The FDA approved the first birth control pill in 1960, Thomas Blood attempted to steal the British Crown Jewels in 1671, and Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa in 1994. Other events include the impeachment hearings for Richard Nixon, the declaration of Mother’s Day as a national holiday, and Louis Armstrong knocking the Beatles off the top spot on the music charts in 1964. James M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan, was born in 1860.
The FDA approved the first birth control pill. (1960) FDA approved Enovid-10, the first commercially manufactured birth control pill to this day; it hit the market soon after, sparking a sexual revolution for American women.
Thomas Blood attempted to steal the British Crown Jewels. (1671) Thomas Blood, an adventurer who preferred to be known as “Captain Blood”, attempted to steal the Crown Jewels while dressed as a priest. He actually took the jewels and ran off with them, but was quickly caught. He was later pardoned by the king and given a large amount of land in Ireland.
Admiral Byrd would fly over the North Pole. (1926) Byrd and a co-pilot, Floyd Bennett, made a flight they believed would take them over the North Pole. The flight was disputed when Byrd’s journal came out with contradicting information, and it is more likely that the very first flight over the North Pole was made by Roald Amundsen, another Arctic explorer.
Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa. (1994) Mandela had spent most of his life fighting apartheid discrimination, and spent many years in prison for his protests. When apartheid finally ended, he became the country’s first black president.
The impeachment hearings for Richard Nixon began. (1974) Outrage over the Watergate scandal was still strong when the House Judiciary Committee opened impeachment hearings. When it became clear that Nixon would be impeached, he resigned in August of that year.
Mother’s Day has been declared a national holiday. (1914) President Woodrow Wilson created Mother’s Day, an idea first suggested by Julia Ward Howe in the late 1800s. Although states had their own individual Mother’s Days, the holiday went national on this day.
Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show has opened in London. (1887) The play was tremendously popular in the United States and continued to receive rave reviews in Europe: Queen Victoria saw it twice. The show itself has been hugely influential in determining how the world thinks about cowboys, even if it wasn’t particularly accurate.
West Germany joined NATO. (1955) It was considered a great victory for the West, as it was the final step of West German integration into the Western defense system. However, it delved into the divide between East and West Germany and, by proxy, the United States and the USSR in the Cold War.
Louis Armstrong knocked the Beatles off the top spot on the music charts. (1964) The Beatles’ I Want to Hold Your Hand was the number one album for over three and a half months straight. Armstrong’s show tune Hello Dolly finally ended the record-breaking run on this day.
James M. Barrie is born. (1860) Barrie is best known for being the author of Peter Pan, although he has published many other works, including short stories and a novel. Shortly before his death, Barrie gave the rights to Peter Pan to Great Ormond Street Hospital in Scotland, a children’s hospital that receives much of its funding from the rights to the show.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
