History for May 5

History for May 5 - On-This-Day.com:
Soren Kierkegaard 1813 - Philosopher, poet, theologian, Karl Marx 1818 - Socialist writer ("Das Kapital", "The Communist Manifesto"), founder of communism, John B. Stetson 1830 - Hat manufacturer, inventor of cowboy hat


Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochran Seaman) 1865 - Journalist, wrote about taboo subjects for her time period (divorce, poverty, capital punishment, insanity), women’s rights advocate, Christopher Morley 1890 - Writer (New York Evening Post, Saturday Review), novelist, Tammy Wynette (Virginia Wynette Pugh) 1942 - Country singer


1862 - The Battle of Puebla took place. It is celebrated as Cinco de Mayo Day.


1865 - The Thirteenth Amendment was ratified, abolishing slavery in the U.S.


1892 - The U.S. Congress extended the Geary Chinese Exclusion Act for 10 more years. The act required Chinese in the U.S. to be registered or face deportation.


1912 - Soviet Communist Party newspaper Pravda began publishing.


1917 - Eugene Jacques Bullard becomes the first African-American aviator when he earned his flying certificate with the French Air Service.


1925 - John T. Scopes, a biology teacher in Dayton, TN, was arrested for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution.


1945 - A Japanese balloon bomb exploded on Gearhart Mountain in Oregon. A pregnant woman and five children were killed.


1961 - Alan Shepard became the first American in space when he made a 15 minute suborbital flight.