(1830) Passenger rail service begins in USHorse-drawn rail coaches begin scheduled runs on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad between Baltimore, Maryland, and Ellicott’s Mills, Maryland. Three months later, after a rail race between the ‘Tom Thumb’ steam engine and a horse-drawn car, steam-powered travel will come to the route.The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which would have connected Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. At first this railroad was located entirely in the state of Maryland with an original line from the port of Baltimore west to Sandy Hook. At this point to continue westward, it had to cross into Virginia over the Potomac River, adjacent to the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. From there it passed through Virginia from Harpers Ferry to a point just west of the junction of Patterson Creek and the North Branch Potomac River where it crossed back into Maryland to reach Cumberland. From there it was extended to the Ohio River at Wheeling and a few years later also to Parkersburg, West Virginia.
Founded: 1827 Headquarters: Baltimore, MD Founders: William Patterson · John W. Garrett
wiki/Baltimore_and_Ohio_Railroad(1883) The East River’s Brooklyn Bridge is open to trafficA neo-Gothic bridge connecting Manhattan to Brooklyn is officially opened amid fireworks and naval gun salutes. The mayors of the two boroughs, and President Chester Arthur, make the trip across the Brooklyn Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in the world.The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/suspension bridge in New York City and is one of the oldest bridges of either type in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River. It has a main span of 1,595.5 feet and was the first steel-wire suspension bridge constructed. It was originally referred to as the New York and Brooklyn Bridge and as the East River Bridge, but it was later dubbed the Brooklyn Bridge, a name coming from an earlier January 25, 1867, letter to the editor of the The Brooklyn Daily Eagle and formally so named by the city government in 1915. Since opening, it has become an icon of New York City and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964 and a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1972.
Address: Brooklyn Brg, New York, NY 10038 Opened: May 24, 1883 Length: 5,988 feet (1,825 m) Width: 85′ 4″ (26 m) Longest span: 1,595 feet (486.30 m) Clearance below: 135 feet (41 m)
wiki/Brooklyn_Bridge(1956) First broadcast of continental crooning competition Celebrating the new sensation of TV as much as songwriting and singing, the Eurovision Song Contest debuts in Switzerland as seven European nations vie for the top tune. Swiss singer Lys Assia will win the inaugural contest. In decades to come, the increasingly spectacular show will be seen by as many as 600 million viewers annually.The Eurovision Song Contest is the longest-running annual international TV song competition, held, primarily, among the member countries of the European Broadcasting Union since 1956. The competition was based upon the existing Sanremo Music Festival held in Italy since 1951.
Episode duration: 120 minutes First episode: May 24, 1956 Creator: Marcel Bezençon
wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest(1991) ‘Thelma and Louise’ get on the roadRidley Scott’s road movie starring Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis hits theaters. It will become an iconic feminist film as well as a commercial success. The movie will also put one of its supporting actors on the road to superstardom.Louise is working in a diner as a waitress and has some problems with her boyfriend Jimmy, who, as a musician, is always on the road. Thelma is married to Darryl who likes his wife to stay quiet in the kitchen so that he can watch football on TV. One day they decide to break out of their normal life and jump in the car and hit the road. Their journey, however, turns into a flight when Louise kills a man who threatens to rape Thelma. They decide to go to Mexico, but soon they are hunted by American police.
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0103074 Release date: May 24, 1991 (United States) Director: Ridley Scott Gross revenue: $45.40 million USD Screenwriter: Callie Khouri Awards: Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay · Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay · Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay · National Board of Review Award for Best Actress · National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor · David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actress · London Film Critics’ Circle Award for Director of the Year Music by: Hans Zimmer
(1701) Infamous privateer and possible pirate executedOnce a pirate hunter of great repute, and now convicted of piracy and treason himself, Scottish sailor Captain William Kidd is hung in London, his body then gibbeted over the River Thames as a gruesome warning to other would-be pirates.William Kidd, also Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd was a Scottish sailor who was tried and executed for piracy after returning from a voyage to the Indian Ocean. Some modern historians deem his piratical reputation unjust.
Born: 1645 · Dundee, Scotland Died: May 23, 1701 · Wapping, United Kingdom Romance: Elizabeth Kidd · Sarah Kidd Children: Sarah Latham (Daughter) · Elizabeth Troup (Daughter) · Henry Rousby (Son) · William Rousby (Son) · Christopher Rousby (Son) Parents: John Kyd (Father) · Bessie Kidd
Highlights
1691: On 16 May 1691, Kidd married Sarah Bradley Cox Oort, an English woman in her early twenties, who had already been twice widowed and was one of the wealthiest women in New York, largely because of her inheritance from her first husband.
1696: In September 1696, Kidd weighed anchor and set course for the Cape of Good Hope.
1697: Kidd killed one of his own crewmen on 30 October 1697.
1698: On 1 April 1698, Kidd reached Madagascar.
1701: He was hanged on 23 May 1701, at Execution Dock, Wapping, in London.
1701: William Kidd died on May 23, 1701 in Wapping, United Kingdom.
wiki/William_Kidd(1873) North-West Mounted Police patrol the provincesRiflemen on horseback are needed to maintain order in Canada’s newly acquired North-West Provinces, so the ‘North-West Mounted Rifles’ are founded. US officials will be wary of the militaristic name, so the force is renamed the North-West Mounted Police and, later, the ‘Royal Canadian Mounted Police.’The North-West Mounted Police was a Canadian police force. It was established in 1873, and in 1904 the name was changed to Royal Northwest Mounted Police. In 1920 it merged with the Dominion Police to become the current Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Founded: 1873
wiki/North-West_Mounted_Police(1934) Notorious outlaw couple gunned down in LouisianaA stolen Ford Deluxe is met with a hail of bullets as it passes an ambush of lawmen lying in wait on a rural highway in Louisiana’s Bienville Parish. Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow’s car is hit by 130 rounds, and the FBI’s most wanted criminals are brought down after a 2-year manhunt.Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Chestnut Barrow a.k.a. Clyde Champion Barrow were American criminals who traveled the central United States with their gang during the Great Depression, robbing people and killing when cornered or confronted. At times, the gang included his older brother Buck Barrow and his wife Blanche, Raymond Hamilton, W. D. Jones, Joe Palmer, Ralph Fults, and Henry Methvin. Their exploits captured the attention of the American public during the “Public Enemy Era,” between 1931 and 1935. Though known today for their dozen-or-so bank robberies, the two preferred to rob small stores or rural gas stations. The gang is believed to have killed at least nine police officers and several civilians. The couple were eventually ambushed and killed by law officers near the town of Sailes, in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. Their reputation was revived and cemented in American pop folklore by Arthur Penn’s 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde. wiki/Bonnie_and_Clyde(1969) The Who release rock opera ‘Tommy’The Who release the double-album rock opera ‘Tommy’—the story of a ‘deaf, dumb, and blind’ boy who finds redemption through pinball and becomes a spiritual leader. The album will go on to sell tens of millions of copies and be adapted as a film and a stage musical.Tommy is the fourth studio album by the English rock band The Who, a double album first released in May 1969. The album was mostly composed by guitarist Pete Townshend as a rock opera that tells the story about a deaf, dumb and blind boy, including his experiences with life and his relationship with his family.
Release year: 1969 Genre: Rock, Classic Rock Label: Geffen Artists: The Who · London Symphony Orchestra Adaptations: Tommy (1975) · The Who’s Tommy Awards: Grammy Hall of Fame · Grammy Award for Best Recording Package
(1843) The Great Emigration wagon trains head westSome 1,000 pioneers begin their journey to America’s West Coast via the Oregon Trail, a 2,200-mile wagon road spanning half a continent from the Missouri River to the Willamette Valley in the future state of Oregon. Upwards of 400,000 more emigrants will follow its wheel ruts west in the coming decades.The Oregon Trail is a 2,170-mile historic east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of the future state of Kansas, and nearly all of what are now the states of Nebraska and Wyoming. The western half of the trail spanned most of the future states of Idaho and Oregon.
Established: 1843 Managed by: National Park Service
wiki/Oregon_Trail(1960) Strongest earthquake ever recorded slams ChileA magnitude 9.5 earthquake, the most powerful in recorded history, rocks the southern coast of Chile for more than 10 minutes, killing thousands, causing massive landslides, triggering volcanic eruptions, and spawning tsunamis so enormous that they cause 61 deaths in Hawaii.The 1960 Valdivia earthquake or Great Chilean earthquake of 22 May is the most powerful earthquake ever recorded. Various studies have placed it at 9.4–9.6 on the moment magnitude scale. It occurred in the afternoon, and lasted approximately 10 minutes. The resulting tsunami affected southern Chile, Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, eastern New Zealand, southeast Australia and the Aleutian Islands.
Fatalities: 5,700 Date: May 22, 1960
wiki/1960_Valdivia_earthquake(1980) A recreation revolution begins with a game that gobblesJapanese company Namco introduces ‘Puck Man,’ an arcade maze game based on the idea of eating. Introduced months later to the US and renamed ‘Pac-Man,’ it will grow in popularity to become the most famous, most profitable, and some say most influential, arcade video game ever released.Pac-Man, stylized as PAC-MAN, is an arcade game developed by Namco and first released in Japan in May 1980. It was created by Japanese video game designer Toru Iwatani. It was licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway and released in October 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, and an icon of 1980s popular culture. Upon its release, the game—and, subsequently, Pac-Man derivatives—became a social phenomenon that yielded high sales of merchandise and inspired a legacy in other media, such as the Pac-Man animated television series and the top-ten hit single “Pac-Man Fever”. Pac-Man was popular in the 1980s and 1990s and is still played in the 2010s.
Release date: May 22, 1980 Developer: Namco Publishers: Namco · Midway Games · Bandai Namco Entertainment Designer: Toru Iwatani Platforms: Arcade game · Apple II ESRB rating: E for Everyone
wiki/Pac-Man(1992) Johnny Carson’s final ‘Tonight Show’Late-night legend Johnny Carson signs off after 30 years of hosting ‘The Tonight Show.’ His final show features no guests, focusing instead on clips and remembrances from Carson, sidekick Ed McMahon and bandleader Doc Severinsen. Jay Leno will take over the show, but not without some controversy.The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from October 1, 1962 through May 22, 1992. It originally aired during late-night. For its first decade, Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show was based at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York City, with some episodes recorded at NBC-TV’s West Coast studios in Burbank, California; on May 1, 1972, the show moved to Burbank as its main venue and remained there exclusively after May 1973 until Carson’s retirement. In 2002, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was ranked No. 12 on TV Guide’s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, and in 2013 it was ranked No. 22 on their list of 60 Best Series.
First episode: Oct 01, 1962 Episode duration: 105 minutes Creators: Steve Allen · Dwight Hemion · Sylvester Weaver · William O. Harbach Theme song: Johnny’s Theme Producers: Peter Lassally · Fred de Cordova Awards: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Series · Primetime Emmy Award for Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program · Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing – Variety Series Or Special · People’s Choice Award for Favorite Talk Show Host · Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement In Tape Sound Mixing
(1881) Clara Barton founds the American Red CrossCalled “The Angel of the Battlefield” for her courageous service as a Civil War nurse, Clara Barton establishes an American branch of the Red Cross relief organization after working with an international unit in Europe during the Franco-Prussian War.Clarissa “Clara” Harlowe Barton was a pioneering nurse who founded the American Red Cross. She was a hospital nurse in the American Civil War, a teacher, and patent clerk. Nursing education was not very formalized at that time and Clara did not attend nursing school. So she provided self-taught nursing care. Barton is noteworthy for doing humanitarian work at a time when relatively few women worked outside the home. She had a relationship with John J. Elwell and received three proposals throughout her lifetime, but never married.
Born: Dec 25, 1821 · Oxford, MA Died: Apr 12, 1912 · Glen Echo, MD Founded: American Red Cross · National First Aid Society · American Association (20th century) Parents: Stephen Barton (Father) · Sarah Barton (Mother)
Highlights
1821: Clara Barton was born on December 25, 1821 in North Oxford, Massachusetts.
1868: She closed the Missing Soldiers Office in 1868 and traveled to Europe.
1869: In 1869, Clara Barton closed the Missing Soldiers Office and headed to Europe.
1897: In 1897, responding to the humanitarian crisis in the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of the Hamidian Massacres, Barton sailed to Constantinople and after long negotiations with Abdul Hamid II, opened the first American International Red Cross headquarters in the heart of Turkey.
1900: Barton’s last field operation as President of the American Red Cross was helping victims of the Galveston hurricane in 1900.
1912: On April 12, 1912 at the age of 90, she died in her home.
wiki/Clara_Barton(1927) Lucky Lindy flies alone across the AtlanticThirty-three hours and 30 minutes after he took off from New York’s Roosevelt Field, aviator Charles Lindbergh lands 3,600 miles away at Paris’ Le Bourget Field. The Detroit native is the first person to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean, and becomes an international sensation.Charles Augustus Lindbergh, nicknamed Slim, Lucky Lindy, and The Lone Eagle, was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, explorer, and environmental activist. At age 25 in 1927, he went from obscurity as a U.S. Air Mail pilot to instantaneous world fame by making his Orteig Prize–winning nonstop flight from Long Island, New York, to Paris. He covered the 33 ¹⁄₂-hour, 3,600 statute miles alone in a single-engine purpose-built Ryan monoplane, Spirit of St. Louis. This was the first solo transatlantic flight, and the first non-stop flight between North America and mainland Europe. Lindbergh was an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve, and he received the United States’ highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for the feat.
Lived: Feb 04, 1902 – Aug 26, 1974 (age 72) Height: 6′ 3″ (1.91 m) Spouse: Anne Morrow Lindbergh (m. 1929 – 1974) Children: Anne Lindbergh (Daughter) · Jon Lindbergh (Son) · Reeve Lindbergh (Daughter) · Land Morrow Lindbergh (Son) · Scott Lindbergh (Son) · Dyrk Hesshaimer (Son) · David Hesshaimer (Son) · Astrid Hesshaimer Bouteuil (Daughter) · Vago Hesshaimer (Son) · Charles Lindbergh Jr. (Son) · Christoph Hesshaimer (Son) Parents: Charles August Lindbergh (Father) · Evangeline Lodge Lindbergh (Mother) Awards: Orteig Prize (1927) · Medal of Honor (1927) · Distinguished Flying Cross (1927) · Congressional Gold Medal (1928) · Hubbard Medal (1927) · Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography (1954) · Silver Buffalo Award · Air Force Cross (1927) · Daniel Guggenheim Medal (1953) · Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy (1949)
Highlights
1937: At age 25 in 1927, he went from obscurity as a U.S. Air Mail pilot to instantaneous world fame by making his Orteig Prize–winning nonstop flight from Long Island, New York, to Paris.
1927: Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906–2001) was the daughter of Dwight Morrow who, as partner at J.P. Morgan & Co., had acted as financial adviser to Lindbergh; he was also U.S. Ambassador to Mexico in 1927.
1927: In mid-February 1927 he left for San Diego, California, to oversee design and construction of the Spirit of St. Louis.
1929: Charles Lindbergh married Anne Morrow Lindbergh on May 27, 1929.
1957: In the motion picture The Spirit of St. Louis, directed by Billy Wilder and released in 1957, Lindbergh was played by James Stewart, an admirer of Lindbergh and himself an aviator who had flown bombing missions in World War II.
1974: Lindbergh spent his last years on the Hawaiian island of Maui, where he died of lymphoma on August 26, 1974, at age 72.
wiki/Charles_Lindbergh(1955) Chuck Berry pioneers rock & roll guitarA part-time construction worker visits the studios of Chess Records and cuts his first record, a souped-up version of a traditional fiddle tune given new lyrics, a new title, and an unforgettable guitar riff. A smash crossover hit, ‘Maybellene’ will make Chuck Berry an overnight sensation and lead Rolling Stone magazine to later write, “Rock & roll guitar starts here.”“Maybellene” is one of the first rock-and-roll songs. It was written and recorded in 1955 by Chuck Berry, and inspired/adapted from the Western Swing fiddle tune “Ida Red,” which was recorded in 1938 by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. Berry’s song tells the story of a hot rod race and a broken romance. It was released in July 1955 as a single by Chess Records, of Chicago, Illinois. It was Berry’s first single and his first hit. “Maybellene” is considered one of the pioneering rock-and-roll songs: Rolling Stone magazine wrote, “Rock & roll guitar starts here.” The record is an early instance of the complete rock-and-roll package: youthful subject matter; a small, guitar-driven combo; clear diction; and an atmosphere of unrelenting excitement. The lyrics describe a man driving a V8 Ford chasing his unfaithful girlfriend in her Cadillac Coupe DeVille.
Album: The Great Twenty-Eight Artist: Chuck Berry Release year: 1955 Duration: 2:20 Genre: Rock, Early Rock & Roll / Oldies
wiki/Maybellene(1992) ‘The Real World’ debuts on MTVMTV introduces ‘the true story…of seven strangers…picked to live in a loft…and have their lives taped…’ The show will quickly become a hit and help usher in the reality TV era. It will run for more than 30 seasons.
Real World (formerly known as The Real World from 1992 to 2013) is a reality television series on MTV originally produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. First broadcast in 1992, the show, which was inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family, is the longest-running program in MTV history and one of the longest-running reality series in history, credited with launching the modern reality TV genre. Seven to eight young adults are picked to temporarily live in a new city together in one residence while being filmed non-stop.
The series was hailed in its early years for depicting issues of contemporary young-adulthood relevant to its core audience, such as sex, prejudice, religion, abortion, illness, sexuality, AIDS, death, politics, and substance abuse, but later garnered a reputation as a showcase for immaturity and irresponsible behavior indicative of the declining morals of contemporary youth.
Following Bunim’s death from breast cancer in 2004, Bunim/Murray Productions continues to produce the program. The current 32nd season, set in Seattle, Washington, premiered on October 12, 2016.
The series has generated two notable related series, both broadcast by MTV: Road Rules, a sister show, which lasted for 14 seasons (1995–2007), and the ongoing spin-off reality game show The Challenge, which has run for 29 seasons since 1998.
First episode: May 21, 1992 Episode duration: 30 minutes Creators: Jonathan Murray · Mary-Ellis Bunim Network: MTV Producers: Jonathan Murray · Matt Kunitz Awards: GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Reality Program · GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary Series
(1570) Ortelius maps the known worldFlemish geographer and cartographer Abraham Ortelius’ bound book of 53 maps, ‘Theatrum Orbis Terrarum,’ an extensive work of cartography that will be quickly reprinted in multiple languages and prove immensely popular, is issued. It will be the world’s first modern atlas.Theatrum Orbis Terrarum is considered to be the first true modern atlas. Written by Abraham Ortelius, strongly encouraged by Gillis Hooftman and originally printed on May 20, 1570, in Antwerp, it consisted of a collection of uniform map sheets and sustaining text bound to form a book for which copper printing plates were specifically engraved. The Ortelius atlas is sometimes referred to as the summary of sixteenth-century cartography.
Author: Abraham Ortelius First published: 1570 Genre: Atlas
wiki/Theatrum_Orbis_Terrarum(1932) Aviator Amelia Earhart tries for the history books Taking to the skies from a Newfoundland starting point in her single-engine Lockheed Vega 5B, Amelia Earhart hopes to become the first woman to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean. Fourteen hours and 56 minutes later she will achieve her goal, landing in Northern Ireland.Amelia Mary Earhart was an American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She received the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross for this accomplishment. She set many other records, wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences and was instrumental in the formation of The Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots. In 1935, Earhart became a visiting faculty member at Purdue University as an advisor to aeronautical engineering and a career counselor to women students. She was also a member of the National Woman’s Party and an early supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment.
Lived: Jul 24, 1897 – Jul 02, 1937 (age 39) Height: 5′ 7″ (1.70 m) Spouse: George P. Putnam (m. 1931) Founded: Ninety-Nines Education: Hyde Park Academy High School · Columbia University · Central Senior High School Siblings: Grace Muriel Earhart (Sister)
Highlights
1929: Putnam, who was known as GP, was divorced in 1929 and sought out Earhart, proposing to her six times before she finally agreed to marry him.
1931: After substantial hesitation on her part, they married on February 7, 1931, in Putnam’s mother’s house in Noank, Connecticut.
1935: On January 11, 1935, Earhart became the first aviator to fly solo from Honolulu, Hawaii to Oakland, California.
1936: Early in 1936, Earhart started to plan a round-the-world flight.
1937: During an attempt to make a circumnavigational flight of the globe in 1937 in a Purdue-funded Lockheed Model 10 Electra, Earhart disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island.
1937: On July 2, 1937, midnight GMT, Earhart and Noonan took off from Lae Airfield in the heavily loaded Electra.
wiki/Amelia_Earhart(1969) Bloody Battle of ‘Hamburger Hill’ ends in South VietnamTen days of fierce fighting win US Airborne forces the scarred and decimated Hill 937 on Ap Bia Mountain. Hundreds were wounded or killed, almost 20,000 artillery rounds were fired, and 500 tons of ordinance dropped to secure what battle-weary GIs call ‘Hamburger Hill.’The Battle of Hamburger Hill was a battle of the Vietnam War that was fought by the United States and South Vietnam against North Vietnamese forces from May 10–20, 1969. Although the heavily fortified Hill 937 was of little strategic value, U.S. command ordered its capture by a frontal assault, only to abandon it soon thereafter. The action caused a controversy both in the American military and public.
Start date: May 10, 1969 End date: May 20, 1969
wiki/Battle_of_Hamburger_Hill(1993) ‘Cheers’ closes up after 11 seasonsThe fictional bar ‘where everybody knows your name’ has its last call on TV, with an estimated 90 million viewers tuning in to make it one of the most-watched finales. The show had nearly been canceled for low ratings during its first season before becoming a mainstay of NBC’s Thursday-night lineup.The regulars of the Boston bar Cheers share their experiences and lives with each other while drinking or working at the bar where everybody knows your name.
First episode: Sep 30, 1982 Episode duration: 30 minutes Creators: James Burrows · Glen Charles Theme song: Where Everybody Knows Your Name Producers: James Burrows · Phoef Sutton · Dan O’Shannon Awards: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series · Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy · Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series · Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series · Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
(1830) Passenger rail service begins in US
(1883) The East River’s Brooklyn Bridge is open to traffic
(1956) First broadcast of continental crooning competition 
(1991) ‘Thelma and Louise’ get on the road
