as Dacron and Kevlar. These materials did not compare to nylon, as nylon was a more practical and developed material.
  
  Nylon stockings became increasingly popular on the black market, and sold for up to $20 per pair. Women who could not get their hands on nylons resorted to lotions, creams, stick cakes and painting seam lines down their legs to give the illusion of Nylons. Because nylon stockings were so widely sought- after, they also became the target of crime. In Louisiana, one household was robbed of 18 pairs of nylons. Similarly, robbery was ruled out as the motive of a murder in Chicago because the nylons were untouched.
  
  Women everywhere yearned for the end of war and a time when nylons would be commonly available again. George Marion, Jr. and Fats Waller's song, "When the Nylons Bloom Again", captured the wistful sentiments of these American women:
  
  In August 1945, just 8 days after Japan’s surrender, Du Pont announced that it would move back to producing stockings and newspaper headlines cheered “Peace, It’s Here! Nylons on Sale!” Du Pont’s announcement indicated that nylons would be available in September and the motto “Nylons by Christmas” was sung everywhere. Du Pont originally forecasted that it would be able to produce 360 million pairs per year but this estimate turned out to be over-aggressive. The resulting production delays led to shortage and as a result, riots broke out.
  
  The first riot occurred in September when a small post-war shipment of stockings went on limited sale around the country. Stores were flooded with mobs of women, clamoring to get their hands on a pair of nylons. The riots then grew in severity. In November, 30,000 women reportedly lined up in New York; 40,000 women in Pittsburgh queued up for a mere 13,000 pairs. A headline in Augusta, Georgia read “Women Risk Life and Limb in Bitter Battle for Nylons” and went on to detail how crowds clamored into the store, knocking down shelves and displays along the way.
  
  News of the riots was all over the papers and magazines. It was declared that no other commodity had ever received as much free advertising in the history of the newspaper industry. The press reported outrageous instances of hair-pulling, hysterical women fighting tooth and nail for a pair of the prized stockings. The shortage persisted into 1946 but by March, Du Pont was finally able to ramp up production and began churning out 30 million pairs of stockings a month. Widespread availability of the stockings ended the period of ‘Nylon Riots’'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
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  - On YouTube: More
  - On YouTube (Nylon): More
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• In 1940, McDonald's opens its first restaurant in San Bernardino, California.
  From Wikipedia: McDonald's is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 68 million customers daily in 119 countries across more than 36,000 outlets. Founded in the United States in 1940, the company began as a barbecue restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald. In 1948, they reorganized their business as a hamburger stand using production line principles. Businessman Ray Kroc joined the company as a franchise agent in 1955. He subsequently purchased the chain from the McDonald brothers and oversaw its worldwide growth'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1942, In the United States, a bill creating the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) is signed into law.
  From Wikipedia: The Women's Army Corps (WAC) was the women's branch of the United States Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) on 15 May 1942 by Public Law 554, and converted to full status as the WAC on 1 July 1943. Its first director get linku.txtwas Oveta Culp Hobby, a prominent society woman in Texas. The WAC was disbanded in 1978, and all units were integrated with male units'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1963, At the 5th Grammy Awards
  - At Wikipedia (5th Grammy Awards): More
  - Record of the Year is 'I Left My Heart in San Francisco' by Tony Bennet
  -- At Wikipedia: I Left My Heart in San Francisco More
  -- On Youtube: I Left My Heart in San Francisco More
  - Album of the Year is 'The First Family' (comedy) by Vaughn Meader.
  -- At Wikipedia: The First Family More
  -- On YouTube: The First Family on More
  - Song of the Year is 'What Kind of Fool Am I?'.
  -- At Wikipedia: What Kind of Fool Am I? More
  -- On YouTube: What Kind of Fool Am I? More
  - Best new Artist is Robert Goulet

Nothing. Looks like I was lazy on this day.

No. 1 song

• Can't Buy Me Love - The Beatles: More
  'Twist and Shout' has been displaced by 'Can't Buy Me Love', which will hold the no. 1 spot until May 16th, when 'Hello, Dolly!', takes over.

Top movie

• The Carpetbaggers More
  Having displaced 'The Pink Panther', it will be there until the weekend box office of May 17 , 1964 when, 'Crack in the World', takes over.

• FamousBirthdays.com: May 15 Birthdays More
• FamousDaily.com: May 15 History More
• History.com: Historical Events on 15th May More
• HistoryOrb.com: Famous Deaths on 15th May More
• On-This-day.com history 15th May More
• On-This-day.com music history 15th May More
• Wikipedia.com: History May 15 More

National Asparagus Month National Barbeque Month National Chocolate Custard Month National Egg Month National Gazpacho Aficionado Month National Hamburger Month National Salad Month National Strawberry Month

May is:

May origin (from Wikipedia):
The month May was named for the Greek goddess Maia, who was identified with the Roman era goddess of fertility, Bona Dea, whose festival was held in May. Conversely, the Roman poet Ovid provides a second etymology, in which he says that the month of May is named for the maiores, Latin for 'elders,' and that the following month (June) is named for the iuniores, or 'young people'

May ' is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days.
May is a month of Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere and spring in the Northern Hemisphere (Summer in Europe). Therefore May in the Southern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent of November in the Northern Hemisphere and vice versa. '

May at Wikipedia: More

If you couldn't afford 90 cents for a movie ticket, 50 years ago, or your 45 RPM record player was broke, you might watch one of these shows on TV.
From this Wikipedia article: More

Best selling books of 1964 More

• Astronomy Picture of the Day: More
• NOAA: - National Hurricane Center - Atlantic Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook: More
• Listen to Old Radio Shows: (streaming mp3 with schedule) More
• NASA TV: (video feed) More
  NASA TV schedule: More
• Public Domain eBook Links

  Sites for downloading or reading free Public Domain eBooks. Available in various formats. More

• Podcast: A Moment of Science. Approximately 1 minute general science facts.
  Home page: More
  RSS: More
• Podcast: The Naked Scientists. Current science, medicine, space and other science
  Home page: More
  RSS: More
• Podcast: Quirks & Quarks. Current science news.
  Home page: More
  RSS: More
• Articles and videos: Universe Today. Current space and astronomy news.
  Home page: More
  RSS: More
• Old Picture of the Day - "Each day we bring you one stunning little glimpse of history in the form of a historical photograph."
  Home page: More
  RSS: More

Below, are listed several holiday sites that I reference in addition to other holiday researches.

US Government Holidays

• 2014 Postal Holidays More
• 2014 Official Federal Holidays More

Holidays Worldwide

• List of holidays by country More
• Holidays and Observances around the World More