ON THIS DAY

1814:

Jane Austen’s novel Mansfield Park is published in London. US President Woodrow Wilson designates second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. Italy annexes Ethiopia. Soviet forces liberate Czechoslovakia from Nazi occupation. The US conducts its first thermonuclear experiment as part of Operation Greenhouse. South Africa’s parliament choses Nelson Mandela to be the country’s first black president. US President Barack Obama declares his unequivocal support for same-sex marriage. Filipinos elect the controversial Rodrigo Duterte as country’s next president. Scottish author J.M. Barrie (18601937); British playwright Alan Bennett (1934-); British actress and politician Glenda Jackson (1936-); US singer Billy Joel (1949-).

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