1652 – John Johnson, a free African American, is granted 550 acres in Northampton, Va.
1752 – Benjamin Franklin tests the lightning conductor with his kite-flying experiment.
1775 – 2nd Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and issues paper currency for 1st time.
1775 – 2nd Continental Congress in Philadelphia names George Washington, supreme commander.
1797 – 1st US Navy ship, the “United States,” is launched.
1837 – Panic of 1937; New York City banks fail, and unemployment reaches record levels.
1865 – US Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis captured by Union troops at Irwinsville, Georgia.
1908 – 1st Mother’s Day observed (Phila)
1917 – Atlantic ships get destroyer escorts to stop German attacks.
1924 – J. Edgar Hoover appointed head of FBI.
1930 – 1st US planetarium opens (Adler-Chicago)
1941 – 66th Preakness: Eddie Arcaro aboard Whirlaway wins in 1:58.8.
1953 – Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Sacramento Golf Open.
1960 – John F. Kennedy wins primary in West Virginia.
1963 – Decca signs Rolling Stones on advice of Beatle George Harrison.
1967 – Hank Aaron only inside the park HR (vs Jim Bunning)
1983 – “Laverne & Shirley” last airs on ABC-TV.
1993 – Bill Walton is inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
1994 – Barbara Streisand begins 1st concert tour in 30 years.
2005 – A hand grenade which was thrown by Vladimir Arutyunian lands about 65 feet (20 metres) from US President George W. Bush while he was giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, but it malfunctions and does not detonate.
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