May 06
World History Thursday, May 6, 1937. : The airship Hindenburg catches fire as it attempts to dock in New Jersey, USA, killing 36. The rigid airship, also known as a zeppelin or dirigible, is a self-propelled, steered aircraft with lighter-than-air gas to provide lift, and a gondola to accommodate passengers, crew, and cargo. In the early days […]
May 01
Born on this day Tuesday, May 1, 1934. : Australian actor, John Meillon, is born. John Meillon was born in Mosman, Sydney, Australia, on 1 May 1934. He began his acting career at age eleven in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s radio serial “Stumpy”. He made his first stage appearance the following year, then joined the Shakespeare Touring […]
May 11
Born on this day Tuesday, May 11, 1926. : Australian actor Frank Thring, famous for his role as Pontius Pilate in the epic movie Ben Hur, is born. Actor, Theatre manager and Theatre and TV critic Francis William Thring Jr was born on 11 May 1926 in Australia. Son of the Australian movie director Frank Thring Sr, […]
May 12
Born on this day Monday, May 12, 1924. : British comedian Tony Hancock is born. Anthony John Hancock was born on 12 May 1924 in Birmingham, England. He was raised in Bournemouth where his mother and stepfather ran a small hotel, The Durlston Court, now renamed The Quality Hotel. In 1942 he joined the RAF Regiment, and […]
May 29
Born on this day Tuesday, May 29, 1917. : US President, John F Kennedy, is born. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, on 29 May 1917. After completing his schooling, and prior to enrolling in Princeton University, he attended the London School of Economics for a year, where he studied political economy. Illness forced him […]
May 17
Born on this day Monday, May 17, 1909. : Professor Julius Sumner Miller is born. Julius Sumner Miller, the man who popularised science with children, was born on 17 May 1909. Sumner Miller studied under Albert Einstein, but was best known for his work on children’s television programs, being Disney’s “Professor Wonderful” on The Mickey Mouse Club […]
May 28
Born on this day Thursday, May 28, 1908. : Ian Fleming, author of the ‘James Bond’ spy novels, is born. Ian Lancaster Fleming was born on 28 May 1908 in Mayfair, London. He was educated at Eton College and Sandhurst military academy, from which he subsequently departed prematurely to study languages on the European continent. He unsuccessfully […]
May 26
Born on this day Sunday, May 26, 1907. : American film actor John Wayne, who became popular for his roles in Westerns, is born. John Wayne was born Marion Robert Morrison in Winterset, Iowa, USA on 26 May 1907. His name became Marion Mitchell Morrison when his parents decided to name their next son Robert, but in […]
May 09
Australian History Thursday, May 9, 1901. : The Duke of Cornwall and York, later King George V, opens the first Commonwealth Parliament in Australia. Prior to 1901, Australia was made up of six self-governing colonies; New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania. These colonies were ultimately under British rule from the time the […]
May 15
Australian History Tuesday, May 15, 1900. : Women in Western Australia win the right to vote. Australia was one of the world’s leading countries in regard to women’s rights. Women in South Australia gained the right to vote in 1894, and voted for the first time in the election of 1896, becoming just the fourth place in […]