This week in history
May 13, 1787
Captain Arthur Phillip leaves Portsmouth, England, with 11 ships full of convicts (the “First Fleet”) to establish a penal colony in Australia.
May 14, 1939
Lina Medina of Peru becomes the youngest confirmed mother in medical history at the age of five. She is still alive today, at age 88.
May 15, 1905
Las Vegas is founded when 110 acres (0.45 square kilometres), in what later would become downtown, are auctioned off.
May 16, 1888
Nikola Tesla delivers a lecture describing the equipment that will allow efficient generation and use of alternating currents to transmit electric power over long distances.
May 17, 1980
Mount St Helens erupts in Washington State, United
States, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage.
May 18, 1962
A birthday salute to US President John F. Kennedy takes place at Madison Square Garden, New York City. The highlight is Hollywood starlet Marilyn Monroe’s sultry, intimate rendition of “Happy Birthday, Mr President”.
May 19, 1570
Cartographer Abraham Ortelius issues Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the first modern atlas, comprising 53 maps created by other masters, all credited for their works.