May 15th, 1940

American brothers Maurice and Richard McDonald opened a restaurant in San Bernardino, California that would grow to become the McDonald’s franchise that we know today.

May 16th, 1866

The United States Congress voted to create a new 5 cent coin composed of nickel and copper, known as the nickel.

May 17th, 1954

The United States Supreme Court outlawed racial segregation within schools in the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. It took years for schools to fully desegregate.

May 18th, 1872

Bertrand Russell, the British logician and philosopher most famous for his work The Problems of Philosophy, was born in Trelleck (a village in Wales).

May 19th, 1563

After being found guilty for committing adultery, Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, was beheaded. She was one of two of King Henry’s wives to be killed per the king’s wishes.

May 20th, 1902

Cuba gained its independence from the United States of America. The U.S. took control of Cuba three years earlier in 1899 after the Spanish-American War.

May 21st, 1881

Clara Barton, an American nurse and teacher, founded the American Association of the Red Cross.