History for May 12

History for May 12 - On-This-Day.com:
Florence Nightingale 1820 - Nurse, contributed to modern nursing procedures, author, Mildred McAfee 1900 - Captain Mildred McAfee (Horton), first director of U.S. Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service), Katherine Hepburn 1907 - Actress ("Morning Glory", "On Golden Pond [1981]", "The Rainmaker")


Yogi Berra 1925 - Baseball player, manager, Burt Bacharach 1929 - Composer, George Carlin 1937 - Comedian, actor


1881 - Tunisia, in North Africa became a French protectorate.






1888 - Charles Sherrill of the Yale track team became the first runner to use the crouching start for a fast break in a foot race.


1926 - The airship Norge became the first vessel to fly over the North Pole.


1940 - The Nazi conquest of France began with the German army crossing Muese River.


1950 - The American Bowling Congress abolished its white males-only membership restriction after 34 years.


1957 - A.J. Foyt won his first auto racing victory in Kansas City, MO.


1975 - U.S. merchant ship Mayaguez was seized by Cambodian forces in international waters.


1978 - The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that they would no longer exclusively name hurricanes after women.