Born On This Day:

• Sir Henry Percy (Hotspur), 1364
• Dolly Madison, 1768
• Honoré de Balzac, 1799
• John Stuart Mill, 1806
• Henri Rousseau, 1844
• John Jacob Astor (Baron Astor), 1886
• Adela Rogers St. Johns, 1894
• Jimmy Stewart, 1908
• Moshe Dayan, 1915
• Lord Harlech, 1918
• George Gobel, 1919
• Constance Towers, 1933
• Joe Cocker, 1944
• Cher, 1946
• Ronald Prescott Reagan, 1958
• Bronson Pinchot, 1959

Died On This Day:

• Christopher Columbus, 1506
• Marquis de Lafayette, 1834
• John Clare, 1864
• Sir Max Beerbohm, 1956
• Dame Barbara Hepworth, 1975
• Gilda Radner, 1989
• Jean-Pierre Rampal, 2000
• Stephen Jay Gould, 2002
• Robin Gibb, 2012

Today's Events:

• 1498 - Vasco da Gama and his Voyage of Discovery reaches India at the Port of Calicut.
• 1862 - Homestead Act passed; any head of family can win 160 acres public land by working it for 5 years.
• 1867 - Foundation stone at Royal Albert Hall, London, laid by Queen Victoria.
• 1895 - U.S. income tax declared unconstitutional. Would that it were.
• 1899 - First driver convicted of speeding down Lexington Avenue in N.Y. He was going 12 m.p.h.
• 1910 - World's record of nine reigning monarchs join parade in London at funeral procession of Edward VII.
• 1919 - Volcano eruption in central Java kills over 16,000.
• 1925 - HQ for the Chamber of Commerce of the United States dedicated in Washington D.C.
• 1927 - Charles Lindbergh, 25, takes off in first solo non-stop flight to Paris from Long Island, N.Y.
• 1939 - Airmail transatlantic service inaugurated by Pan Am's Yankee Clipper, NY-Lisbon.
• 1956 - Americans drop hydrogen bomb over Bikini atoll.
• 1961 - White mob attacks busload of Freedom Fighters in Montgomery AL; US marshals sent to restore order.
• 1969 - In bloodiest battle of Vietnam War, US and South Vietnamese capture Hamburger Hill (Mount Apbia).
• 1977 - Original Orient Express makes its last journey between Paris and Istanbul.
• 1990 - Hubble Space Telescope sends first photos back to earth.
• 1993 - 93 million tune in as TV Series 'Cheers' plays last episode on NBC Television after 11 seasons.
• 1995 - President Clinton bans traffic on Pennsylvania Ave in front of White House after incidents.

Feast Day of Saint:

• Ethelbert of the East Angles
• Bernardine of Siena

Holiday:

• Independence Day Cuba (1902)
• Day of Manjrishri

Non-Specific Holiday:

• VESAK (Commemoration of birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha) celebrated Southeast Asia.
• MOTHER'S DAY (U.S.), second Sunday in May
• FESTIVAL OF JOAN OF ARC in France, second Sunday in May
• MEMORIAL DAY (U.S.), Last Monday in May
• PROCESSION OF THE HOLY BLOOD in Belgium on first Monday after May 2.
• TANO FESTIVAL (Korea) on 5th day of 5th lunar month.
• TUAN WU CHIEH or Dragon Boat Festival (China) 5th day of 5th lunar month.
• ASCENSION DAY (Christian) 40th day after Easter.
• PENTACOST (Christian) or Whitsunday (Anglican) 50 days after Easter.
• TRINITY SUNDAY (Christian), Sunday after Pentecost.
• CORPUS CHRISTI (Christian), Thursday after Trinity Sunday.
• I'D AL-HAJJ, Muslim Festival
• ARANYA SHASHTI, Hindu Festival honoring god of the forest
• BUDDHA PURNIMA, Hindu Festival, celebrated early May
• GANGA DASSHERA, Hindu Festival, celebrated end of May
• ARMED FORCES DAY in US - third Saturday in May
• NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER in US - first Thursday in May
• NATIONAL DEFENSE TRANSPORTATION DAY - third Friday in May in US
• NATIONAL TEACHER'S DAY - Tuesday in the first full week in May in US
• VICTORIA DAY - first Monday before May 25, celebrating Queen Victoria's birthday in Canada
• WESAK FESTIVAL celebrated in the eastern hemisphere at the Taurus full moon, beginning of May
• GOODWILL FESTIVAL celebrated at the Gemini full moon, end of May