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. The public and the press quickly embraced the idea, and villages, towns, cities, and states soon began unofficial Mother’s Day observances. On May 8, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating the second Sunday in May Mother’s Day, and within a few years, the idea gained worldwide prominence. The day is now characterized by gift giving, sending greeting cards and flowers, and giving mother a βday offβ by taking the family out to eat.
Daily Calendar for Sunday, May 11, 2025
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 month. English and French folklore (and later American) held that these days would bring a late frost. In Germany, they were called the Icemanner, or Icemen Days, and people believed it was never safe to plant until the Icemen were gone. Another bit of folklore claimed, βWho shears his sheep before St. Gervatius’s Day loves more his wool than his sheep.β
Born
- Chang and Eng Bunker (original Siameseβ twinsβ) β
- Irving Berlin (composer) β
- Margaret Rutherford (actress) β
- Martha Graham (dancer) β
- Salvador Dali (artist) β
- Richard Feynman (physicist) β
- Sheila Burnford (author of The Incredible Journey) β
- Bernard Fox (actor) β
- Doug McClure (actor) β
- Boyd Gaines (actor) β
- Natasha Richardson (actress) β
- Jonathan Jackson (actor) β
- Cory Monteith (actor) β
- Matt Leinart (football player) β
Died
- Sir John Herschel (astronomer) β
- Lex Barker (actor) β
- Lester Flatt (musician) β
- Bob Marley (Reggae musician, founding member of The Wailers) β
- Douglas Adams (science fiction author) β
- Joseph Bonanno (gangster) β
- Doris Eaton Travis (last of the Ziegfeld Follies chorus girls) β
- Norman Lloyd (actor; died at 106 years old) β
Events
- First known dated printed book, Wang Jie’s copy of the Diamond Sutra publishedβ
- Prime Minister Spencer Perceval assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the British House of Commonsβ
- A new dance called The Waltz arrived in English ballroomsβ
- President James Monroe rode on The Savannah to inspect the harbor defenses of Savannah, Georgia, making him the first U.S. president to ride on a steamboatβ
- Minnesota admitted as the 32nd stateβ
- Pullman strike ended in defeat for organized laborβ
- Glacier National Park in Montana establishedβ
- A 20-ton meteor fell to the ground near Blackstone, Virginiaβ
- Siam changed its name to Thailandβ
- Linda McCartney became the first woman photographer to shoot a Rolling Stone coverβ
- The first heart-lung transplant took place in Baltimore, Marylandβ
- After taking off from Miami, FL, a fire started by improperly-handled oxygen canisters in the cargo hold of Atlanta-bound ValuJet Flight 592, and caused the Douglas DC-9 to crash in the Florida Everglades killing all 110 on boardβ
Weather
- A tornado hit Newark, New Jerseyβ
- A strong 2-day dust storm removed massive amounts of topsoil from the Great Plains in one of the worst dust storms of the Dust Bowlβ
- Dust storms darkened skies from Oklahoma to the Atlantic Ocean β
- The Waco Tornado (registering at F5) hit downtown Waco, Texasβ
- Spring snowstorm hit western part of South Dakota. In some areas the snow was accompanied by thunder, lightning, sleet, and hailβ