May 7 in Pop Culture History

May 7 Fun Facts, Trivia and History

May 7 History Highlights

  • 1946 – Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) was founded.
  • 1952 – The concept of the integrated circuit was first published by Geoffrey Dummer.
  • 2013 – The Dow Jones Index closed above 15,000 for the first time.
  • If you were born on May 7th,
    You were likely conceived the week of… August 14th (prior year)

The Twenty Seventh Amendment to the US Constitution

“No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.”

The idea behind this amendment is to reduce corruption in the legislative branch by requiring an election before a Congressperson’s salary increase takes effect. The public could remove members of Congress from office before their salaries increase.

The Sinking of the Lusitania

On the morning of April 28, 1915, RMS Lusitania was anchored off Queenstown on her 212th voyage. She had left Liverpool two days earlier with a cargo of ammunition and 5 million rounds of rifle cartridges for Allied forces in Europe. Passengers were reading newspapers as they ate breakfast when a German U-Boat surfaced nearby. The captain called it “an unscheduled interruption.” Within minutes, the U-boat fired a torpedo that hit within 60 feet above water surface near starboard side boiler room #2 located in the front area, sinking the ship in under 30 minutes. Only six out of 48 lifeboats were launched successfully.

May 7 is…

Public Gardens Day
Roast Leg of Lamb Day
Spouse Appreciation Day

May 7 Birthday Quotes

“There is a difference between conceit and confidence. Conceit is bragging about yourself. Confidence means you believe you can get the job done.”
– Johnny Unitas

“To do good things in the world, first you must know who you are and what gives meaning to your life.”
– Robert Browning

“It’s best to have failure happen early in life. It wakes up the Phoenix bird in you so you rise from the ashes.”
– Anne Baxter

“There is no such thing as freedom of choice unless there is the freedom to refuse.”
– David Hume

“I’m successful in spite of my past, not because of it.”
– Traci Lords

“Success in marriage is more than finding the right person: it is being the right person.”
– Robert Browning

May 7 Birthdays

1711 – David Hume, Scottish philosopher
1812 – Robert Browning, English poet (died in 1889)
1833 – Johannes Brahms, German pianist and composer (died in 1897)
1840 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer (died in 1893)
1885 – George “Gabby” Hayes, American character actor (died in 1969)
1901 – Gary Cooper, American actor (died in 1961)
1917 – David Tomlinson, English character actor (died in 2000)
1922 – Darren McGavin, American actor (died in 2006)
1923 – Anne Baxter, American actress (died in 1985)
1933 – Johnny Unitas, American football player and sportscaster (died in 2002)
1939 – Johnny Maestro, American pop/doo-wop singer (died in 2010)
1954 – Amy Heckerling, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1968 – Traci Lords, American actress

May 7 History

1718 – La Nouvelle-Orleans (now New Orleans) was founded by the French Mississippi Company, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, on land inhabited by the Chitimacha. It was named for Philippe II, Duke of Orleans, the Regent of France.

1789 – George Washington was inaugurated as the first US President.

1824 – Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony premiered in Vienna, Austria.

1846 – The Cambridge Chronicle, America’s oldest surviving weekly newspaper, was published for the first time in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

1896 – Dr. H. H. Holmes, one of America’s first well-known serial killers, was hanged to death in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Over 200 bodies were found on his property.

1902 (Volcano) Mount Pelee (Mount Pele), Martinique

1915 – A German U-boat sank The Lusitania.

1947Kraft Television Theatre premiered on NBC and ABC.

1952 – The concept of the integrated circuit chip was first presented, at a Symposium on Progress in Quality Electronic Components in Washington DC, by Geoffrey W.A. Dummer.

1963NASA launched the Telstar 2 communications satellite on behalf of AT&T.

1966 #1 Hit May 7, 1966 – May 27, 1966: The Mamas & the Papas – Monday, Monday

1976 – The Honda Accord was launched.

1977 #1 Hit May 7, 1977 – May 13, 1977: Eagles – Hotel California

1988 #1 Hit May 7, 1988 – May 13, 1988: Terence Trent D’Arby – Wishing Well

1994 – Norway’s most famous painting The Scream by Edvard Munch (1893), was recovered almost three months after it was stolen from a museum in Oslo.

1998 – Germany’s Daimler-Benz announced the purchase of the Chrysler Corporation, forming DaimlerChrysler AG. It was sold again in 2006, forming Chrysler LLC.

2005 #1 Hit May 7, 2005 – June 3, 2005: Gwen Stefani – Hollaback Girl

#1 Hit – May 7, 2016May 20, 2016: Desiigner – Panda

Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts

The best way to lie is, to tell the truth… carefully edited truth.

When the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert was announced in 1992, all 72,000 tickets sold out in three hours, even though no performers were announced besides the remaining members of Queen.

Belinda Carlisle – Real Name: Leslie Wunderman

“After all, tomorrow is another day!” – Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh) in Gone with the Wind, 1939

There is a museum in Croatia named “Froggyland” which is entirely composed of over 500 stuffed Frogs in human positions.

Xerox – Once the world’s largest “copier” company, they lost the rights to their trademarked name, XEROX, and became generic. Google may want to watch out.

EPCOT is an acronym for “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.”

US President #13 Millard Fillmore (1850-1853) Filmore was the first president not to be elected to the position. He became president when Zachary Taylor died. Fillmore had no vice president.

Gerald Ford (US President) – Real Name: Leslie King

When you eat at home as a family, everyone eats the same meal. But if you went out to a restaurant and everyone ordered the exact same thing, that’d be considered strange and even frowned upon.

The Capital of Sweden is Stockholm

3 people you never forget:
1. Those who helped in difficult times.
2. Those who left you in difficult times.
3. Who took the cookies from the cookie jar.

Police must get annoyed being surrounded by people obeying as many traffic laws as possible. Driving the speed limit, full 3 second stops – Ugh!

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