May 14: Facts & Historical Events On This Day

2013 Dan Brown released his fourth novel in the Da Vinci Code series, Inferno, an instant success.

1986 The Netherlands Institute for War Documentation published Anne Frank’s complete diary.

1978 The rockumentary film featuring The Who titled “Kids Are All Right” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

1973 The USA’s first space station, Skylab, was launched into Earth’s orbit.

Skylab was launched atop a modified Saturn V rocket, with the launch itself commonly referred to as Skylab 1. Both the launch and deployment of Skylab were a little bit of a disaster, with multiple parts of the station sustaining damage. Nevertheless, Skylab saw three astronaut crews live aboard it between 1973 and 1979 when it was de-orbited.

1964 Underground America Day was first observed, which recognizes the approximately 6,000 people who live in some form of underground architecture across North America.

1948 Israel declared independence from the British administration.

1942 The US Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was formed.

After the Senate approved the bill, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the bill into law. He set a recruitment goal of 25,000 the first year, which WAAC topped by November.

1938 The Adventures of Robin Hood, directed by Michael Curtiz, William Keighley, and starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland, was released.

1932 We Want Beer! parade was held.

The parade, held in New York City, was put together by the city's mayor, Jimmy Walker. It was originally called the Beer for Taxation march. However, it was popularly called the We Want Beer parade.

1918 The ban on Sunday baseball was lifted in Washington, D.C., making it the 3rd city to do so.

1796 Edward Jenner, an English country doctor, gave the first vaccination against smallpox.

1787 Delegates started to gather in Philadelphia to draw up the US constitution.

On this day, only a small amount of the representatives actually gathered, and the actual meeting had to be pushed back by 11 days to ensure there was enough representation of the states.

1607 Settlers funded by the Virginia Company of London established Jamestown.

Jamestown was the first permanent British settlement in North America. The settlers, led by Captain John Smith, struggled through their first years battling famine, drought, and conflicts with neighboring Native American tribes.