Madeline Albright

1937

Madeleine Albright, America’s first female secretary of state, is born

Born on This Day

2011 Search For Common Ground Awards

Diane Nash

1938 -

Civil rights activist who organized nonviolent sit-ins and Freedom Rides that led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964.

Photographer Richard Avedon

Richard Avedon

1923 - 2004

Pioneering photographer known for his striking black-and-white portraits that captured the energy of 20th-century fashion, politics and subcultures.

ABC's "Dancing With The Stars" 200th Episode Red Carpet

Emmitt Smith

1969 -

Legendary running back, mostly for the Dallas Cowboys. All-time best rusher in NFL history.

Diane Nash

Getty Images

Richard Avedon

Getty Images

Emmitt Smith

Getty Images

1928

MAY

15

Before "Steamboat Willie," Mickey Mouse debuts in a test screening of "Plane Crazy." The six-minute silent short animation shows Mickey piloting a plane with Minnie, who escapes his advances by parachuting away using her bloomers.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on May 15th

1765

Parliament passes the Quartering Act

On May 15, 1765, Parliament passes the Quartering Act, outlining the locations and conditions in which British soldiers are to find room and board in the American colonies. The Quartering Act of 1765 required the colonies to house British soldiers in barracks provided by the colonies. If the barracks were too small to house all […]

2:14m read read

1800

President John Adams orders federal government to Washington, D.C.

On May 15, 1800, President John Adams orders the federal government to pack up and leave Philadelphia and set up shop in the nation’s new capital in Washington, D.C. After Congress adjourned its last meeting in Philadelphia on May 15, Adams told his cabinet to make sure Congress and all federal offices were up and […]

0:58m read read

1941

First Allied jet-propelled aircraft flies

On May 15, 1941, the jet-propelled Gloster-Whittle E 28/39 aircraft flies successfully over Cranwell, England, in the first test of an Allied aircraft using jet propulsion. The aircraft’s turbojet engine, which produced a powerful thrust of hot air, was devised by Frank Whittle, an English aviation engineer and pilot generally regarded as the father of […]

1942

Ronald Reagan applies for transfer to Army Air Force

On May 15, 1942, Lieutenant Ronald Reagan, a cavalry officer, applies for reassignment to the Army Air Force, where he would eventually put his thespian background to use on World War II propaganda films. The transfer was approved on June 9, 1942, and Reagan was given a job as a public relations officer for the […]

1:16m read read

1942

Legislation creating the Women’s Army Corps becomes law

On May 15, 1942, a bill establishing a women’s corps in the U.S. Army becomes law, creating the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAACs) and granting women official military status. In May 1941, Representative Edith Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts, the first congresswoman ever from New England, introduced legislation that would enable women to serve in the […]

1:56m read read

1942

Seventeen states put gasoline rationing into effect

On May 15, 1942, gasoline rationing begins in 17 Eastern states as an attempt to help the American war effort during World War II. By the end of the year, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had ensured that mandatory gasoline rationing was in effect in all 48 states. America had been debating its entrance into World […]

2:14m read read

1948

A three-year-old’s brutal murder begins an unusual investigation

On May 15, 1948, 3-year-old June Devaney, recovering from pneumonia at Queen’s Park Hospital in Blackburn, England, is kidnapped from her bed. Nurses discovered her missing at 1:20 a.m. the next day, and police were immediately summoned to investigate. Two hours later, her body was found with multiple skull fractures. The medical examiner determined that […]

1:36m read read

1972

Alabama governor George Wallace shot

During an outdoor rally in Laurel, Maryland, George Wallace, the governor of Alabama and a presidential candidate, is shot by 21-year-old Arthur Bremer. Three others were wounded, and Wallace was permanently paralyzed from the waist down. The next day, while fighting for his life in a hospital, he won major primary victories in Michigan and […]

2:44m read read

1976

Young woman and her married lover arrested for killing her family

Patricia Columbo and Frank DeLuca are arrested for the brutal slaying of Columbo’s parents and brother in Elk Grove, Illinois. Twenty-year-old Columbo had left her family home two years earlier to live with DeLuca, a 36-year-old married man. The pair later killed Frank, Mary and Michael Columbo in order to receive the family inheritance, unaware […]

2:00m read read

1982

“Ebony And Ivory” begins a seven-week run at #1 on the pop charts

On May 15, 1982, “Ebony And Ivory” takes the top spot in the Billboard Hot 100 , holding the spot for seven weeks. Recorded as a duet with the great Stevie Wonder, it was the biggest hit record of Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles career. McCartney had been a fan of Stevie Wonder’s for many years before […]

1:22m read read

1988

Soviets begin withdrawal from Afghanistan

More than eight years after they intervened in Afghanistan to support the procommunist government, Soviet troops begin their withdrawal. The event marked the beginning of the end to a long, bloody, and fruitless Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. In December 1979, Soviet troops first entered Afghanistan in an attempt to bolster the communist, pro-Soviet government threatened […]

1:40m read read

2009

GE finally initiates cleanup of polluted Hudson River

After decades of environmental damage and legal wrangling, General Electric finally begins its government-mandated efforts to clean the Hudson River on May 15, 2009. One of America’s largest and most prestigious corporations, GE had dumped harmful chemicals into the river for years and spent a fortune trying to avoid the cleanup. GE’s plants at Hudson […]

1:44m read read

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