On 3 May 1898, Goldie Mabovitch – better known as Golda Meir – was born at Kiev, Russia. Meir was prime minister of Israel 1969-74. She died at Jerusalem, 98 December 1978.
Lumpy Rug Day was established to encourage the custom of teasing bigots and trigots for shoving unwelcome facts under the rug. When many cans of worms have been shoved under the rug, the defenders of the status quo obtain a new rug high enough to cover the unwanted facts.
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
National Two Different Colored Shoes Day is a day to recognize and celebrate the uniqueness and diversity of humanity. The simple and lighthearted act of purposely wearing two different colored shoes demonstrates the courage to take a risk and step outside of ones daily routine.
On 4 May 1961, militant students joined James Farmer of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) to conduct freedom rides on public transportation from Washington, DC, across the Deep South to New Orleans. The trips were intended to test Supreme Court decisions and Interstate Commerce Commission regulations prohibiting discrimination in interstate travel. In several places riders were brutally beaten by local people and policemen. On May 14 members of the Ku Klux Klan attacked the Freedom Riders in Birmingham, AL, while local police watched. In Mississippi, Freedom Riders were jailed. They never made it to New Orleans. The rides were patterned after a similar challenge to segregation, the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation, which tested the US Supreme Courts June 3, 1946, ban against segregation in interstate bus travel.
Image: CC 4.0 (Share Alike), via Wikimedia Commons
On 4 May 1886, labor union unrest at Chicago, IL, led to violence when a crowd of unemployed men tried to enter the McCormick Reaper Works, where a strike was under way. Although no one was killed, anarchist groups called a mass meeting in Haymarket Square to avenge the massacre. When the police advanced on the demonstrators, a bomb was thrown and several policemen were killed. Four leaders of the demonstration were hanged, and another committed suicide in jail. Three others were given jail terms. The case aroused considerable controversy around the world.
Image: Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
International Respect for Chickens Day promotes respect and compassion for domestic fowl.
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
On 4 May 1970, four students (Allison Krause, 19; Sandra LeeScheuer, 20; Jeffrey Glenn Miller, 20; and William K. Schroeder, 19) were killed by the National Guard during demonstrations against the VietnamWar at Kent (Ohio) State University.
Image: Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
May 4 – National Weather Observers Day recognizes contributions of those who observe the weather and assist the National Weather Service, often as storm spotters.
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
Star Wars Day is a day celebrated worldwide by fans of the Star Wars series. Fans greet each other by saying May the 4th be with you, have light-saber fights and indulge in other fun connected to the sci-fi world created by George Lucas.
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
Cartoonists Day honors all cartoonists in the industry.
Image: Creative Commons 4.0 via wikimedia commons
Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican national holiday recognizing the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Anniversary is observed by Mexicans everywhere with parades, festivals, dances and speeches.
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
May 5 – Liberation Day in the Netherlands is celebrated to mark the end of World War II and the end of the Nazi occupation.
Image: CC 4.0 International, Wikimedia Commons
On 5 May 1893, Wall Street stock prices took a sudden drop. By the end of the year, 600 banks had closed. The Philadelphia and Reading,the Erie, the Northern Pacific, the Union Pacific and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroads had gone into receivership; 15,000 other businesses went into bankruptcy. Other than the Great Depression of the 1930s, this was the worst economic crisis in US history; 15 20 percent of the workforce was unemployed.
Image: Public Domain
On 6 May 1954, running for the British Amateur Athletic Association in a meet at Oxford University, Roger Bannister broke the four-minute barrier with a time of 3:59.4. Four minutes for a mile at the time was considered not only a physical barrier but also a psychological one.
On 6 May 1937 at 7:20 PM, the dirigible Hindenburg exploded as it approached the mooring mast at Lakehurst, NJ, after a transatlantic voyage. Of its 97 passengers and crew, 36 died in the accident, which ended the dream of mass transportation via dirigible.
Image: Public Domain
On 6 May, Joseph Brackett Day honors the Shaker religious leader, born 6 May 1797, at Cumberland, ME. In 1848 he composed the popular Shaker song Simple Gifts (also known as Tis the Gift to Be Simple) while at the Shaker community in Alfred, ME. This Shaker dance song became known worldwide after Aaron Copland used it in his score for the ballet Appalachian Spring in 1944. Elder Joseph Brackett died at New Gloucester, ME, 4July 1882.
May 6 12. National Nurses Week is a week to honor the outstanding efforts of nurses everywhere to strengthen the health of the nation. Annually, beginning May 6, National Nurses Day, and ending May 12, Florence Nightingales birthday.
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
A day to stop dieting and/ or stop hazardous weight-loss attempts. No Diet Day celebrates a paradigm shift to the diet-free healthy-living approach to health and well-being, to acceptance and respect for oneself and others.
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
On 6 May 1915, actor and director Orson Welles was born at Kenosha, WI. Citizen Kane, which he directed and in which he played the title role, is one of the most influential films ever made. Other films in which he had a role include The Third Man and The Magnificent Ambersons. Welles died at Los Angeles, CA, 10 Oct 1985.
6 May 1856, the Austrian physician Sigmund Freud was born at Freiberg, Moravia. Founder of psychoanalysis, Freud died at London, England, 23 Sept 1939.
On 7 May 1824, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in D Minor was performed for the first time at Vienna, Austria. Known as the Choral because of his use of voices in symphonic form for the first time, the Ninth was his musical interpretation of Schiller’s Ode to Joy. Beethoven was completely deaf when he composed it, and it was said a soloist had to tug on his sleeve when the performance was over to get him to turn around and see the enthusiastic response he could not hear.
On 7 May 1915, the British passenger liner Lusitania, on its return trip from New York to Liverpool, carrying nearly 2,000 passengers, was torpedoed by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland, sinking within minutes; 1,198 lives were lost. US president Woodrow Wilson sent a note of protest to Berlin on May 13, but Germany, which had issued a warning in advance, pointed to Lusitania’s cargo of ammunition for Britain. The US maintained its neutrality for the time being.
Image:CC BY-SA 3.0 de, Bundesarchiv DVM 10 Bild-23-61-17, Untergang der “Lusitania”
To pay tribute to American educators, sponsored by the National Education Association, Teacher Day falls during the National PTAs Teacher Appreciation Week. Local communities and organizations are encouraged to use this opportunity to honor those who influence and inspire the next generation through their work. Annually, the Tuesday of the first full week in May.
8 May 1945. Victory in Europe Day commemorates unconditional surrender of Germany to Allied forces. The surrender document was signed by German representatives at General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s headquarters at Reims to become effective, and hostilities to end, at one minute past midnight May 9, 1945, which was 9: 01 PM, EDT, on May 8 in the US. President Harry S Truman on May 8 declared May 9, 1945, to be V-E Day, but it later came to be observed on May 8. A separate German surrender to the USSR was signed at Karlshorst, near Berlin, May 8.
Image: Public Domain
9 May 1941. During WWII, when a German U-110 submarine attacked a British convoy, two British vessels, the Bulldog and Aubretia, were able to retaliate so quickly with depth charges that the submarine was disabled and unable to dive. With the submarine captured, British sailors investigated the radio room and discovered the typewriter-like Enigma, a ciphering machine that enabled safe German communication, and documents of tables that helped explain how it worked. The U-110 s capture was kept secret, and British cryptographers used this break to begin unraveling German code during the war.
Image: CC 3.0, Germany-Bundesarchiv
