What Happened On
T-Rex "Sue"
Photo Credit: Connie Ma
T-Rex "Sue"Photo Credit: Connie Ma
FBI Seizes World's Largest T-Rex Skeleton
May 14, 1992
The world's largest Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton is seized by the FBI from the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, claiming it had been illegally taken from federal land. Peter Larson's team recovered the nearly complete 67-million-year-old T-Rex skeleton in 1990 in South Dakota. With more than 80% of the skeleton recovered, it was the most complete and largest T-Rex ever discovered.
Even though Larson had negotiated a deal with the landowner prior to removing the T-Rex, the investigation led to him being imprisoned for 18 months on unrelated charges of fossil theft, money laundering, and making false statements to government agencies. The owner of land, who originally agreed to $5,000 for the skeleton eventually received $7.6 million from its auction and it is now on display at Chicago's Field Museum.
It was named "Sue" after its discoverer Sue Hendrickson. She had spent the summer with a group searching for fossils in the region. After they were done and getting ready to leave they noticed their truck had a flat. Sue stayed behind while the others went to fix the truck. While waiting, Sue decided to explore the nearby cliffs where she found the T-Rex.
Skylab
May 14, 1973
The U.S. space station Skylab is launched. About a minute after take-off a protective shield and a solar panel broke off, damaging the other solar panel in the process. The crew was sent up on the 25th and made repairs.
Suzanne, the plans they made put an end to you
May 14, 1968
Suzanne Schneer commits suicide. Her suicide was the inspiration for the lyrics in James Taylor's 1970 song Fire and Rain. She was a friend of Taylor who committed suicide by jumping in front of a New York subway train. Taylor was in London recording at the time. His band members did not tell him of her death until later, so as not to distract him from the recording sessions.
"Just yesterday morning, they let me know that you were gone.
Suzanne, the plans they made put an end to you…
I've seen fire and I've seen rain. I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end.
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend, but I always thought that I'd see you again."
The line "Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground," according to Taylor, is not about Suzanne dying in a plane crash on the way to see Taylor, as is often rumored, but refers to the breakup of his band "The Flying Machine."
Israeli Independence Proclaimed
May 14, 1948
The Israeli Declaration of Independence is proclaimed by David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization and the chairman of the Jewish Agency for Palestine. It declared the establishment of a Jewish state to be known as the State of Israel.
Youngest Mother
May 14, 1939
Lina Medina gives birth at age 5 years, 7 months, and 21 days, making her the youngest confirmed mother in medical history.
England Gives Nazi Salute
May 14, 1938
The English football (soccer) team gives the Nazi salute during a football match against Germany in Berlin. The British Foreign Office had ordered the team to perform the salute. Adolf Hitler had been scheduled to attend the game, but was not in attendance. Back home in England, the press was outraged.
England won 6-3.
First Camels Imported to the U.S. for Commercial Purposes - And the Legend of the Red Ghost
May 14, 1856
American naval officer David Dixon Porter arrives in Texas with a shipload of camels from Turkey. These were the first camels imported to the U.S. for commercial purposes.
Congress had appropriated $30,000 for the camel acquisition to be used in experiments to determine their suitability for use in the military.
Thirty-three camels began the voyage from Turkey, but 34 arrived - one had died and two were born and survived the trip.
In 1883, one of the camels from the military that ended up in the wild is believed to have inspired the Arizonan stories of the Red Ghost, a large, red camel, with a bleached human skeleton riding on its back. Tales of the Red Ghost spread throughout Arizona and grew taller each time the stories were told, with the Red Ghost being 30-feet (9 m) tall and killing and eating a grizzly bear. The sightings continued for 10 years until 1893 when a farmer saw the Red Ghost with its skeleton rider on his land and shot and killed it. The identity of the skeleton has never been determined.
First Vaccination
May 14, 1796
English physician Edward Jenner vaccinates an 8-year-old boy for protection against smallpox. After observing that milkmaids were generally immune to smallpox, Jenner postulated that the pus in the blisters that milkmaids received from cowpox (a disease similar to smallpox, but much less virulent) could protect someone from smallpox. He then went on to test and prove his theory. Although others had previously observed that those who contracted cowpox were immune to smallpox, it was Jenner who proved that the pus from someone with cowpox would provide immunity.
It was estimated at the time that 60% of the population acquired smallpox and 20% of the population died of it. It is said that his work has saved more lives than the work of any other human. Smallpox eventually became the first disease eradicated by man.
Napoleon Bonaparte, who at the time was at war with Britain, vaccinated all of his troops. When Jenner requested he release English prisoners of war and permit their return home, Napoleon did so, remarking he could not "refuse anything to one of the greatest benefactors of mankind."
Iraq War - Rumsfeld Denies Administration Claimed Iraq had Nuclear Weapons
May 14, 2003
U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld states at a Senate appropriations subcommittee on defense hearing, "I don't believe anyone that I know in the administration ever said that Iraq had nuclear weapons." However, just two months earlier on March 16, Vice President Dick Cheney had declared, "We believe [Hussein] has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons."
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark
Lewis and Clark Expedition
May 14, 1804
The famed explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark depart from St. Louis, Missouri to begin exploration of the Louisiana Purchase. Their work established a route to the Pacific.
Birthdays
George Lucas
Born May 14, 1944
American director. Film: THX 1138 (1971), American Graffiti (1973), Star Wars (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1986), and Howard the Duck (1986).
Oh, the Humanity!
Herbert Morrison
Born May 14, 1905 d. 1989
American radio reporter. He reported the Hindenburg explosion, exclaiming, "Oh, the Humanity!"
Polaire (Émilie Marie Bouchaud)
Born May 14, 1874 d. 1939
French singer, actress. Known for her wasp waist, she is reputed to have had a 13-inch (33 cm) waistline. This accentuated her figure; she stood 5 feet 3 inches (1.60 m) tall and had a 38-inch (97 cm) chest. Constantly seeking publicity, she billed herself as "the ugliest woman in the world", bought a pet pig with a nose ring, and traveled with a black man she referred to as her slave.
The Blue Boy
The Blue Boy
Thomas Gainsborough
Born May 14, 1727 d. 1788
English artist. He was the leading British portraitist of the second half of the 18th century. Paintings: Blue Boy (c. 1770).
Danny Wood (Daniel Wood Jr.)
Born May 14, 1969
American pop musician, member of New Kids on the Block.
Fabrice "Fab" Morvan
Born May 14, 1966
French dancer, singer, half of Milli Vanilli. Their album Girl You Know It's True won the Grammy for Best New Artist, which was taken back after it was revealed they didn't sing on it. He has since begun a solo career.
Milli Vanilli consisted of Morvan and Rob Pilatus and they had been one of the most popular pop acts in the late 1980s and early 1990s with millions of records sold.
Music as Milli Vanilli: Greatest Hits (2007), Solo: Love Revolution (2003).
Yvonne and Yvette McCarther
Born May 14, 1949 d. 1993
American Siamese twins. At the time of their death they were thought to be the world's oldest Siamese twins. They were conjoined at the head, sharing a blood supply.
Derek "Lek" Leckenby
Born May 14, 1943 d. 1994
English guitarist, with Herman's Hermits. Music: I'm Into Something Good (1964, #1 in UK), Mrs Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter (1965, #1), I'm Henry VIII, I Am (1965, #1), and There's a Kind of Hush (1967).
Bobby Darin (Walden Robert Cassotto)
Born May 14, 1936 d. 1973
American pop singer. Music: Splish Splash (1958) and Mack the Knife (1959).
Bradley Jay Anderson
Born May 14, 1924 d. 2015
American cartoonist. Creator of Marmaduke (1954).
Charles IV
Born May 14, 1316 d. 1378
Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and King of Bohemia (1347-78).
Deaths
Tim Conway on The Carol Burnett Show
Tim Conway on The Carol Burnett Show
Tim Conway (Thomas Daniel Conway)
Died May 14, 2019 b. 1933
American Emmy-winning comedian. TV: McHale's Navy (1962-66, Ensign Parker), The Carol Burnett Show (1967-78), The Tim Conway Show (1980-81), and SpongeBob SquarePants (1999-2012, voice of Barnacle Boy). Film: The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975).
Although Conway has been part of many successful shows, his 1969 TV show Turn-On was so offensive, some stations pulled it off the air midway through the first episode and other stations in later time zones refused to even air it. It was canceled before the next week's episode could be aired.
B. B. King (Riley B. King)
Died May 14, 2015 b. 1925
American Grammy-winning blues singer. He was the first blues singer to tour the USSR (1979). Music: Three O'Clock Blues (1951, #1).
Frank Sinatra (Francis Albert Sinatra)
Died May 14, 1998 b. 1915
American singer, Oscar-winning actor. Music: Strangers in the Night (1966). He sold more than 150 million records worldwide, "doing it his way".
Music: Love and Marriage (1955), Strangers in the Night (1966), My Way (1969), and New York, New York (1980).
Film: From Here to Eternity (1953, Oscar), The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), and The Manchurian Candidate (1962).
William "Bill" Powell Lear
Died May 14, 1978 b. 1902
American inventor, businessman, founder of Lear Jet, Inc. He also developed the 8-track cartridge and was co-inventor of the first practical car radio. He originally created the 8-track for use in his jets, but the device caught on as an automotive accessory, first appearing in automobiles in 1965.
The Good Witch
Billie Burke (Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke)
Died May 14, 1970 b. 1884
American actress. Film: The Wizard of Oz (1939, Glinda the Good Witch of the North). She was married to Ziegfeld Follies producer Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr.
Henry John Heinz
Died May 14, 1919 b. 1844
American food manufacturer. He founded H.J. Heinz Co. (1869), introducing the marketing slogan "57 pickle Varieties" in 1896. Heinz later stated that he chose "57" because "5" was his lucky number and "7" was his wife's. However, by then Heinz was selling much more than 57 products. The first product promoted under the "57 varieties" slogan was horseradish and by 1940 "Heinz 57" was used to market their steak sauce.
The "57" is perfect spot to strike their glass ketchup bottle to make the ketchup pour out.
John XII (Octavianus)
Died May 14, 964 b. circa 934
religious leader, 130th Pope (955-964). He gambled, is reputed to have run a brothel, and toasted the devil with wine, for which he was temporarily deposed in 963. He regained Papal authority by killing his enemies, but died during an adulterous sexual encounter, possibly at the hands of an outraged husband.
Phyllis George
Died May 14, 2020 b. 1949
American TV personality, sportscaster. Miss Texas (1970), Miss America (1971), and First Lady of Kentucky (1979-83). In 1975, she became co-host of the CBS Sports pre-show The NFL Today, making her one of the first women to hold an on-air position in national televised sports broadcasting.
Anna Lee
Died May 14, 2004 b. 1913
English actress. She was paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident, yet continued acting in a wheelchair for more than two decades. TV: General Hospital (Lila Quartermaine).
Robert Stack (Charles Langford Modini Stack)
Died May 14, 2003 b. 1919
American actor. Film: Bwana Devil (1952, the first full-length color 3-D movie). TV: The Untouchables (1959-63, Eliot Ness) and Unsolved Mysteries (host). He placed 2nd in the National Skeet Shooting Championship (1935).
Harry Blackstone Jr.
Died May 14, 1997 b. 1934
American magician.
Lyle Alzado
Died May 14, 1992 b. 1949
American football player, two-time All-Pro. As an amateur boxer, he fought an exhibition match against Muhammad Ali. He died of brain cancer, which he attributed to steroid abuse.
Miguel Alemán Valdéz
Died May 14, 1983 b. 1903
Mexican president (1946-52). As the first non-military candidate ever elected president of Mexico, he promoted industrialization and agriculture. He was influential in bringing the 1968 Summer Olympics to Mexico.
Ernst Frederick Werner Alexanderson
Died May 14, 1975 b. 1878
Swedish-born American engineer. A pioneer in transoceanic radio communication, he developed tuned-frequency receivers. In 1927 he developed a TV with a seven-foot screen. He received 345 U.S. patents, the last filed in 1968 at age 89.
First Woman U.S. Presidential Cabinet Member
Frances Perkins
Died May 14, 1965 b. 1880
American politician, first woman U.S. presidential cabinet member (1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt's secretary of labor).
Louis XIII
Died May 14, 1643 b. 1601
King of France. His death made his 5-year-old son, Louis XIV, king.
Theodore I
Died May 14, 649 b. ????
Greek-born religious leader, 73rd Pope (642-649).