May 14: Facts & Historical Events On This Day

Loreen claimed victory for Sweden at the 67th Eurovision Song Contest with her song “Tattoo.”

China landed its Zhurong rover on Mars, becoming the second nation to land a rover on the Red Planet.

Dan Brown released his fourth novel in the Da Vinci Code series, Inferno, which became an instant success.

The Netherlands Institute for War Documentation published Anne Frank’s complete diary.

The rockumentary film featuring The Who titled “Kids Are All Right” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

The USA’s first space station, Skylab, was launched into Earth’s orbit.

Skylab was launched atop a modified Saturn V rocket, with the launch itself commonly referred to as Skylab 1. Both the launch and deployment of Skylab were a little bit of a disaster, with multiple parts of the station sustaining damage. Nevertheless, Skylab saw three astronaut crews live aboard it between 1973 and 1979 when it was de-orbited.

Underground America Day was first observed, which recognizes the approximately 6,000 people who live in some form of underground architecture across North America.

The Talyllyn Railway in Wales became the first railway line in the world to be run solely by volunteers.

The Tallyllyn Railway Preservation Society purchased the railway on February 8, 1951, and then spent the following months raising funds and volunteers to run it. Since its re-opening on May 14, the railway has functioned mainly as a tourist attraction due to its beautifully restored steam locomotives.

Israel declared independence from the British administration.

The US Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was formed.

After the Senate approved the bill, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the bill into law. He set a recruitment goal of 25,000 the first year, which WAAC topped by November.

The Adventures of Robin Hood, directed by Michael Curtiz, William Keighley, and starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland, was released.

We Want Beer! parade was held.

The parade, held in New York City, was put together by the city's mayor, Jimmy Walker. It was originally called the Beer for Taxation march. However, it was popularly called the We Want Beer parade.

The ban on Sunday baseball was lifted in Washington, D.C., making it the 3rd city to do so.

Edward Jenner, an English country doctor, gave the first vaccination against smallpox.

Delegates started to gather in Philadelphia to draw up the US constitution.

On this day, only a small amount of the representatives actually gathered, and the actual meeting had to be pushed back by 11 days to ensure there was enough representation of the states.

Settlers funded by the Virginia Company of London established Jamestown.

Jamestown was the first permanent British settlement in North America. The settlers, led by Captain John Smith, struggled through their first years battling famine, drought, and conflicts with neighboring Native American tribes.