Daily Calendar for Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Born

  • Gaspard Monge (mathematician) –
  • Robert Gray (sailor) –
  • John Wilkes Booth (assassin) –
  • Mae Murray (actress) –
  • Max Steiner (composer) –
  • Fred Astaire (actor & dancer) –
  • Maybelle Carter (country musician) –
  • Donovan Leitch (singer) –
  • Bono (singer) –
  • Kenan Thompson (actor) –

Died

  • Paul Revere (patriot) –
  • Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson (Confederate Army general) –
  • Joan Crawford (actress) –
  • Shel Silverstein (poet, author) –
  • David Riesman (author) –

Events

  • Christopher Columbus discovered the Cayman Islands and named them Las Tortugas after the numerous sea turtles there–
  • Louis XVI became King of France–
  • Golden spike linked Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads at Promontory Point, Utah, creating the first continental railroad–
  • Victoria Woodhull became the first woman nominated for President of the United States–
  • The Centennial Exhibition opened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at which Caroline Shawk Brooks displayed her sculpture of a woman’s face made out of butter. The rendering, Dreaming Iolanthe, sparked a movement of serious artistic butter sculpting in America. Butter sculptures remain a popular attraction at state fairs–
  • The Society of American Magicians was founded–
  • Mother’s Day first celebrated in Grafton, West Virginia.–
  • J. Edgar Hoover was appointed head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation–
  • First submerged voyage around world completed by submarine USS Triton–
  • Nelson Mandela sworn in as first black president of South Africa–
  • An earthquake near Ardekul in northeastern Iran killed at least 2,400 people–
  • FBI agent Robert Hanssen was given a life sentence without the possibility of parole for selling American secrets to Moscow–
  • Sonic boom possibly due to meteor, Virginia Beach, Virginia–

Weather

  • Bloomington-Normal and Aurora, Illinois, established a state record for the month of May with morning lows of 21 degrees F–
  • A foot of heavy snow fell on upper Michigan–
  • 14.2 inches of snow fell in Marquette, Michigan–

Explore Other Dates on the Calendar