INDIANAPOLIS (Tuesday, May 18, 2021) – Chart-topping, platinum-selling country recording artist Jimmie Allen will perform the national anthem before the start of the 105th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 30 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Allen will sing “The Star-Spangled […]

1640s 1642: MONTREAL, QUEBEC, FOUNDED 1870s BORN 1872: BERTRAND RUSSELL (PHILOSOPHER & MATHEMATICIAN) 1890s BORN 1897: FRANK CAPRA (DIRECTOR) 1910s 1910: MASSES FEARED THE END OF THE WORLD DURING PASSAGE OF HALLEY’S COMET BORN 1912: PERRY COMO (SINGER) 1917: U.S. SELECTIVE DRAFT ACT PASSED 1920s […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948 – May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer, songwriter and actress. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the “Queen of Disco”, while her music gained a global following. While influenced […]

SHAVUOT BEGINS Shavuot 2021 begins at sundown on Sunday, May 16, and concludes at nightfall on Tuesday, May 18. Called the Feast of the Weeks in the Jewish calendar, Shavuot is a two-day holiday that was originally a harvest festival. It’s also a thanksgiving day to commemorate the […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Many nations around the world observe some kind of Armed Forces Day to honor their military forces. This day is not to be confused with Veterans Day or Memorial Day. United States In the United States, Armed Forces Day is celebrated on the third Saturday in May. It falls near the […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Henry John Heinz (October 11, 1844 – May 14, 1919) was an American entrepreneur who, at the age of 25, co-founded a small horseradish concern in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania. This business failed, but his second business expanded into tomato ketchup and other condiments, and ultimately became the internationally known H. J. […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He reigned as the world […]

1360s 1364: THE OLDEST UNIVERSITY IN POLAND, JAGIELLONIAN UNIVERSITY, WAS FOUNDED 1820s BORN 1820: FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE (NURSE) 1870s 1870: MANITOBA ACT PASSED, APPROVING MANITOBA TO BECOME A CANADIAN PROVINCE 1880s 1888: CHARLES SHERRILL FIRST DEMONSTRATED A CROUCHING START FOR SPRINTERS DIED 1889: JOHN CADBURY (CHOCOLATE […]

THREE CHILLY SAINTS May 11, 12, and 13 are the feast days of Saints Mamertus, Pancras, and Gervais. These three are known as the Three Chilly Saints not because they were cold during their lifetimes, but because these days are traditionally the coldest of the […]

1500s 1503: CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS DISCOVERED THE CAYMAN ISLANDS AND NAMED THEM LAS TORTUGAS AFTER THE NUMEROUS SEA TURTLES THERE 1740s BORN 1746: GASPARD MONGE (MATHEMATICIAN) 1750s BORN 1755: ROBERT GRAY (SAILOR) 1770s 1774: LOUIS XVI BECAME KING OF FRANCE 1810s DIED 1818: PAUL REVERE (PATRIOT) […]

MOTHER’S DAY Although the custom of setting aside a day to honor mothers has ancient roots, our observance of Mother’s Day originated in 1907 with the efforts of a devoted daughter, Anna M. Jarvis of Philadelphia, who conceived the idea of an annual nationwide celebration. […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by The Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton and was bought out by businessman Asa Griggs Candler, whose marketing tactics led Coca-Cola to its […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS The American Medical Association (AMA), founded in 1847 and incorporated in 1897, is the largest association and lobby group of physicians—both MDs and DOs—and medical students in the United States. The AMA’s stated mission is “to promote the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health.” The Association […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Willie Howard Mays Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed “The Say Hey Kid“, is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He spent almost all of his 22-season Major League Baseball (MLB) career playing for the New York/San Francisco Giants (1951–1952, 1954–1972) before finishing his career with the New York […]

CINCO DE MAYO On the fifth of May, we celebrate Cinco de Mayo, the commemoration of Mexico’s victory over the French at the Battle of the Puebla in 1862. France’s Napoleon III wanted to establish a French empire in Mexico. On May 5, 1862, his […]

1780s 1780: AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES INCORPORATED, IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 1784: FIRST GENERAL MEETING OF THE SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI, IN PHILADELPHIA 1790s BORN 1796: HORACE MANN (AMERICAN EDUCATOR) 1880s 1886: HAYMARKET AFFAIR, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 1920s BORN 1929: AUDREY HEPBURN (ACTRESS) 1950s BORN […]

1650s 1654: FIRST TOLL BRIDGE (TOLL FOR ANIMALS BEGAN), ROWLEY, MASSACHUSETTS 1800s 1802: WASHINGTON, D.C., WAS INCORPORATED AS A CITY 1850s DIED 1856: ADOLPHE CHARLES ADAM (COMPOSER) 1900s BORN 1903: BING CROSBY (SINGER) BORN 1906: MARY ASTOR (ACTRESS) 1910s 1915: “JOHN MCCRAE WROTE POEM “IN […]

ORTHODOX EASTER Celebration of Easter by Orthodox Christians around the world following the Julian calendar. See how Easter dates are calculated at www.Almanac.com/easter 1510s DIED 1519: LEONARDO DA VINCI (ARTIST) 1670s 1670: HUDSON’S BAY CO. CHARTERED 1840s 1843: FIRST PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST […]

KENTUCKY DERBY America’s most famous horse race, the Kentucky Derby, has been held continuously since 1875 at Louisville, Kentucky, and has become one of the country’s largest civic celebrations (and betting opportunity). Not bad when you consider that the event lasts only two minutes! Modeled […]

NATIONAL ARBOR DAY “Arbor Day is not like other holidays. Each of those reposes on the past, while Arbor Day proposes for the future.” These are the words of J. Sterling Morton, the originator of the Arbor Day idea. He was among the many pioneers […]