Epic Idiot's what happened
On This Day

May 5

1994
Michael Fay: The American teenager receives four lashes with a rattan rod from Singapore authorities for spray painting cars and other vandalism.

1993
Same-sex marriage: Citing it as sex discrimination, the Hawaiian Supreme Court, rules the banning of same-sex marriages as unconstitutional.

1987
Iran-Contra Affair: Hearings begin. Gen. Richard Secord claims his pro-contra activities had been approved by the administration.

1980
U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources is established.

1980
U.S. Department of Education is established.

1968
McDonald's Big Mac makes its debut with its "two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame-seed bun."

1961
First American in space and the Creation of "A-OK": Alan B. Shepard Jr. The creation of the phrase "A-OK" is generally attributed to Shepard during this flight, however, it was actually created by a NASA public relations officer who misquoted Shepard. (source: Myth Information: More Than 590 Popular Misconceptions, Fallacies, and Misbeliefs Explained!)

1925
Monkey Trial: John T. Scopes is arrested in Tennessee for teaching evolution.

1904
First perfect major-league baseball game: Cy Young of the Boston Americans doesn't allow a single Philadelphia player to reach first base.

1895
First recurring comic strip character is introduced, the Yellow Kid, in the cartoon Hogan's Alley, by Richard Felton Outcault.

1865
First U.S. train robbery, an overturned train in Ohio is robbed by looters.

1973
Tina Yothers, American actress. TV: Family Ties (Jennifer).

1943
Michael Palin, British actor. TV: Monty Python's Flying Circus. Film: Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) and A Fish Called Wanda (1988).

1942
Tammy Wynette (Virginia Wynette Pugh), American country singer. Music: Stand By Your Man. She has more #1 country hits than any other female singer.

1938
Michael Murphy, American actor. Film: An Unmarried Woman (1978, the cheating husband).

1926
Ann B. Davis, American Emmy-winning actress. TV: The Brady Bunch (Alice).

1925     d. 1978
Leo J. Ryan, American politician, San Francisco mayor (1972) and California Representative (1972-78). He was killed by Jim Jones' followers in the Jonestown, Guyana massacre.

1913     d. 1958
Tyrone Power (Tyrone Edmund Power, Jr.), American actor. Film: The Razor's Edge (1946) and Witness for the Prosecution (1957). He was one of the most popular film actors of the 1930s and '40s.

1899     d. 1982
Freeman Fisher Gosden, radio comedian, Amos of Amos 'n Andy.

1867     d. 1922
Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane), journalist. She is known for her writing on divorce, women, and child labor conditions. She once had herself committed to Blackwell's Island asylum for a story on the treatment of the insane. She also completed a 72-day around-the-world trip for the New York World (1889-90).

1830     d. 1906
John B. Stetson, American hat maker. He founded his hat company in 1865.

1818     d. 1883
Karl Heinrich Marx, German socialist and philosopher.

1962     b. 1898
Irvin Charles Mollison, American judge. He was the first black U.S. Customs Court judge (1945).

1892     b. 1818
August von Hofmann, German chemist. His work established the synthetic dye industry.

1887     b. 1822
Washington Charles DePauw, American banker, for whom DePauw University is named.

1821     b. 1769
Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France (1804-14), King of Italy (1805-14). He was exiled to the south Atlantic island of St. Helena after his defeat in 1815 to the British at the Battle of Waterloo.

1600     b. 1530
Jean Nicot, French ambassador to Portugal (1559-61), and for whom nicotine is named. He introduced tobacco to France (1561).

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