President Harry S. Truman led the effort to establish a single holiday for citizens to come together and thank our military members for their patriotic service in support of our country. On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force Days. The single day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under the Department of Defense and is observed on the third Saturday in May.
Daily Calendar for Saturday, May 15, 2027
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Daily Calendar
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Saturday, May 15, 2027
Born
- L. Frank Baum (author) –
- Williamina Fleming (astronomer) –
- Pierre Curie (chemist) –
- Katherine Anne Porter (novelist) –
- George Brett (baseball player) –
- Emmitt Smith (football player) –
- Rod Smith (football player) –
- Josh Beckett (baseball player) –
- Andy Murray (tennis player) –
Died
- Emily Dickinson (poet) –
- June Carter Cash (singer) –
- Jerry Falwell –
- Barbara Stuart (actress) –
Events
- English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold arrived at Shoal Hope in what is now Massachusetts. They caught so many cod there they renamed it Cape Cod –
- Johannes Kepler verified his Third Law of Planetary Motion –
- James Puckle was granted a patent for his Defence Gun, the world’s first rapid-fire gun –
- The Baily’s Beads solar eclipse phenomenon was first described –
- Rain and fish fell from the sky in Olneyville, Rhode Island. Most of the fish measured 2- to 4-inches long. –
- Mickey Mouse made his first appearance, in a test screening for the short film Plane Crazy –
- Ellen Church became the first airline stewardess, at Boeing Air Transport –
- Maurice and Richard McDonald opened McDonald’s Barbeque, a precursor restaurant to their McDonald’s hamburger chain, in San Bernadino, California. –
- First live TV pictures received from a U.S. spacecraft, (Faith 7) –
- Governor George Wallace of Alabama was shot –
- Boston Red Sox player Manny Ramirez hit his 400th home run –
- Four bear cubs playing on a backyard trampoline was caught on video in Avon, Connecticut –
Weather
- Thirty-six inches of snow, Haverhill, New Hampshire –
- Ninety-two degrees F at Portland, Oregon –
- 94 degrees F in Theilman, Minnesota –
- 85 degrees F, Olympia and Seattle, Washington –