May 19
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Featured Event
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On this day in 1962, Marilyn Monroe performed perhaps the most famous rendition of “Happy Birthday” when she sang the song to Pres. John F. Kennedy at a gala in New York City. The actress, who was reportedly having an affair with Kennedy, wore a flesh-toned, crystal-covered dress and delivered the tune in a breathy voice, drawing gasps and cheers. [Read today’s edition of Today in History > >]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
Ed Ford—NYWT&S/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-USZ62-115058)
Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.
Black militant Malcolm X, born this day in 1925, promoted Black pride and, later, racial unity, ideas articulated in the celebrated The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which was published shortly after his assassination in 1965.
Famous Birthdays
More on May 19
© Abedin Taherkenareh—EPA-EFE/Shutterstock.com
2024
Iranian hard-line president Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash; Masoud Pezeshkian, the country’s most reform-oriented president in decades, was elected to replace him in July. [Take our quiz about the Middle East.]
© AdrianHancu—iStock/Getty Images
2018
Prince Harry married American actress Meghan Markle at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle; the ceremony, unlike any previous British royal wedding, mixed pomp and circumstance with African American culture, the latter a celebration of the bride’s biracial background. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about English royalty.]
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
1994
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis—who, as U.S. first lady, married to President John F. Kennedy, became known for her style and elegance—died at age 64. [Test your knowledge of U.S. first ladies.]
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
1935
British archaeological scholar, military strategist, and author T.E. Lawrence, whose life inspired the epic film Lawrence of Arabia (1962), died at age 46 following a motorcycle accident. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about famous Englishmen.]
© Bettmann/Getty Images
1930
Playwright Lorraine Hansberry, whose A Raisin in the Sun (1959) was the first drama by an African American woman to be produced on Broadway, was born in Chicago. [Take our theatre quiz.]
© Bettmann/Getty Images
1890
Ho Chi Minh—founder of the Indochina Communist Party (1930) and its successor, the Viet Minh (1941), and president (1945–69) of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam)—was born in Hoang Tru, Vietnam, French Indochina. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about Southeast Asia.]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (reproduction no. LC-USZC4-5116)
1884
The Ringling brothers opened a small circus in Baraboo, Wisconsin, and by the early 20th century they had transformed it into the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the leading American circus. [Learn about the closure of the circus in 2017.]
From The Frozen Zone and its Explorers, by Alexander Hyde, A.C. Baldwin, W.L. Gage, 1874
1845
English explorer John Franklin’s ill-fated expedition to find the Northwest Passage began as the Erebus and the Terror set sail from London; both ships later became trapped in ice, and Franklin and his crew perished. [Test your knowledge of explorers and exploration.]
Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.9.15
1802
Napoleon created the Legion of Honour, the premier order of the French republic. [How much do you know about Napoleon?]
© Photos.com/Jupiterimages
1643
During the Thirty Years’ War, the French army—led by Louis II de Bourbon—defeated the Spanish in the Battle of Rocroi, ending Spain’s military ascendancy in Europe. [Test your knowledge of military battles.]
© jedi-master/Fotolia
1571
Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi established the city of Manila in the Philippines. [Take our quiz about world cities.]
© Photos.com/Getty Images
1536
Having been found guilty on charges of adultery, Anne Boleyn—the second wife of King Henry VIII of England and the mother of Queen Elizabeth I—was beheaded. [Take our quiz about Henry VIII and his wives.]