Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis obtained a U.S. patent on May 20, 1873, for the process of putting rivets in men’s work pants for the very first time creating what we now call jeans. More
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What Happened in May?
Battles, revolts, and explorations. Learn about the noteworthy events in May that have taken place throughout the ages. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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The first telephone is installed in the White House on May 10, 1877, during the presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes. The White House phone number was simply "1". This took place about only 14 months after Bell's famous "Mr. Watson, come here" call.
The American Red Cross was founded on May 21, 1881, in Washington, D.C. by Clara Barton and a group of her acquaintances. They were Inspired by the International Red Cross movement in Europe. Barton served as its first president for 23 years. More
The Chinese Exclusion Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882. This act provided an absolute 10-year ban on Chinese laborers immigrating to the United States. It was the first significant law restricting immigration into the United States. More
The Brooklyn Bridge over the East River officially opens, on May 24, 1883, connecting New York City and Brooklyn for the first time in history. The opening ceremony was presided over by President Chester A. Arthur and New York Governor Grover Cleveland.
The bridge, designed by John A. Roebling, with a span of 1,595 feet was the largest suspension bridge ever built to that date and took 14 years to complete. Roebling died as a result of a construction accident, three weeks after the start of the project. The bridge construction was completed by his son, Washington A. Roebling, who took over as Chief Engineer. At least 20 workers were killed during construction, and many more suffered decompression sickness. More
Popular Graphic Arts, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Library of Congress - Catalog: http://lccn.loc.gov/2001702100
The first Ringling Brothers Circus opens on May 19, 1884, in Baraboo, Wisconsin. By the early 20th century it became the leading circus in the U.S. as the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
After a hiatus from 2017 to 2023, it has returned with a reimagined show that features no animals. The circus is now billed as "The Greatest Show on Earth" and includes acts like trapeze, high wire, and teeterboard. More
The Haymarket Square Riot in Chicago, also known as the Haymarket massacre, takes place on on May 4, 1886, as a bomb exploded at a Chicago labor rally, wounding dozens of policemen, seven of whom eventually died.
The event led to the trial and conviction of eight anarchists, some of whom were later executed, despite the lack of definitive evidence of their involvement in the bombing. More
Dr. John Stith Pemberton, a local pharmacist from Atlanta, Georgia, produced the syrup for Coca‑Cola, and on May, 8, 1886, carried a jug of the new product down the street to Jacobs' Pharmacy, where it was mixed with carbonated water and sold at the soda fountain for 5 cents a glass.
The drink was originally intended as a tonic to relieve headaches and fatigues. Dr. Pemberton never realized the potential of the beverage he created. He gradually sold portions of his business and, just prior to his death in 1888, sold his remaining interest in Coca‑Cola to Asa G. Candler. An Atlantan business man. Candler proceeded to buy additional rights and acquire complete control. More
The Hells Canyon Massacre, a mass slaughter of Chinese gold miners by a gang of white horse thieves takes place on May 27, 1887 (some sources quote May 25), in Lewiston, Washington Territory, in what is now Idaho. This was one of many hate crimes perpetrated against Asian immigrants in the American West during this period.
The Panic of 1893, one of the most severe financial crises in the history of the U.S., peaked on May 4, 1893 as the National Cordage Company, which had aggressively expanded and manipulated its stock, collapsed and declared bankruptcy, triggering a depression that lasted until 1897.
The crisis had started earlier in February 1893 when the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad declared bankruptcy, creating early anxiety. On April 27, 1893 the stock market began a sharp decline. This date is cited by some as the start of the panic.
This was followed by The National Cordage Company going into receivership on May 4, causing a massive sell-off. On May 5, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 24%, sparking the main financial panic starting with a slow down of economic activity and a large decline in U.S. Treasury gold reserves, raising the rates of defaults on loans and weakening banks’ balance sheets. Fearing for the safety of their deposits, the public began to withdraw funds from banks. Fear continued to spread and withdrawals accelerated, leading to widespread runs on banks. The economy remained in recession until the following summer. According to some estimates, industrial production fell by 15.3% and unemployment rose as high as 19%. After a brief pause, the economy slumped into recession again in late 1895. It eventually fully recovered in mid-1897. More
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 24%, on May 5, 1893, sparking the main 1893 financial panic. The most serious economic depression in history until the Great Depression of the 1930 resulted in a significant economic downturn in the United States lasting until 1897.
The Panic of 1893 deeply affected every sector of the economy and produced political upheaval that led to the political realignment and the presidency of William McKinley. The panic climaxed with a run on gold from the United States Treasury. Unemployment rates in many states rose above 25% and poverty became widespread. More
Queen Victoria officially opens the Manchester Ship Canal in England to traffic, on May 21, 1894. The 36-mile waterway, linking Manchester to the Irish Sea, became the largest navigation canal in the world and transformed Manchester into a major port.
It was a monumental feat of civil engineering, taking six years to construct and costing £15 million. The Canal had started to allow commercial traffic almost 6 months earlier on January 1, 1894.
The US Supreme Court, (Chief Justice: Melville Weston Fuller) rules, on May 18, 1896, Plessy v. Ferguson by a vote of 7-1, upholding the constitutionality of racial segregation under the doctrine of "separate but equal". This ruling allowed for the continued discrimination against African Americans and solidified Jim Crow laws in the South.
The court reasoned that segregation did not violate the 14th Amendment as long as facilities for both races were equal. Justice John Marshall Harlan was the lone dissenter from the Court's decision, arguing that the Constitution was color-blind and that the United States had no class system. Accordingly, all citizens should have equal access to civil rights. More
The first Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was published, on May 26, 1896,with a daily closing value of 40.94 this average was calculated using the share prices of 12 industrial stocks.
The stocks were: American Cotton Oil, American Sugar, American Tobacco, Chicago Gas, Distilling & Cattle Feeding, General Electric, Laclede Gas, National Lead, North American, Tennessee Coal and Iron, U.S. Leather, and U.S. Rubber. The Index was created by Charles Dow, co-founder of the Wall Street Journal, and his business associate, statistician Edward Jones. Currently, the DJIA tracks the performance of 30 leading U.S. companies, providing a snapshot of the overall stock market.
Connecticut becomes the first state to pass a law limiting motor vehicles speed. The law passed on May 21, 1901 set the maximum speed to 12 mph in cities and 15 mph on country roads.
A little more than two years later, on October 30, 1903, New York City officially adopted the world´s first comprehensive traffic code. titled the "Rules for Driving and the Regulation of Street Traffic". As of the late 1930, a dozen states still had no speed limit, and 28 states did not required a driver's license to operate a motor vehicle.
Martinique's Mount Pelée erupts on May 8, 1902, and destroys the town of Saint-Pierre, killing approximately 30,000 people, 15 percent of the island’s population. in the space of a few minutes. This is considered the worst volcanic disaster of the 20th century. Mount Pelée is still classified as an active volcano.
Cuba gained its independence from the United States and the Cuban Republic is formally established, on May 20, 1902. The United States governed Cuba as a protectorate after the end of the Spanish-American war when Spain ceded Cuba to the U.S. as a protectorate as part of the Treaty of Paris in 1898.
The Second Boer War, the armed conflict between Britain and the two Boer republics of Transvaal and Orange Free State in South Africa, ends on May 31, 1902, with a British victory leading to the signing of the treaty of Vereeniging and the incorporation of the two Boer Republics into the British Empire.
The war was costly for both sides with high casualties and thousands of civilian deaths in concentration camps. More
Image: The Second Boer War, 1899-1902 - Unit of British cavalry or mounted yeomanry crossing a river. This photograph Q 72039 comes from the collections of the Imperial War Museums. (Public domain)
President Theodore Roosevelt travels to San Francisco and his arrival parade on May 12, 1903, is captured on moving-picture film, making him one of the first presidents to have an official activity recorded in that new medium. Video
The U.S. officially acquires jurisdiction over the Panama Canal Zone on May 4, 1904. The U.S had tried and failed to negotiate an agreement with Colombia leading to the United States backing a separatist group in Panama and President Roosevelt dispatching U.S. warships to Panama City (on the Pacific) and Colón (on the Atlantic) in support of Panamanian independence.
Panama declared independence from Colombia on November 3, 1903. A French company was the first to attempt building such a canal, but was unsuccessful and roughly 20,000 workers perished due to accidents and tropical diseases, The company collapsed and was acquired by the U.S. in 1902 after Congress passed the Spooner act, gaining the rights to the land to build the canal. More