What Happened in May?

The first emigrant wagon train, the Bidwell-Bartleson party, departs Independence, Missouri, on a 1,730-mile journey to California, traveling over the Sierra Nevada mountains. This group, consisting of 70 individuals in 15 wagons, faced starvation and exhaustion along the long trip. They way, ultimately arrived in California almost six months later on November 4, 1841. More

Nakahama Manjirō, a 14-year old fisherman arrives to the United States on May 7 1843 by way of a whaling ship. and is considered the U.S first Japanese immigrant, He was called by some, the "U.S.'s first ambassador to Japan", as he went on to become influential in ending Japan’s centuries of isolation. More

The first major wagon train to the northwest via the Oregon Trail leaves Elm Grove, Missouri. About 1,000 people with more than 100 wagons and 1,000 head of cattle, oxen, horses, trailing behind them. The trip of about 2,000 miles lasted five months. The 1843 wagon train was the first of many to follow until 1884 when the railroad provided easier and faster transportation. More

Samuel Morse, inventor of the Telegraph sent the first official telegraph message fulfilling his $30,000 contract with the U.S. government. The text of the first Telegram from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore was "WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT". More

More posts about Morse

The Donner Party disaster - A group of American pioneers led by captain, George Donner traveling from the Midwest to California becomes stranded in the Sierra Nevada mountains during a very harsh winter. Reportedly, the extreme conditions led to cannibalism among those who survived when food ran out. It was the worst disaster of the overland migration to California. Donner Lake and Donner Pass in California, are named for the group. Forty of the 87 who began the trek died from starvation-related causes. The survivors were not rescued until the spring of 1847. More 

The United States declares war on Mexico, beginning the Mexican-American War. More

Wisconsin was admitted to the Union of States and becomes the 30th State.

Future President Abraham Lincoln was granted Patent No. 6,469, for a device called "Buoying Vessels Over Shoals". This invention was a method of lifting boats over shallow water, which was inspired by a trip to Niagara Falls where Lincoln witnessed a boat getting stuck. Lincoln's device used expandable bellows attached to the sides of a boat. These bellows would be inflated to lift the boat over shoals or obstructions. Lincoln was 40 years old at the time. He remains the only U.S. president to ever receive a patent. More

Pro-slavery forces attacked and burned the free-state town of Lawrence, Kansas, in what became known as the "Sacking of Lawrence." More

Minnesota is admitted to the Union and becomes the 32nd State.

Big Ben - The Great Clock starts ticking and the Great Bell's strikes are heard for the first time on July 11.  A brief history of Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower

Abraham Lincoln, a former U.S. Representative from Illinois, secures the Republican Party's nomination for President beating Senator William H. Seward of New York who was considered the front-runner. Lincoln went on to win the 1860 election, becoming the first Republican president. The Republican Party was founded in 1854.

Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell, presented the first color photograph at the Royal Institution. He and photographer Thomas Sutton created the image of a tartan ribbon by taking three separate black and white photographs through red, green, and blue filters and then combining them. This method, based on Maxwell's earlier work, demonstrated that any color could be created by mixing the three primary colors of light. More

North Carolina became the last of the Confederate states to secede rom the United States, triggering the start of the American Civil War.

The Battle of Puebla - An elite French military force led by General Charles de Lorencez headed for Mexico City was stopped at Puebla by an outnumbered Mexican army of 2,000—5,000 led by Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza. The larger French forces, which were experiencing a larger loss of troops withdrew by the end of the day. The victory at the Battle of Puebla rallied the Mexicans, eventually culminating in the complete withdraw of all French forces in 1867 and the capture and execution by firing squad of Emperor, Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, who had been installed in 1864 as emperor of Mexico by Napoleon III. More

President Abraham Lincoln signs the Homestead Act making millions of government owned acres in the west available to "homesteaders". The Act granted 160 acres of surveyed public land to US citizens who agreed to live on and improve the land for five years. The act took effect on January 1, 1863.  Expand +

The Territory of Arizona is created by Congress with Prescott as capital.

Confederate President Jefferson Davis is captured by Union forces in Irwinville, Georgia. General, Robert E. Lee, had surrendered on April 9 at Appomattox in Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant.

The U.S. Congress authorizes the creation of a new American coin: the five-cent piece composed of copper and “not exceeding twenty-five per centum of nickel.” The new coin was quickly nick named the "Nickel". It has been minted every year since then except for 1922, 1932, and 1933.  As of 2020, it costs 7 cents to produce the 5 cents coin. 

Martha Jones of Amelia County, Va., become the first black woman known to receive a United States patent. Her application for an “Improvement to the Corn Husker, Sheller” was granted U.S. patent No. 77,494 in 1868. Jones claimed her invention could husk, shell, cut up, and separate husks from corn in one operation, representing a significant step forward in the automation of agricultural processes. More